For every veteran who commits suicide, how many attempt it? How many think of attempting it?

I guess that article partially answers that question--more than a quarter of soldiers had PTSD or TBI--and there must be many more who have one or the other but whom the military doesn't want to diagnose because of the disability claims.

It is a monstrous number.

and it's sad that it is far from a new reality.

Killing another human being. If that doesn't mess you up then there is something wrong with you. I'm surprised are are not more killing themselves, war can really mess you up.

That's how the US keeps the "wars of choice" behind the curtain of "volunteer". Sergeant Bates was 38 years old...old enough to be a grandfather. I spoke with a retail person this week whose daughter was just back from her 3rd tour ... approximately the same age ... she knows she could be sent back at any time.

War is not just hell, it is insanity.

Peace.

of casualties of war = 100%.

I think our government/corporations/MICC have doubled-down.

I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o' beer,
The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here."
The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:
O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";
But it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play,
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play.

I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,
But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, wait outside";
But it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide,
The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide,
O it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide.

Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap;
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.
Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?"
But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll.

We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;
While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, fall be'ind",
But it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind,
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
O it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind.

You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool -- you bet that Tommy sees!

I read a very sensitively written article about the high frequency of this
injury. Vets said when their friends where hit by an IED the first thing they
ask is if their genitals are intact. Medical technology has done an astounding
job with limbs, but this is something quite different. The article quoted the
suspected suicide rate and it was quite high. This happens much more frequently
than we realize.

Those that were in prior to 9/11 I do feel sorry for and they do need help however those that joined post 9/11 when it was clear that the military was nothing more than corporate muscle to protect profits and the troops were not keeping America free nor protecting America. I find it totally nonsensical to even remotely say they were/are protecting America.

I look at the post 911 military as nothing more than a mercenary force now, protecting corporate interests, not American so my level of actually caring about the troops is pretty much in the toilet now.

commit acts outside the Geneva Conventions is at the center of the rash of suicides.