Instead of focusing on a trolls denigration of marines, it might be better to focus on the problems of returning war vets and then make a decision to do something to help the situation
# of homeless veterans by state=195,827 (1 in 4 homeless are vets)
# of beds provided for homeless vets by VA=7700
www.nchv.org
# of returning war vets with PTSD=300,000+
# of war vet suicides have increased exponentially since 2003 and are 2 to 4 times the avg rate for non war vet citizens...
At least 6,256 US veterans took their lives in 2005, at an average of 17 a day, according to figures broadcast last night. Former servicemen are more than twice as likely than the rest of the population to commit suicide.
Such statistics compare to the total of 3,863 American military deaths in Iraq since the invasion in 2003 - an average of 2.4 a day, according to the website ICasualties.org.
The rate of suicides among veterans prompted claims that the US was suffering from a "mental health epidemic" often linked to post-traumatic stress.
The suicide rate among Americans as a whole was 8.9 per 100,000, but the level among veterans was at least 18.7. That figure rose to a minimum of 22.9 among veterans aged 20 to 24 almost four times the nonveteran average for people of the same age.
www.timesonline.co.uk
Army desertion rates up 80% since 2003
Updated 11/17/2007 5:16 AM
WASHINGTON (AP) Soldiers strained by six years at war are deserting their posts at the highest rate since 1980, with the number of Army deserters this year showing an 80% increase since the United States invaded Iraq in 2003.
www.usatoday.com
