Drugs to prevent US soldiers from bringing war back home

http://english.pravda.ru/world/americas/103559-1/

The Pentagon's 'Psychological Kevlar Act of 2007' puts forward the idea of using different drugs to insulate combat soldiers from the stressful psychological element of killing. Some have claimed that the move not only desensitises them to the horrendous aspect of war, but also maximises soldiers' lethality by bypassing their moral autonomy.


Drugs to prevent US soldiers from bringing war back home
Drugs to prevent US soldiers from bringing war back home




Pravda.Ru has interviewed Professor Richard J Aldrich, Department of Politics and International Studies University of Warwick, to find out more about this Pentagon’s initiative.

Pravda.Ru: How do you respond to this?

Richard J Aldrich : The so-called "Psychological Kevlar Act of 2007" is not quite what it seems. For decades, many governments have deliberately neglected the terrible impact of war on their young soldiers. Over a third of US servicemen returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are reporting serious psychological problems. In 2006, more than 6,000 US veterans committed suicide. This far more than are being killed in combat. British veterans groups claim that more soldiers have committed suicide after the Falklands War as a result of psychological problems than died in the fighting. Russian soldiers have suffered in a similar way after Chechyna and often return with 'the Chechen syndrome' which ruins their lives.


Pravda.Ru: Do you think that such measures by the Pentagon could lead to the increased violence rate in the US army?

Richard J Aldrich : The use of this drug is unlikely to lead directly to increased violence. There is no doubt that governments do want effective killing machines. But they prefer to use intensive training designed to override civilian instincts, rather than chemicals. However, if this drug proves successful it will make future military interventions easier. This is because it will reduce one of the highest costs of sending our forces to fight against insurgency, the social cost.
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Drugging our soldiers so they forget
This is awful

Find an actually believable source, and I'll be happy to give the story some consideration.

Redstone

http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/110_HR_3256.html
and yes Pravda just like CNN has a few credible stories

your not going to get these articles on Fox or CNN or ABC
H.R. 3256 would reduce post traumatic stress disorder and other combat-related stress disorders among military personnel.
they want to give drugs to our soldiers due to the high suicide rates

http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,122151,00.html?wh=wh
I first learned about the Psychological Kevlar Act early in 2006 when I was given a chance to offer some input as it was being planned. The full text of the bill is on Congress's website. The most innovative element of the Psychological Kevlar Act is the fact that it focuses on beefing up efforts to PREVENT the development of mental illness from combat stress exposure. Prevention will certainly save tax dollars, but more importantly, it will save military families a great deal of pain.

How can we prevent psychological injuries? Well, currently we teach our new Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, and Airmen how to take care of their bodies and equipment in combat. But we don't equip them with much in the way of psychological coping tools until just before they deploy. I believe that preventive mental health skills need to be taught from the moment they enter basic training. Learning "mental health first aid" right from the start would create a climate of awareness and reduce the stigma associated with seeking help later if it's needed. Taking care of their mental health would become just another thing they do, same as taking care of their physical health and their weapons, because all three elements are crucial to being an effective warfighter.

In the fall of 2006, the Psychological Kevlar Act, H.R. 6003, was introduced by Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI). As it made the rounds of Capitol Hill, a Vietnam vet I know, Michael Lund, wrote an editorial supporting the bill that was published in Virginia's Richmond Times-Dispatch newspaper. Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA) saw that editorial, became a co-sponsor, and made the bill bipartisan. That's an important step for any bill.

And one ordinary citizen, Michael, helped make it happen.

All of us can be like Mike. The Psychological Kevlar Act is going to be reintroduced in the new Congress. It may get a new name; it will definitely be assigned a new number. But it will still have the same goal of preventing and healing psychological injury.
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I put Pravda up because it was an interview with Aldrich
Its credible article

...a lot of soldiers will soon be self medicating themselves.

:rofl:

Pentagon, Big Pharma

Drug Troops to Numb Them to Horrors of War

By Penny Coleman

14/01/08 "AlterNet" - - - In June, the Department of Defense Task Force on Mental Health acknowledged "daunting and growing" psychological problems among our troops: Nearly 40 percent of soldiers, a third of Marines and half of National Guard members are presenting with serious mental health issues. They also reported "fundamental weaknesses" in the U.S. military's approach to psychological health. That report was followed in August by the Army Suicide Event Report (ASER), which reported that 2006 saw the highest rate of military suicides in 26 years. And last month, CBS News reported that, based on its own extensive research, over 6,250 American veterans took their own lives in 2005 alone -- that works out to a little more than 17 suicides every day.

That's all pretty bleak, but there is reason for optimism in the long-overdue attention being paid to the emotional and psychic cost of these new wars. The shrill hypocrisy of an administration that has decked itself in yellow ribbons and mandatory lapel pins while ignoring a human crisis of monumental proportion is finally being exposed.

On Dec. 12, Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, called a hearing on "Stopping Suicides: Mental Health Challenges Within the Department of Veterans Affairs." At that hearing suggestions were raised and conversations begun that hopefully will bear fruit.
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Its a serious issue not to be laughed at

Yeah, I'd say there's a difference.