War in Iraq

A Yellow Ribbon Magnet Will Make It All Better

Support the Troops, Bitches!

November 15, 2007; Washington, D.C. – NPR News is reporting that new figures from the Pentagon, obtained by NPR, show that since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began, substantially more troops have been discharged from the Army for behavior and discipline issues which are potentially related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other serious mental health conditions. The report from NPR correspondent Daniel Zwerdling is airing today on NPR News All Things Considered.

Based on numbers provided by the Army – comparing discharges roughly since the war in Iraq began to the same period before the war – Zwerdling reports that, since the war:

*40 percent more soldiers have been discharged for a personality disorder.

*Nearly 20 percent more soldiers have been discharged for misconduct.

*More than twice as many soldiers have been discharged for drug use (part of the misconduct category).

*In all, more than 28,000 soldiers have been discharged from the Army for a personality disorder and/or misconduct.

3 thoughts on “A Yellow Ribbon Magnet Will Make It All Better”

  1. Although I have no personal doubt that military training and deployment into a war zone by itself is enough to bring out latent disorders (not to mention the seige mentality, questions about the war, extended tours of duty, inadequate support from the military including a lack of necessary protective gear, and that many of these folks joined up in the Guard with the expectation that they would never be called oversease, etc. etc. etc.)
    I also have to question that if in weakening the selection criteria (physical, age, prior convictions, education) that the input to the system isn’t also allowing more people in who have latent problems?

  2. Well, you’re asking more or less normal people to engage in torture and random homicides on a regular basis. Why are you surprised when this causes mental issues?

  3. Wait ’til these ex-soldiers are let out on the streets of America–I guess that the pro-war supporters will just tie a yellow ribbon ’round that old oak tree.

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