We need to listen to our soldiers

[Nambe]

According to U.S. Army reports, the suicide rate for American soldiers in Iraq is 17.3 per 100,000, nearly five times the rate for the Gulf War and 11 percent higher than for Vietnam. Clearly, the emotional casualties of this war are already extremely high, and it is likely that the longer troops remain in Iraq and Afghanistan, the worse they will get.

Many soldiers' first instinctive response to witnessing the horrors of war is to repress their feelings and never talk about them. Traditional prescriptions for men to be tough intensify the expectation that, no matter how soldiers suffer, they should handle it alone. As more women take on combat roles, the same expectations apply to them. So, having seen a buddy blown to bits or realizing that they have killed an Iraqi child, many soldiers choose to suffer in silence. Some do so to protect loved ones. Others fear the pain of telling their stories and not being understood.

Help for traumatized troops must really begin on the battlefront. Yet the military's response has been largely inadequate, even misguided. When soldiers have breakdowns in combat, military therapists give them a little rest and a chance to talk with a counselor, then send them back into the fray, rationalizing that this helps prevent ``survivor guilt.'' But sending psychologically fragile soldiers back into combat is wrongheaded; they'll likely feel guilt no matter what.

So we citizens must accept the social responsibility of telling returnees not only that we will listen, but that we will listen for as long as they want to talk about how it felt to be over there and how it feels to be back.

We need to tell them not to censor themselves for fear of upsetting us, offending our sensibilities, making us feel helpless to help them or making us angry at them. If we fail to do this, then we become complicit in concealing some of war's most devastating consequences. And to refuse to face these fully is to increase the chances that we will go to war again.

This is a short version of a letter the Eugene Register guard printed for us. Two of our returned soldiers have died here in Lane County in the last three weeks, largely unreported by family request. Cause of the deaths is still unknown. Like so many of our troops, these young men joined the guard for educational benefits before bush took power. For several reasons, many of these troubled vets cannot speak out against the war or it's creators. Their problems are mostly personal, not political so keeping conversations on a personal level is vital for their healing. Some have lost hope for humanity and their place in it. Encouraging debate about the politics of the war tends to open wounds, while inviting them to join in outdoor or community activities can be healing experiences, we are told.
Love's Peace,
Nambe

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. there are signs before suicide

problem is that talkking to these troops is extremely hard, yuo may need to organize a crisis intervention team, manned by fellow soldiers who are no longer in the service.