President Obama has said that eradicating Al Qaeda and the influences of the Taliban, shoring up the Afghan government and civil institutions, and addressing extremist threats in neighboring Pakistan are among his goals in the region.
In a speech at West Point on December 1, 2009, Obama said that he would be sending in 30,000 more troops, in addition to the 70,000 already in Afghanistan.
The president will start the process of bringing our troops home after 18 months.
As the surge continues, a homeless veteran’s shelter will open in Chicago to compensate for an increasing number of veterans. The shelter will serve to provide a safe, secure and stable environment.
I am a former U.S. Green Beret, a combat vet, and I was in a war zone for over 12 months.
The army has been criticized not only for its’ response to the increased number of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan who are suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome, but also for its’ response to the growing suicide rate.
Last week the army said that 218 suicides have been reported among active, National Guard and Army reserve soldiers this year. This number is up from the 177 suicides reported in 2008.
I recently learned that most soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder are six times more likely to commit suicide than those without.
The study conducted by Walter Reed Medical Center found that the more time soldiers spend at home, the lower the signs of posttraumatic stress, depression and anxiety will become. But it takes three years stateside for a full recovery.
The series of studies conducted by Walter Reed Medical Center have been following the mental health of soldiers since 2005, but this was the first report that looked at the impact of how much time soldiers spend in the United States between deployments. In addition to dwell time, the intensity of combat is also a prime driver of mental health problems.
The amount of time spent at home was even more important than the total amount of time deployed.
For example, soldiers who were deployed for one year and also spent one year at home between deployments reported more symptoms than those who were deployed in Iraq for two years and had spent two years at home between deployments.
The military personnel subcommittee said that the army’s ranks would have to swell to about 800,000 soldiers in order to expand the amount of time soldiers can spend at home a price the nation cannot afford right now.
Homelessness and divorce rates are increasing among soldiers. The Pentagon reported that out of 767,000 married servicemen and women, approximately 27,312 filed for divorce in the past two years.
During this past year, the military has responded to the growing trend through support services and counseling programs.
In 2001 when troops were initially deployed to Afghanistan and later in Iraq, the divorce rate among soldiers was at 2.6% and has been steadily increasing since then. Findings show that a greater number of women are being affected; there is a 7.7% divorce rate among female soldiers while their counterparts have a 3% divorce rate.
While a three to seven percent divorce rate may seem minimal compared to the forty to fifty percent among U.S. civilians, the steady rise in divorces among soldiers is a cause for concern.
In addition, these figures do not include divorce rates among returning veterans who are struggling to adjust to civilian life.
The U.S. military is the best fighting force in the world. However it’s time to reconsider our role in Afghanistan.
Our soldiers are the best-trained and best equipped fighting force in the world. We need to give our troops everything they need in order to win, so that they can come home.
Either we go big or we go home.
