Press missed the biggest issue on Graham's outburst

Senator Graham has no answer for hell he added to military sexual assault survivors
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
September 2, 2018

After reading some of my Republican friends lash out on social media today, it made me sick to my stomach. Then again, they are letting the political haze cloud their judgment to the point where they miss the biggest point of all. 

When I think of all the female veterans I have talked with over the last 30+ years, all I could think about was what they went through after being attacked by other service members who were supposed to be ready to die for them, but used that trust to attack them.

The press has ignored the worst part about Senator Graham's outburst yesterday. That is, the message he sent every member of the military about what he thinks about sexual assaults.

When he sat there and defended a man accused of sexual assaults, after listening to the woman tell what happened to her, he sent a shock wave throughout female veterans who have been subjected to this attitude for far too long.

Was he actually trying to say that sexual assaults were not crimes? Is that what he and many other Senators think?

What makes this worse is Graham was a Colonel in the Air Force.

Before being elected to Congress, Graham compiled a distinguished record in the United States Air Force as he logged six-and-a-half years of service on active duty as an Air Force lawyer. From 1984-1988, he was assigned overseas and served at Rhein-Main Air Force Base in Germany. Upon leaving active duty Air Force in 1989, Graham joined the South Carolina Air National Guard where he served until 1995. During the first Gulf War in the early 90's, Graham was called to active duty and served state-side at McEntire Air National Guard Base as Staff Judge Advocate where he prepared members for deployment to the Gulf region.

In 1995, Graham joined the U.S. Air Force Reserves. During American military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, Graham put his experience in military law to use pulling numerous short-term Reserve duties in both countries over congressional breaks and holidays.

Graham retired from the Air Force Reserves in June 2015 having served his country in uniform for 33 years. He retired at the rank of Colonel.

Lindsey Graham erupts during Kavanaugh hearing

When you consider the committees he serves on, it is even worse.

  This same senator serves on these committees

Lindsey Graham sits on the following committees:

Senate Committee on Appropriations
Chair, Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
Member, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
Member, Subcommittee on Department of Defense
Member, Subcommittee on Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies
Member, Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
Member, Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Chair, Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism
Member, Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights
Member, Subcommittee on the Constitution
Senate Committee on Armed Services
Member, Subcommittee on Cybersecurity
Member, Subcommittee on Personnel
Member, Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
Senate Committee on the Budget

And if you have not been paying attention to how huge sexual assaults are in the military, far worse than what we civilians deal with, here is a little bit more you should know.

The DOD released this

DoD Releases Annual Report on Sexual Assault in Military

---

WASHINGTON --The Defense Department today released its Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military, which shows that service member reporting of sexual assault increased by about 10 percent in fiscal year 2017.The increase in reporting occurred across all four military services.The report for fiscal 2017 says the department received 6,769 reports of sexual assault involving service members as either victims or subjects of criminal investigation, a 9.7 percent increase over the 6,172 reports made in fiscal 2016.The department encourages reporting of sexual assaults so that service members can be connected with restorative care and that perpetrators can be held appropriately responsible, Navy Rear Adm. Ann M. Burkhardt, the director of the Defense Department’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, told reporters."Every sexual assault in the military is a failure to protect the men and women who have entrusted us with their lives,” she said. "We will not rest until we eliminate this crime from our ranks."

Military.com released this

VA Must Prove to Women Vets That They Belong

Last month, a Department of Veterans Affairs Inspector General report revealed that roughly 1,300 claims for military sexual trauma were incorrectly processed and denied, leaving veterans suffering from PTSD without the benefits they deserve.

Military Times had to produce this

Sexual assault risk at your military base: Here’s a searchable database

So yes, as Senator Graham talked about the hell that he saw the accuser and the accused go through, he just added to the hell survivors of sexual assaults have been in while he had the power in the military and when he sat on the committees that were supposed to make it right for them.

They just heard him loud and clear. 

Too many years of Department of Defense being dense on rape

Ok, the latests claims from the DOD about addressing military sexual assaults/rape, are getting me angry for a reason and I am tired of explaining why. So here are just a few of the headlines on Wounded Times tracking these reports. Would be great if some journalists would actually do their own homework on what has happened before because frankly, the victims of these criminals deserve nothing less than the truth and a lot more time from reporters.

2007

Nearly 3,000 women reported last year that they were sexually assaulted while serving in the military, according to the Department of Defense's 2006 annual report on military sexual assault.

2008

Dept. of Veterans Affairs diagnosed 60,000 veterans with PTSD Women have comprised 11 percent of military force in Iraq and Afghanistan VA: 22 percent of women, 1 percent of men suffered sexual trauma in military Expert says women afraid to report sexual harassment for fear of retribution

It took Diane Pickel Plappert six months to tell a counselor that she had been raped while on duty in Iraq. While time passed, the former Navy nurse disconnected from her children and her life slowly unraveled.

Carolyn Schapper says she was harassed in Iraq by a fellow Army National Guard soldier to the extent that she began changing clothes in the shower for fear he'd barge into her room unannounced - as he already had on several occasions.

Even as women distinguish themselves in battle alongside men, they're fighting off sexual assault and harassment. It's not a new consequence of war. But the sheer number of women serving today - more than 190,000 so far in Iraq and Afghanistan - is forcing the military and Department of Veterans Affairs to more aggressively address it.

Women at War: When the enemy is one of your own Sexual assaults in the military are not new and have not been in the news enough. If we are ever going to stop the rapes and abuse in the military, it will require the decent males in the military to stand up and say those who commit these acts are traitors to the service. Women warriors should not have to worry about the enemy among them. Rape is a crime and those who commit it are criminals. Having a criminal in the ranks removes the trust and unit cohesion the military prides itself on. Gone are the days when women were in safe atmospheres far from danger. Gone are the days when they did not participate with males risking their lives.

2009

Pentagon’s Sexual Assault and Prevention Office taking women seriously The Pentagon on Friday launched a campaign to raise awareness of and prevent sexual assaults with a focus on what it calls “bystander intervention” — service members taking the initiative to step in when someone is about to be victimized. The campaign, dubbed “Our Strength is for Defending,” is running throughout April in tandem with National Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Military sexual assault victims raped twice, forced to pay for care The Department of Veterans Affairs will review the billing practices of veterans health centers around the country amid concerns that some are improperly charging for care relating to sexual assault in the military, officials said Wednesday.

The department is required to provide free care, including counseling and prescription drugs, to veterans who were sexually harassed or assaulted while in military service. Sexual assault includes rape and attempted rape.

But the Office of Inspector General at the department found this year that an outpatient clinic in Austin, Tex., had repeatedly charged veterans, mostly women, for those services. Based on concerns that the practice may be more widespread, the office decided to expand its review to a sampling of veterans health care centers and clinics nationwide.

2010

The Navy’s top brass wants commanders to “get uncomfortable” about sexual assaults, which are happening at the rate of more than one a day and to one in five female sailors during her career — mostly at the hands of other shipmates.

“A lot of it is blue on blue, sailor on sailor,” the Navy’s No. 2 officer, Vice Chief of Naval Operations Jonathan Greenert, said during a recent speech in San Diego.

“In your Navy and my Navy, that’s, to me, totally unsatisfactory. I have a problem even talking about it. It gets me irritated,” he said.

2011

DOD opens Safe Helpline for sexual assault victims

Female soldier raped, then tossed out for admitting she was gay?

2012

Fox News' Liz Trotta On Women Raped In Military: 'What Did They Expect? These People Are In Close Contact'

DoD plans sexual assault crime database

Rape Alleged At West Point, Annapolis

"We create the conditions that compel traumatized veterans to remain silent"

The claims made about the DOD taking steps to treat these crimes seriously did very little before so I am waiting to see if they finally get it right this time or not.

This Congress has learned nothing on military sexual assaults

UPDATE
December 27, 2013
Military Sexual Assault Reports Jump By 50 Percent

This Congress has learned nothing on military sexual assaults
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 26, 2013

First the news,

HONOLULU (AP) — President Barack Obama has signed into law a comprehensive defense bill that cracks down on sexual assault in the military.

The White House says Obama signed the bills Thursday while vacationing in Hawaii.

The bill provides $552.1 billion for the regular military budget, plus $80.7 billion for the Afghanistan war and other overseas operations. It gives military personnel a 1 percent pay raise, but also reflects deficit-driven efforts to trim spending and the drawdown in Afghanistan after more than a decade of fighting there.

The bill signing caps a yearlong campaign led by the women of the Senate to address the scourge of rape and sexual assault in the military. Under the bill, military commanders no longer will be permitted to overturn jury convictions for sexual assault.

Now the truth. We've heard it all before. Not by President Obama or this congress. But back in 2007 in a report going back to 2006.

Nearly 3,000 women reported last year that they were sexually assaulted while serving in the military, according to the Department of Defense's 2006 annual report on military sexual assault.

That was what the news was when a "new program" out of the "Cincinnati VA was getting national attention." You are not alone if you are wondering why after all these years we are where we are that a defense budget bill has to have sexual assault changes in it.

Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said in a Monday letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates that harassment and assault of military women, especially in combat zones, is a “scourge” that needs to be eliminated.

Casey is particularly interested in how the military handles complaints from women in the National Guard and reserve, whose cases may be harder to investigate than those of women on full-time active duty and in the federal civilian workforce.

Not this past Monday but back in 2008. Also reported by Reuters in 2008 was this piece of news.

Nearly 15 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans seeking medical care from the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department have suffered sexual trauma, from harassment to rape, researchers reported on Tuesday.

And these veterans were 1.5 times as likely as other veterans to need mental health services, the report from the VA found.

But if you not adequately angry by now, this should drop your jaw.

V.A. Plans Review of Billing for Care in Sexual Assaults
By JAMES DAO
Published: May 6, 2009

The Department of Veterans Affairs will review the billing practices of veterans health centers around the country amid concerns that some are improperly charging for care relating to sexual assault in the military, officials said Wednesday.

The department is required to provide free care, including counseling and prescription drugs, to veterans who were sexually harassed or assaulted while in military service. Sexual assault includes rape and attempted rape.

But the Office of Inspector General at the department found this year that an outpatient clinic in Austin, Tex., had repeatedly charged veterans, mostly women, for those services. Based on concerns that the practice may be more widespread, the office decided to expand its review to a sampling of veterans health care centers and clinics nationwide.

An official in the office declined to comment, saying it does not discuss pending reviews. The official said the review would be made public when it was completed, possibly by October.

In a statement, the Department of Veterans Affairs said the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, which oversees the Austin clinic, was reimbursing patients who had been improperly billed. “Patients seen for military sexual trauma should not be billed for payment,” the statement said. “We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused.”

Can we please stop pretending that things are going to change?

DOD discharging victims of sexual assaults under personality disorders

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
May 27, 2014

Members of Congress pretended military sexual assaults were taken seriously for too many years for it to still be this bad.

Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said in a Monday letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates that harassment and assault of military women, especially in combat zones, is a “scourge” that needs to be eliminated.

Casey is particularly interested in how the military handles complaints from women in the National Guard and reserve, whose cases may be harder to investigate than those of women on full-time active duty and in the federal civilian workforce.

In the letter, Casey said he knows the military is trying to do more, but added: “I am still very troubled by a process that may dissuade many victims from ever coming forward with claims.”
(Senator: DoD must eliminate sexual assaults, By Rick Maze - Staff writer, Jul 14, 2008)

That was 2008, followed by this in 2009 when a female soldier went to a Chaplain after being raped and was told it must have been God's will for it to happen to her.

In February 2009, she reported for active duty training and, upon seeing her rapist, went into shock.

"She immediately sought the assistance of the military chaplain," the lawsuit reads. "When SGT Havrilla met with the military chaplain, he told her that 'it must have been God's will for her to be raped' and recommended that she attend church more frequently."

The complains adds that "SGT Havrilla suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic depression."

Followed by this in 2011

The House Armed Services Committee adopted a series of new protections when it passed the 2012 defense authorization bill last week, and similar legislation was introduced Wednesday in the Senate by Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Susan Collins, R-Maine.

Rep. Niki Tsongas, D-Mass., one of the cosponsors of the House sexual assault provisions, said introduction of a Senate bill “will help move this legislation closer to becoming law.”

The House and Senate initiatives are similar, drawn from recommendations of the 2009 final report of the Defense Task Force on Sexual Assault in the Military Services to fix flaws in the rights and legal protections for assault victims.

Just a refresher for you to consider when you read the latest news out of Congress and the DOD,

Lawmaker claims Pentagon using new diagnosis to drive out sex assault accusers
FoxNews.com
Published May 27, 2014

Supporters said one in three women leaving the military report experiencing sexual trauma while in the service, but less than 14 percent of sexual assaults in the military are reported to authorities, and only about 8 percent of reported sexual assaults in the military are prosecuted.

Lawmakers have expressed fears that the Defense Department is using a new disorder diagnosis to remove accusers in sexual assault cases from the military.

Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., has accused the Pentagon of diagnosing troops who report that they were sexually assaulted with adjustment disorder and having them discharged. Speier told the Times that the practice is a new tactic for the military, which previously diagnosed service members tied to sexual assault cases with personality disorder.

"It’s like a 'Whac-A-Mole,'" Speier told the paper. "Every time we shut them down on something, they'll find a way around it."

The Times report cites a study from Yale University Law School that reports that the number of discharges due to personality disorder dropped from more than 1,200 in fiscal year 2007 to just over 100 in fiscal year 2009. Over the same period, the paper says, adjustment disorder discharges increased sevenfold.
read more here

More Talk Out of Congress On Military Sexual Assaults?

House passes bill urging VA to change military sexual assault regulations
The Hill
By Cristina Marcos
July 27, 2015

The House passed legislation on Monday that calls on the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to define military sexual assault as a service-connected cause of mental health disorders.

Passed by voice vote, the bill directs the VA to report to Congress every year on the number of claims for disability compensation based on a mental health condition allegedly caused by military sexual trauma.

The report would have to include the average number of days to process the claims and a description of the training provided to Veterans Benefits Administration employees who are processing the claims.

“We owe it to our veterans who are subject to personal assaults during their military service to ensure that the VA expeditiously and accurately processes mental health claims for conditions related to [military sexual assault], such as depression, anxiety or PTSD,” said House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller (R-Fla.).
read more here


Seriously? And when do they plan on doing that instead of just talking about it?

2007

Healthy Living Report: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

But it's not just the bombs and gunfire that threaten their lives. Nearly 3,000 women reported last year that they were sexually assaulted while serving in the military, according to the Department of Defense's 2006 annual report on military sexual assault.

And now, the Cincinnati VA is getting national attention for a new program to help them recover.

2008

Female veterans report more sexual, mental trauma, CNN
Story Highlights
Dept. of Veterans Affairs diagnosed 60,000 veterans with PTSD
Women have comprised 11 percent of military force in Iraq and Afghanistan
VA: 22 percent of women, 1 percent of men suffered sexual trauma in military
Expert says women afraid to report sexual harassment for fear of retribution

In 2007, the Department of Veterans Affairs found that women are reporting signs of mental health issues when they return home at a higher rate than their male counterparts.

Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said in a Monday letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates that harassment and assault of military women, especially in combat zones, is a “scourge” that needs to be eliminated.

Casey is particularly interested in how the military handles complaints from women in the National Guard and reserve, whose cases may be harder to investigate than those of women on full-time active duty and in the federal civilian workforce.

Of the women veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan who have walked into a VA facility, 15 percent have screened positive for military sexual trauma, The Associated Press has learned. That means they indicated that while on active duty they were sexually assaulted, raped, or were sexually harassed, receiving repeated unsolicited verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature.

Yep more smoke and mirrors out of Congress,

2010
Women vets' secret war: Sexual trauma

66,342 female veterans report assaults from 2002 to 2008 -- by their band of brothers.

By KIM ODE, Star Tribune Last update: December 17, 2010 - 11:32 PM

Judy VanVoorhis knew that some men thought she had no business serving in the National Guard. How? She smiled fleetingly. "They told me." The military world often lacks the nuance of civilian life.

She had enlisted in 1985 and moved steadily through the ranks, becoming an instructor at an officer training school. In 1999, while at a conference, a group of instructors went out for supper.

"One guy seemed like he was trying to get everyone drunk, without drinking too much himself," she recalled. "I left, but he cornered me and tried to kiss me and I said I wasn't interested."

It has just gotten worse but they still haven't figured out we have been paying attention and noticed the truth behind the smoke and mirrors. Another election year and more talk about doing absolutely nothing at all! They want their jobs back even though they never did anything to earn your votes.

Military Sexual Assaults Not Forgotten By Vicims

We have unlimited access to knowledge today but if we settle for what some folks want us to know, we won't know much at all. That is the basis behind one issue veterans face after another. Some want to believe PTSD only hits the OEF and OIF veterans. That way they won't have to take a look at how many years this has all been going on while members of congress make a bunch of bullshit speeches that allow bad to turn into worse.

We also see it going on even know with speeches about military sexual assaults, as if anything has changed.

Never settle for what we're being told today without wondering how it got this bad. Reporters have a nasty habit of forgetting who did what and when they did it. Nothing will get fixed unless we really hold folks accountable. Never stop asking questions and when you get the answer, ask for more.

In 2012 there was a case where a female veteran had been waiting years for justice. How long? 50 years!

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A former Marine is coming forward with a painful secret.
An 80-year-old Portland woman says she was raped during her military service — and has been fighting ever since for the veterans benefits she says she deserves.

If you want to know why female veterans are fed up with what has been coming out of congress, begin with understanding this betrayal is far from new. All of these stories are on Wounded Times and when possible the link to the source is provided, still active and you can read the entire story.

2008

Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said in a Monday letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates that harassment and assault of military women, especially in combat zones, is a “scourge” that needs to be eliminated.

Casey is particularly interested in how the military handles complaints from women in the National Guard and reserve, whose cases may be harder to investigate than those of women on full-time active duty and in the federal civilian workforce.

In the letter, Casey said he knows the military is trying to do more, but added: “I am still very troubled by a process that may dissuade many victims from ever coming forward with claims.”

From Reuters

Nearly 15 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans seeking medical care from the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department have suffered sexual trauma, from harassment to rape, researchers reported on Tuesday.

And these veterans were 1.5 times as likely as other veterans to need mental health services, the report from the VA found.

2009 New York Times James Dao, veterans had to pay after being assaulted.

The department is required to provide free care, including counseling and prescription drugs, to veterans who were sexually harassed or assaulted while in military service. Sexual assault includes rape and attempted rape.

But the Office of Inspector General at the department found this year that an outpatient clinic in Austin, Tex., had repeatedly charged veterans, mostly women, for those services. Based on concerns that the practice may be more widespread, the office decided to expand its review to a sampling of veterans health care centers and clinics nationwide.

An official in the office declined to comment, saying it does not discuss pending reviews. The official said the review would be made public when it was completed, possibly by October.

In a statement, the Department of Veterans Affairs said the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, which oversees the Austin clinic, was reimbursing patients who had been improperly billed. “Patients seen for military sexual trauma should not be billed for payment,” the statement said. “We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused.”

From RawStory report of 2011 based on what happened in 2009 when a female soldier was told by a military Chaplain the rape was God's will.

In February 2009, she reported for active duty training and, upon seeing her rapist, went into shock.

"She immediately sought the assistance of the military chaplain," the lawsuit reads. "When SGT Havrilla met with the military chaplain, he told her that 'it must have been God's will for her to be raped' and recommended that she attend church more frequently."

2011
From Army Times

The House Armed Services Committee adopted a series of new protections when it passed the 2012 defense authorization bill last week, and similar legislation was introduced Wednesday in the Senate by Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Susan Collins, R-Maine.

Rep. Niki Tsongas, D-Mass., one of the cosponsors of the House sexual assault provisions, said introduction of a Senate bill “will help move this legislation closer to becoming law.”

The House and Senate initiatives are similar, drawn from recommendations of the 2009 final report of the Defense Task Force on Sexual Assault in the Military Services to fix flaws in the rights and legal protections for assault victims.

Supporters said one in three women leaving the military report experiencing sexual trauma while in the service, but less than 14 percent of sexual assaults in the military are reported to authorities, and only about 8 percent of reported sexual assaults in the military are prosecuted.

2012 From Huffington Post

A U.S soldier committed a violent sex crime every six hours and 40 minutes in 2011, a rate far above that of the general population, the report found.

"This is unacceptable. We have zero tolerance for this," Gen. Peter Chiarelli, Army vice chief of staff, said at a press conference Thursday. "Army leaders take sexual assault seriously."

Chiarelli said the Army was confronting the problem by stepping up surveillance of barracks and cracking down on drug and alcohol abuse, a key factor in sexual assault.

CNN reported that women were being discharged under "personality disorders"

Stephanie Schroeder joined the U.S. Marine Corps not long after 9/11. She was a 21-year-old with an associate's degree when she reported for boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina.

"I felt like it was the right thing to do," Schroeder recalls.

A year and a half later, the Marines diagnosed her with a personality disorder and deemed her psychologically unfit for the Corps.

Anna Moore enlisted in the Army after 9/11 and planned to make a career of it. Moore was a Patriot missile battery operator in Germany when she was diagnosed with a personality disorder and dismissed from the Army.

Jenny McClendon was serving as a sonar operator on a Navy destroyer when she received her personality disorder diagnosis.

These women joined different branches of the military but they share a common experience: Each received the psychiatric diagnosis and military discharge after reporting a sexual assault.

2013

Earlier in the month, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr., D-Pa., was one of the first to call for action in light of the Pentagon’s Fiscal Year 2012 Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military.

“I am deeply outraged that today’s report released by the Pentagon indicates that sexual assault continues to be so prevalent today in our military,” Casey said in a May 7 statement.

And here we are after all these years.

2014 December report from the Washington Post

A recent VA survey found that 1 in 4 women said they experienced sexual harassment or assault. WASHINGTON — Thousands of female veterans are struggling to get health care and compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs on the grounds that they suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder caused by sexual trauma in the military.

The veterans and their advocates call it the second battle — with a bureaucracy they say is stuck in the past.

Judy Atwood-Bell was just a 19-year-old Army private when she was locked inside a barracks room at Fort Devens in Massachusetts, forced to the cold floor, and raped by a fellow soldier, she said.

For more than two decades, Atwood-Bell fought for an apology and financial compensation for PTSD, with panic attacks, insomnia, and depression that she recalls starting soon after that winter day in 1981.

She filled out stacks of forms in triplicate and then filled them out again, pressing over and over for recognition of the harm that was done.

And the Pentagon released data on Dec. 4 that showed that 62 percent of those who reported being sexually assaulted had experienced retaliation or ostracism afterward.

They have been waiting for someone to change things so that more victims won't have to remember what we've been allowed to forget.

Military Sexual Assaults Cost More Than $872 Million

Military Sexual Assaults Cost More Than $872 Million
By DAVID FRANCIS
The Fiscal Times
April 30, 2013

The Veterans Affairs department spent almost $872 million in 2010 to deal with the health impacts of sexual assaults on former military personnel.

This figure is based on the $10,880 dollars the Veterans Administration spends to treat each sexual assault victim after he or she leaves the service. The $872 million does not include costs for victims still in the military.

In 2011, the last year that information on sexual assaults is available, 3,192 cases were reported to Pentagon brass. Former defense secretary Leon Panetta estimated nearly 20,000 occur each year within the military. According to a 2011 military health survey, one in five soldiers said they had been touched inappropriately since joining.

It’s not clear how much the Pentagon spends dealing with these attacks. But because of the nature of how the military deals with sexual assault allegations, it’s likely that it costs the Pentagon tens of millions of dollars.
read more here

Veterans conference examines military sexual trauma

How many more years does it take to fix this and end military sexual assaults?

2007
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and women after sexual attacks

2008
Female veterans report more sexual, mental trauma

2009
DoD: Sexual assault reports increased in 2008

You can find more under military sexual assaults and discover how many of these reports have come out claiming they were doing something about all of this, but the truth is, what they have done, just like everything else, has not worked.

So here we go again.

Veterans conference examines military sexual trauma
Seacoast Online
By Suzanne Laurent
October 19, 2013

PORTSMOUTH — It's a topic that is usually at the end of the day, pushed back at the bottom of the agenda during conferences for veterans, said Jo Moncher, bureau chief of community based military programs with the state's Department of Health and Human Services.

Moncher was talking about military sexual trauma, or MST, a real problem that is under-reported. “Today, it's up high on the agenda,” she said at the fourth annual Seacoast Veterans Conference held Saturday at Service Credit Union's corporate office on Lafayette Road.

She turned the floor over to Judith Lambert-Messier, a licensed social worker and military sexual trauma coordinator at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Manchester.

“We've been collecting statistics for the past 10 years,” Lambert-Messier said. “But this is not a new problem. We've seen veterans from their mid-20s to their 80s, so it goes back at least 60 years.”

About one in five women and one to two out of 100 men have told their veterans health care provider that they experienced sexual trauma in the military.

“Although women experience MST in higher proportions than do men, because of the large number of men in the military there are significant numbers of men and women who have experienced this,” Lambert-Messier said. “In New Hampshire, there are an equal number of men and women that are MST survivors.”

She said most victims are very young in their late teens or early 20s and that it mostly goes unreported because of fear of repercussions.
read more here

Army and Congress Efforts on Rape Make it Worse for Victims Still

In the war against sexual assault, the Army keeps shooting itself in the foot
Washington Post
By Craig Whitlock
December 19, 2015

FORT STEWART, Ga. — To mark the end of Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April, the 188th Infantry Brigade held a potluck luncheon here at the largest Army installation east of the Mississippi River. The deputy commander reminded his soldiers they were all “responsible for bringing an end to sexual assault and harassment,” according to the brigade’s Facebook account.

What most of the soldiers didn’t know was that the deputy commander, Lt. Col. Michael D. Kepner II, was himself facing court-martial on charges that he had sexually harassed and assaulted a female lieutenant on his staff.

Despite repeated complaints from the victim and other officers, Kepner’s chain of command violated Army rules and allowed him to stay in a leadership post for at least eight months while he was under criminal investigation, internal Army emails and memos show. He later pleaded guilty to some of the charges and is serving time in a military prison.
read more here

Well, Congress is trying to do something about it, or kind-of-sort-of.

A Pennsylvania lawmaker who says he continues to hear many complaints about sexual harassment and abuse from women who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan wants the Defense Department to do more to stop mistreatment and provide more care for victims.

Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said in a Monday letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates that harassment and assault of military women, especially in combat zones, is a “scourge” that needs to be eliminated.

Dose that sound like something new? It isn't. It was reported by Army Times way back in 2008. 

Congress followed up by holding, you guess it, another hearing on what they thought was such a serious issue they had to get someone to account for all of it. Dr. Kaye Whitley didn't show up.

“It’s an oversight hearing on sexual assault in the military. As such, we thought it was proper to hear from the director of the Defense Department’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office. ... Inexplicably, the Defense Department — and you, apparently — have resisted.”

So, Congress held another hearing since Whitley was "director of the office of sexual assault prevention and response."

By January of 2009 the DOD announced it was "expanding its attention to sexual abuse cases by adding prosecutors, rearranging its criminal investigative unit and stepping up training to change behavior.

"Geren approved the hiring of 15 new prosecutors and five prosecutor trainers for the Army’s Judge Advocate General Corps (JAG). The JAG also will hire seven experts in sexual assault litigation training to help prosecutors and train Army lawyers around the world."

What we soon learned was that the "seriousness" of those efforts didn't really turn out to be true at all. As a matter of fact, Military sexual assault victims raped twice, forced to pay for care.

But the Office of Inspector General at the department found this year that an outpatient clinic in Austin, Tex., had repeatedly charged veterans, mostly women, for those services. Based on concerns that the practice may be more widespread, the office decided to expand its review to a sampling of veterans health care centers and clinics nationwide.

But even Chaplains were not taking any of this seriously.

In February 2009, she reported for active duty training and, upon seeing her rapist, went into shock.

"She immediately sought the assistance of the military chaplain," the lawsuit reads. "When SGT Havrilla met with the military chaplain, he told her that 'it must have been God's will for her to be raped' and recommended that she attend church more frequently."

Another young victim was tossed out after she was raped.

"admitted to the investigator taking her statement that she’d been socializing the previous night at an officer’s club, got drunk, and accepted a ride from a man whom she’d only just met.

The officer sounded skeptical. You went with this man to a hotel, she remembers the officer saying, and you want me to believe that it wasn’t consensual?

Then, before the young private had time to think it through, she blurted out the words she’d been warned never to say in the military: “I’m gay…”

Eight weeks later, plagued by anxiety and flashbacks, she was ordered to pack her bags and was handed a plane ticket home. Her discharge sheet read: “homosexual admission.”

Should remove any doubt as to why most of these "assaults" were not reported.

The Defense Department has estimated that 86 percent of sexual assaults go unreported, an indication that some women are worried about the effect reporting an assault may have on their career and that they mistrust the military prosecution system. Nearly 3,200 sexual assaults were reported in the military last year.

Because even when they did try to get justice, tried to get Congress to actually act for their sake, they were just left to worry what would happen to them afterwards could be worse than the rape itself.

FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- A former subordinate to an Army general facing sex crimes charges testified Tuesday that the general started an affair with her in Iraq and later threatened to kill her and her family if she told anyone. The woman says she was honored at first by the attention from Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair, who she said was highly regarded. They first had sex in 2008 at a forward operating base in Iraq, she said. "I was extremely intimated by him. Everybody in the brigade spoke about him like he was a god," she said. The AP does not name victims of alleged sexual assaults.

Four Years, 20,300 Military Sexual Assaults?

More Than 20K Alleged Sex Assaults at Military Bases Over 4 Years: DoD

Military.com

Richard Sisk

November 17, 2017

More than 20,300 allegations of sexual assaults at military installations worldwide have been reported over the last four years, the Defense Department said Friday.

In a report listing the bases for each service, DoD's Sexual Assault and Prevention Office (SAPRO) said that Army installations received a total of 8,284 allegations of sexual assault from fiscal 2013 through fiscal 2016; the Navy, 4,788; the Marine Corps ,3,400; and the Air Force, 3,876.

The Army post with the most reports of sexual assaults in fiscal 2016 was Fort Hood, Texas, with 199; the most in the Navy in fiscal 2016 was Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, with 270; and the most in the Marine Corps that year was 169 at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

In the Air Force, the installation with the most allegations of sexual assault in fiscal 2016 was the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado, with 44 reports.

In fiscal 2016, there were 24 reports of sexual assault at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and 24 at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, SAPRO said.

The total of 20,348 reports of sexual assaults for the four years included both "restricted" and "unrestricted" allegations, SAPRO said.

read more here

I'm sure Congress will take this seriously again. Just like they have done over the last ten years!

BS on Military Sexual Assaults When Congress Made Payouts for Their Own

Members of Congress need to be removed if they approved of coverup!
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 10, 2017

The Department of Defense reported there were 3,000 women sexually assaulted in 2006. By 2008, Senator Bob Casey said that harassment and assault of military women, especially in combat ones, is a "scourge" that needs to be eliminated. No one said when they actually planned on treating this as a crime.

Given the fact recent reports of payouts happening when members of Congress have regarded assaulting women as something ok with them, no need to wonder why nothing has been done to protect women from other service members.

(CNN)Two things have become painfully clear on Capitol Hill this week: Lawmakers and staffers say sexual harassment is "rampant" -- but even members of Congress have no idea just how widespread the problem is.

On Thursday, the Office of Compliance released additional information indicating that it has paid victims more than $17 million since its creation in the 1990s. That includes all settlements, not just related to sexual harassment, but also discrimination and other cases. 

By 2008, the GAO reported that 52% of service members who had been assaulted, had not reported it. They did the research from just 14 installations.

Women at War: When the enemy is one of your own was a followup to the video I did back in 2006.  
There are more, but you get the idea.

Now, take a look at what was just reported about Fort Bragg.

Fort Bragg leaders say recent Pentagon data ranking the installation among the highest for reports of sexual assaults reflect in part their efforts to combat the crimes for which they have zero tolerance. 

Still, advocates for veterans and sexual assault victims believe the military needs to do more to address the problem, including how cases are handled at installations and the reluctance of some victims to report assaults. 

Fort Bragg, as the nation’s largest military installation, has been at the forefront of the Department of Defense’s efforts to prevent sexual assault for years, officials said. Now, comprehensive sexual assault data from all installations, released for the first time, is bringing the issue into focus. 

Even as many local troops have been deployed around the world to help fight the nation’s enemies, the data shows the on-going fight against sexual assault in the military that is taking place on the home front. 

And for the first time, it reveals installation-specific data. In past years, the Pentagon had instead released aggregated numbers for each branch of service. 

The latest data shows four years worth of reports across more than 200 installations, both large and small, from 2013 to 2016.At Fort Bragg and Pope Field, the Pentagon says 156 sexual assault reports were made in last year. The number of reports for the installation has risen each of the past four years.

The title of the news report is 

"Fort Bragg leaders respond to sexual assault data"

What should the headline be when members of Congress are forced to explain why this was all ok to them while they were telling the public a totally different story? 


UPDATE

Current and former cadets speak out on sexual assault at Air Force Academy

UPDATE

Fifty-six female Democratic lawmakers ask House to investigate Trump sexual misconduct claims

Former Air Force Academy official alleges sexual assault cover-ups

Army's answer to military sexual assaults, simulate them

Army's answer to military sexual assaults, simulate them! WTF! Are they letting 18 year olds design these "programs" without adult supervision or what? This same company Will Interactive is tied to Comprehensive Soldier Fitness and you can find more on their site plus US Army Training and Doctrine Command

Army employs video game to help curb sex assaults; critics call it 'affront'
By Bill Briggs
NBC News contributor
April 10, 2013

The Army is using an interactive video game to train soldiers how to prevent sexual assaults in the ranks, and the technology has proven so popular, the branch just ordered a sequel, according to a spokesman for the company behind the video.

But advocates for military-rape survivors vilify the video — and the philosophy behind it — as “a waste of taxpayer dollars,” an “affront to victims of sexual assault” and a tool “of limited value.”

Titled “Team-Bound,” the program streams laptop-generated scenarios, allowing users to assume the roles of a male or female specialist who witness on-base sexual harassments and eventually — at a bar favored by soldiers — the warning signs of an alcohol-induced date rape. Players must choose multiple responses throughout the episodes then watch the consequences of either intervening or ignoring the observed behaviors.

If the video’s users pick passive reactions, an intoxicated female private is eventually raped in an Army barracks after leaving the bar with an aggressive, male private. In the video, the victim is shown ultimately reporting the attack then opting to leave the service, prompting an Army official to tell viewers: “A life damaged, a career ended, a unit falling apart. But it didn’t have to be this way. All you had to do was stand up and be strong.”
read more here

Senator Bill Nelson takes on sexual attacks in war

I have to say that I am finally happy to get an email update that really means something from Senator Nelson. Sorry but I have a few bones to pick with his Orlando office. I visited there a couple of years ago and offered my help with veterans. Never heard from them. Two weeks ago, I sent them a letter letting them know I was a Chaplain and again, offering my help with veterans in this area. Again, have not heard from them. You'd think they would be interested in doing something to help the veterans in Florida with PTSD enough they would have been at least interested enough in asking me a few question to see if I knew what I was talking about, but no, they must not have the time. Anyway, this was a pleasant surprise. It's a pretty powerful email about what is happening to too many women.

April 9, 2008
Dear Kathie,
Today I chaired a hearing on the failure of our government to prosecute cases of sexual assault committed against American women working for defense contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan. Two brave women, both formerly KBR employees, gave disturbing testimony about the assaults they suffered, and then we questioned representatives from the Department of Defense, the State Department, and the Department of Justice why these—and other similar assaults—are not being prosecuted.

I hope you will take a moment to read the news release below and the two related articles from ABC News. You can also link to my website and watch or listen to the hearing. A fundamental breakdown of justice has occurred and it must be corrected.A fundamental breakdown of justice has occurred and it must be corrected.

Women Tell Of Brutal Assaults In Iraq That Go Unpunished


Washington, D.C. - The federal government hasn't tried any cases involving sexual assaults against women who work for contractors in Iraq or Afghanistan, despite a 2000 law giving that authority to the Department of Justice.

That information emerged this morning in often-emotionally charged testimony before a U.S. Senate Foreign Relations panel headed by Florida Democrat Bill Nelson. Since last fall, Nelson has been pressuring federal agencies about unpunished sexual assaults in the war zones, following a Florida woman's report that she was attacked while working in Iraq for a defense contractor.

Another disturbing piece of information that emerged in testimony this morning was that the victims of sexual assault in the war zone felt pressured to sweep the incidents under the rug.

"I am unaware of any measures to date being taken against the KBR employee or the member of the U.S. military who attacked me," Dawn Leamon said in remarks presented to the subcommittee. "I hope that by telling my story here today, I can keep what happened to me from happening to anyone else."

Leamon, who has two sons who served as soldiers in the war zones, worked for Halliburton's former subsidiary KBR. She says she was sexually assaulted just two months ago by a KBR coworker and a U.S. soldier at a remote military base near Basra, in Iraq. Her testimony marked the first time she has identified herself in public. Leamon was one of two victims to testify today.

Another KBR employee, Mary Beth Kineston, said in her testimony, "I also expected that when I made a complaint about such activity, it would be thoroughly investigated in good faith, that is, with an intent to resolve the problem immediately, and that I would be protected from the perpetrator in the meantime. I can assure this committee that none of my expectations about KBR were fulfilled."

"I'm in a war zone - and, I have to worry about being attacked by my coworkers," Kineston testified, recounting how she was raped in the cab of her truck by the driver of a vehicle that was parked behind her tanker as they waited one night to fill up with water from the Tigris River.

According to figures supplied by the Pentagon, more than two dozen U.S. civilians have reported sexual assaults. The Defense Department's inspector general said it has investigated 742 sexual assault cases during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Most involved members of the military and at least 26 involved American civilians.

But the Justice Department has only sparingly used the 2000 law intended to protect Americans working as contractors in the war zone. In fact, there have been no convictions in a sexual assault of a U.S. civilian in Iraq or Afghanistan. In prepared testimony, Sigal P. Mandelker, deputy attorney general of the Justice Department's criminal division, said officials have brought charges in five sex cases, with four successful convictions.

The convictions were for sexual abuse of a minor by a Defense Department civilian employee in Japan; child pornography crimes by defense contractors in Iraq and Qatar; and, abusive sexual contact by a Pentagon contractor against a soldier in Iraq. An indictment has been delivered in the fifth case, but Mandelker in her testimony did not provide details on that case, citing privacy, confidentiality and court-ordered restrictions.

"The bottom line is that American women working in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to be assaulted while their assailants continue to go free," Nelson said. "Either the U.S. government has the authority to prosecute contractors for sexual assault and is failing to do so, or it doesn't have the authority or resources it needs and hasn't come to Congress. Either way, it is a travesty.

"We've got a problem that justice is breaking down here," said Nelson, who chaired Wednesday's hearing of the International Operations and Organizations, Democracy and Human Rights Subcommittee.

Following are two abc NEWS accounts this morning:



Military Mom Says She Was Brutally Raped in Iraq
Dawn Leamon, Who Alleges She Was Raped by Two Men, Will Tell Her Story on Capitol Hill

By MADDY SAUER
April 9, 2008—

Yet another woman has come forward saying she was brutally raped in Iraq while working for the U.S. contractor Kellogg Brown Root (KBR).

Dawn Leamon, who has two sons on active duty, says she was raped earlier this year by a U.S. soldier and a KBR colleague.

She will tell her horrific story to members of Congress today at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

Leamon says that following her rape, she spoke with a woman at the KBR Employee Assistance Program. "She discouraged me from reporting, saying, 'You know what will happen if you do,'" Leamon said.

Leamon says KBR then assigned full-time security guards to her which gave her no privacy to talk about the incident, and her movements around camp were restricted, yet her attackers' movements were unrestricted.

"KBR did little or nothing to restore my sense of safety after I reported being raped," said Leamon.

KBR released the following statement to ABC News this morning. "First and foremost, KBR in no way condones or tolerates sexual harassment. Each employee is expected to adhere to the Company's Code of Business Conduct, and when violations occur, appropriate action is taken. Any reported allegation of sexual harassment or sexual assault is taken seriously and thoroughly investigated. KBR's top priority is the safety and security of all employees, and our commitment in that regard is unwavering."

Also at today's hearing, for the first time the Department of Justice is slated to answer questions on the investigation and prosecution of alleged sex crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. No one has yet been charged in Leamon's case.

Last December, the department declined to send an official to testify before the House Judiciary Committee hearing on law enforcement efforts to protect U.S. contractors in Iraq. The hearing featured testimony by Jamie Leigh Jones, a young Texan woman who also says she was gang-raped while working for KBR in Iraq.

Like Jamie Jones, Leamon believes she was drugged before her attack.

In January, several lawmakers pounded the Justice Department for flatly refusing to answer their questions about how sexual assault cases in Iraq involving U.S. citizens are handled. "We still have heard nothing from your office," complained several Democratic senators, including presidential hopeful Barack Obama, D-Ill.

Now, sources says the Justice Department has agreed to send a representative to the Senate hearing entitled, "Closing Legal Loopholes: Justice for Americans Sexually Assaulted in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Meanwhile, Jamie Jones will receive the Susan McDaniel Public Awareness Award at the Congressional Victim's Rights Caucus Awards ceremony. There was a grand jury hearing in Florida concerning her case in January of this year, but no indictment has yet been filed.
Copyright © 2008 ABC News Internet Ventures

By the Numbers: Military Sex Assault Cases in Iraq, Afghanistan

Pentagon Stats Show 40 Percent of Cases End Without Prosecution or Punishment for Alleged Culprits

By JUSTIN ROOD
April 9, 2008—

Four in 10 military sexual assault investigations in Iraq and Afghanistan have ended without prosecution or punishment for the alleged culprits, according to new Pentagon statistics -- slightly more than those which have resulted in prosecution, punishment or both.

Out of 684 investigations opened, 122 were closed because investigators determined the victims' claims were unfounded; 101 were closed for insufficient evidence; and 44 were closed as unsolved, according to Pentagon figures provided to Congress in advance of a Wednesday hearing.

In 23 cases, the Pentagon said it has no record of action being taken. In nine others, its records show authorities "decided to take no action."

By contrast, 183 cases ended in some form of administrative discipline. Culprits were discharged, fired, deported, barred from their posts or received an unspecified "nonjudicial punishment," the document stated.

Of those which resulted in courts martial proceedings, 81 ended with convictions, and two alleged assaulters were acquitted, the figures showed. None appear to have been prosecuted in U.S. civilian courts.

Today a Defense official is slated to testify, along with representatives from the Departments of State and Justice, on sexual assault among service members and civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan.

DOD:86 percent of sexual assaults go unreported

Military sexual assault is focus of YouTube series
By JULIE WATSON
The Associated Press
Published: August 12, 2012

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- The enormous obstacles and emotional torment that a female solider confronts in reporting a sexual assault in the military is the focus of the three-part Web series "Lauren" debuting Monday on YouTube's new channel WIGS, which focuses on drama for women.

Featuring "Flashdance" star Jennifer Beals and Troian Bellisario, "Lauren" gives a close-up look at the challenges women service members face in trying to find justice after being raped. It's a problem that military leaders have focused unprecedented attention on this year.

The Defense Department has estimated that 86 percent of sexual assaults go unreported, an indication that some women are worried about the effect reporting an assault may have on their career and that they mistrust the military prosecution system. Nearly 3,200 sexual assaults were reported in the military last year.

Military leaders say sexual assault is not only dehumanizing to the victims but threatens operational readiness. The Pentagon has set up hotlines and has been trying to encourage service members to help victims. High-ranking Navy leaders have likened their campaign to the crusade years ago to stop rampant drug abuse, although activists say sweeping institutional changes are needed for victims to find justice.
read more here

Suicides are surging among US troops

"Suicides are surging among US troops" more proof of needless deaths! I won't bore you with another reminder of all the posts I've done on Resiliency Training failures or the fact it leaves the troops thinking they were mentally weak and didn't train right.

I'll leave you now with this reminder so you can read the latest news on military suicides.If Resiliency Training worked, then why are they still committing suicide?

AP IMPACT: Suicides are surging among US troops
By Robert Burns
AP National Security Writer
June 7, 2012

WASHINGTON—Suicides are surging among America's troops, averaging nearly one a day this year -- the fastest pace in the nation's decade of war.

The 154 suicides for active-duty troops in the first 155 days of the year far outdistance the U.S. forces killed in action in Afghanistan -- about 50 percent more -- according to Pentagon statistics obtained by The Associated Press.

The numbers reflect a military burdened with wartime demands from Iraq and Afghanistan that have taken a greater toll than foreseen a decade ago. The military also is struggling with increased sexual assaults, alcohol abuse, domestic violence and other misbehavior.

Because suicides had leveled off in 2010 and 2011, this year's upswing has caught some officials by surprise.

The reasons for the increase are not fully understood. Among explanations, studies have pointed to combat exposure, post-traumatic stress, misuse of prescription medications and personal financial problems. Army data suggest soldiers with multiple combat tours are at greater risk of committing suicide, although a substantial proportion of Army suicides are committed by soldiers who never deployed.
read more here

"Suicides had levelled off in 2010 and 2011, but this year's surge has caught officials by surprise."

So why are they so shocked to discover yet again what they are doing is failing? Every time the numbers go up, they are "surprised" but they never change what they are doing. They just push harder on what already failed!

Suicides at 10-year high in US military
Combat exposure, post-traumatic stress, misuse of drugs and debt problems blamed for increase
Associated Press
guardian.co.uk
Thursday 7 June 2012

Suicide is on the rise in the US military, averaging almost one every day, according to statistics.

In the first 155 days of 2012 there was 154 suicides among active troops, around 50% more than the number killed in action in Afghanistan, according to Pentagon statistics obtained by Associated Press. This is the highest number in 10 years.

The numbers reflect the burden of conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to experts. The military is also struggling with increased sexual assaults, alcohol abuse, domestic violence and other problems.

Suicides had levelled off in 2010 and 2011, but this year's surge has caught officials by surprise.
read more here

This is from CBS

June 7, 2012 7:02 PM
Military suicides grow at sharp rate
By David Martin

(CBS News) One suicide a day. That is the rate of U.S. military personnel taking their own lives just since the first of this year -- more troops lost to suicide than died in combat. It's a sharp increase over last year and it's caught the attention of the Pentagon.

The war in Iraq is over and the war in Afghanistan is winding down, but the pace of military suicides is actually increasing to a record level. Pentagon figures show that as of this past Monday, 154 service members had taken their lives so far in 2012 -- an average of more than one a day and much higher than the 138 killed so far this year in Afghanistan.

At this point in 2011, 130 service members had killed themselves -- in 2010, the number was 123. Pentagon officials had been expecting the number of suicides to level off after seeing the number soar as the intensity of the wars increased.

U.S. military averaging a suicide a day in 2012
Spc. Carl McCoy survived two tours in Iraq, only to take his own life and shatter the life of his wife Maggie.
read more here

From Houston Chronicle

AP IMPACT: Suicides are surging among US troops
ROBERT BURNS, AP National Security Writer
Updated 03:46 a.m., Friday, June 8, 2012


WASHINGTON (AP) — Suicides are surging among America's troops, averaging nearly one a day this year — the fastest pace in the nation's decade of war.

The 154 suicides for active-duty troops in the first 155 days of the year far outdistance the U.S. forces killed in action in Afghanistan — about 50 percent more — according to Pentagon statistics obtained by The Associated Press.

The numbers reflect a military burdened with wartime demands from Iraq and Afghanistan that have taken a greater toll than foreseen a decade ago. The military also is struggling with increased sexual assaults, alcohol abuse, domestic violence and other misbehavior.

Because suicides had leveled off in 2010 and 2011, this year's upswing has caught some officials by surprise.

The reasons for the increase are not fully understood. Among explanations, studies have pointed to combat exposure, post-traumatic stress, misuse of prescription medications and personal financial problems. Army data suggest soldiers with multiple combat tours are at greater risk of committing suicide, although a substantial proportion of Army suicides are committed by soldiers who never deployed.
read more here