I agree with you on a few things - cowardly? yes. dishonorable? yes.
Do I condone or think that service members should be glorified for taking their own life? Absolutely not, I don't even think that they should get service honors at their burial.
(Granted I didn't know the guy and don't know why he took his life) How can you say that his situation isn't in any way military-related?
Do you know what the suicide rate among us service members is compared to civilians???? How can it not be service-related? Pure coincidence? Are you implying that our services are comprised of cowards?
I'm not trying to attack your opinion. I just don't understand your logic, especially from a fellow veteran who has lost brothers.
Soldiers in WW1, WW2, the Korean conflict, etc didn't seem mentally affected like our generation and they had it 10x harder on the battlefield than soldiers today.
Do I know what motivated this fellow to take his own life; no I do not but it is a far stretch to blame the military for his immaturity since he was not in war.
You are sorely mistaken. I suggest you read up on this. WWI and WWII didn't have the diagnosis of PTSD. Many many soldiers were "shell shocked" and ran from the lines. Those that did were treated as cowards and executed for their alleged cowardice.
Pleeeeze, spare me. That had a name (fratricide) and it was not done intentionally. You can blame the military all you want for soldiers reactions.....I simply am not feeling it.
We live in a social disorder that seeks to place blame everywhere but where it needs to be placed. Conditional sensitivity is at its peak and in respect of that, I will cease to further contribute to this thread because someone is gonna get their feelings hurt and I don't want to contribute to them hurting themself as a result.
When I went to school (70's-80's), if you ran your mouth to the wrong person, you suffered a hasty lesson promoting future verbal restraint. Now we call it bullying as a society and it is a BIG deal in the US. Guess who is heading the charge? Good ole' Congress.
Well, let's see if I can break this down for you and others.
Suppose he got yelled at by a drill sergeant and proceeded to take his own life....is that considered serving his country? No, it is cowardly.
Suppose he comes home on R/R (that's short for rest and relaxation for non military folks) and finds his GF with another guy and proceeded to take his own life....is that considered the military's fault? No, it is cowardly.
I have been in combat. I have had rounds fired off down dark alleys not knowing when one of them would wizz by me or in me. I have been yelled at by senior leadership when I was a junior soldier. I have been dropped for push-ups until my arms were spaghetti and I was sprawled on the ground waiting to hear the order "recover". I have awakened in the middle of the night hearing waste trucks emptying dumpsters while banging the lids and thinking I was in Mosul, Iraq with enemy mortars coming in. Too many run to the medical clinic or VA and desire a diagnosis of PTSD so they can get a hand-out. We need to mature as a society. Soldiers in WW1, WW2, the Korean conflict, etc didn't seem mentally affected like our generation and they had it 10x harder on the battlefield than soldiers today. Too much snibbling occurs over no AC, no TV, no internet on the battlefield, no candy, no cellular service, etc.
Do I know what motivated this fellow to take his own life; no I do not but it is a far stretch to blame the military for his immaturity since he was not in war.
BTW, the reason the suicide rate in the military is greater than that of the population is due to density. Comparing numbers equally, the military rate is much lower but the DOD amplifies it b/c it justifies greater spending needs. For instance, 1 suicide out of 1,000 personnel in the military would equal 1 out of 100,000 in the public. For the record, there are est. 136 suicides out of every 100,000 citizens. If you are active in the service, hang around a while and the picture will become clearer. I have been at the Pentagon where the "real" truth exists. Trust me.....whatever pulls sympathy and more Govt. funding is elevated to Congressional level. Right now, it happens to be wounded warriors and suicides. In time, it will change to seat belt or lip stick violations.
Lets get this straight T-Bone you are saying that nothing this soldier seen in his life as a soldier could have caused this?
So now your a psychiatrist ? You can "guess" all you want to at what pushed a person over the edge, but unless you know that person you taking guesses at what did it. Hardly worth posting about it here.
I'm a big guy and I can handle myself but punching someone just because they said something I didn't like is a sign of mental weakness, not physical strength.
I have seen first hand that not every soldier deals with the same situation the same way.
Now as for being in service and seeing active combat and maybe saying for example have a roadside bomb go off and kill the person beside you, that to me would be a life changing experience that I'm not sure how I would react to it. You would have to be in that persons shoes for the real answer.