Update: for more current information about the Texas killings, see Update about the killings in Texas, perhaps another crack in an Army near the breaking point.
This problem has deep roots, which the military knows and has taken steps to address. To learn about this, please see the following from the FM reference page: An Army near the Breaking Point – studies & reports, section I — Articles about the Army’s fitness, and the mental and physical fitness of its people:
News and DoD reports:
- “Defense Task Force on Domestic Violence“, Defense Task Force on Domestic Violence, 28 February 2001 — Last report of the 3 year project.
- “U.S. Army Isn’t Broken After All, Military Experts Say“, Fox News, 19 March 2008. This provides data suggesting that the US Army is in better shape than many believe. Of special note are the data they show in these nine charts.
- “Military check-up time“, Michael O’Hanlon, Washington Times, 4 May 2008 — O’Hanlon presents data that refutes widely held perception that the Army is breaking under the strain of the long war.
- “Reagan and the draft“, Lawrence Korb, Washington Times, 16 May 2008 — A powerful rebuttal to Michael O’Hanlon’s Washington Times article of 4 May.
- “Invisible Wounds of War“, RAND (2008) — “Psychological and Cognitive Injuries, Their Consequences, and Services to Assist Recovery”
- “America’s Medicated Army“, Time, 5 June 2008 — About the growing use of anti-depressants by US army personnel. Also see my post about this article.
- “Prescription Drugs and the U.S. Military — The War…on Drugs“, Melody Petersen, Men’s Health magazine, current issue (undated) — “Our Military is fielding one of the most heavily medicated fighting forces in the history of war. Our soldiers aren’t just fighting our enemies, they’re often also fighting their prescriptions.”
- “Alcohol abuse by GIs soars since ‘03“, USA Today, 19 June 2009
Posts on the FM website, mostly about DoD reports:
- 28 Articles: a guide to a successful insurgency against America, 7 May 2007 — About harassment and rape of women soldiers.
- “VA testing drugs on war veterans” – The Washington Times and ABC News, 18 June 2008
- Is post-traumatic stress disorder more common now than in past wars?, 17 July 2008
- Suicides skyrocket among US soliders, 26 March 2009
- Background info to the “U.S. Soldier Opens Fire on Comrades” incident, 12 May 2009
- Did exposure to “burn pits” in Iraq and Afghanistan harm our troops?, 1 July 2009
- Another important story about out army nearing the breaking point, 28 July 2009 — about the Ft Carson killings.
An update — summary of the above
The 15 articles listed above discuss the following subjects:
- Domestic violence, rape (2)
- Is the military breaking? (3; two yes, one no)
- Psychological and head injuries (3; only 1 is exclusively about PSTD)
- Excessive prescription of drugs by DoD (2)
- Alcohol abuse (1)
- VA testing drugs on soldiers (2)
- Incidents of violence (2)
Afterword
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