Post-War Suicides May Exceed Combat Deaths, U.S. Says

[Bouncer]

May 5 (Bloomberg) -- The number of suicides among veterans of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may exceed the combat death toll because of inadequate mental health care, the U.S. government's top psychiatric researcher said.

Community mental health centers, hobbled by financial limits, haven't provided enough scientifically sound care, especially in rural areas, said Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland. He briefed reporters today at the American Psychiatric Association's annual meeting in Washington.

Full Story: Bloomberg.com: Science

[hitmansb]

That doesn't surprise me one bit. I had a friend who used to be in the army who's in business here in town, and while hanging out there he'd have a lot of his old army buddies stop in...so I got to meet quite a few of them. Almost all the guys who did a tour in Afghanistan were on antidepressants and chain-smoked...seemed all 'nervy'. His sister, who's a medic, told me a story about having to scrub bits of flesh and bone chips of of the side of their armored vehicle when they got back to camp after an ambush. I don't think you're ever the same after seeing shit like that.

[Bouncer]

i think a big part of it is landmines. they are popular in Afghanistan. you never know when you will hit one and the fear of the unknown is worse then combat itself.