Here is a sad and little-publicized fact:
The American military has sustained 761 combat deaths in Afghanistan. In the same time period, 817 soldiers have committed suicide.
What is happening is nothing short of madness: multiple, consecutive tours of duty with no end in sight. I believe that the longer these men and women endure post-traumatic stress disorder, the more likely the option of suicide raises its head.
Because we have an all-volunteer force, the American public doesn’t get to see the damage and destruction of human lives war causes. If we had a draft, these horrible numbers would be more real.
We probably would have had more combat fatalities, but we would have been out of Afghanistan four years ago.
The suicide numbers are a tragedy everyone should be aware of and understand their awful implications.
Stephen R. Aucoin
Waterville
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