U.S Military plans to prevent veteran suicides by taking away their guns

J.G. Vibes

It has long been known that there are more veterans who end up committing suicide than there are who actually die on the battlefield. This fact has been so unsettling for many people in the mainstream because it exposes the true nature of what war is all about. When the people on the front lines are so depressed about what they have seen and what they have been forced to do, it opens up a whole list of questions that people in the US have been running from for over a decade. 

As of last month, 270 active-duty service members killed themselves this year alone, and half were from the Army. Instead of targeting the underlying psychological issues and traumatic memories that are pushing veterans towards suicide, the establishment has been putting forward false solutions that just cover up the symptoms, instead of addressing the causal factors behind the depression.

Video of Torture Hearing Released: On this Veterans Day, don't let the voices of soldiers like Sgt. Luther go silent

JOSHUAKORS

Some of war's most disturbing moments don't happen on the battlefield. Such was the case when Sergeant Chuck Luther sat before a Congressional committee and described how he was tortured by U.S. Army officials.

Luther had been confined to a closet at Camp Taji, Iraq. He was held there for over a month, under enforced sleep deprivation, until he agreed to sign documents saying his mortar fire wounds were caused by a pre-existing condition, making him ineligible for benefits.

Below is a video of Luther's testimony, as he lays out the graphic details of his torture. As a reporter who covers veterans' issues, I'm often asked what Americans can do to honor our soldiers. My answer: watch this video. Share it with your friends. Ask them to share it with theirs.

On this Veterans Day, don't let the voices of soldiers like Sgt. Luther go silent.

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Veteran Suicides Outnumber US Military Deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan: REPORT

Nadia Prupis
Truthout

More than 1,000 veterans in California under 35 died after returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan between 2005 and 2008 - three times as many California service members who were killed in conflict overseas, according to a recently published Bay Citizenreport.

Investigative journalist Aaron Glantz studied the cases of Reuben Paul Santos, Alex Lowenstein and Elijah Warren to shed light on a growing trend among Afghanistan and Iraq veterans who have died through high-risk behavior and suicide after being discharged. In particular, veterans who returned home to California died through motorcycle and motor vehicle accidents and unintentional poisoning; in addition, veterans were two and a half times as likely to commit suicide as Californians of the same age who had not served in the military.

Glantz, who has reported on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars since 2005, decided to focus on veterans in California because "it's important to look at our own community. [Santos] was this young man that was from a community that was literally right down the street. That's how silent this epidemic is."

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Immigrant vets face deportation despite service

Juliana Barbassa
Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — Up to 8,000 non-citizens enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces every year and serve alongside American troops.

If they die while serving, they are given citizenship and a military funeral. If they live and get in trouble with the law, they can get be ensnared by a 1996 immigration law that greatly expanded the list of crimes for which non-citizens can be deported.

Now advocates of non-citizen servicemen and women are trying to change the rules. Attorneys are taking cases to court, arguing that an immigrant who serves in the Armed Forces should be considered a U.S. national and protected from deportation. And the Armed Forces are considering quicker paths to citizenship for their non-citizen enlistees.

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