With today being veterans day and us honoring those who serve and have served, I feel it also important to shed light on another aspect of our military that is often over looked. The value of our veterans and their health both mentally and physically is unmeasurable, and as civilians it is our civic duty to honor the well being of these particular citizens. Pushing aside personal opinions of international conflict and foreign policy, one can see some of adverse affects that military service can leave on our veterans. Possibly one of the best ways of thanking our veterans is empathizing with the issues they may be facing, and being sensitive of their distinct needs. There is gruesome war still being fought after soliders return home, or retire. With that being said, below are some facts from PBS that help solidify my point. The article is from 2013, but I believe still holds relvance today. By no means am I trying to overshadow the positivity of veterans day, this is simply a topic that is very personal to me. Knowledge is power, and by understanding this possible aspect of military life we can begin to create a better life for our veterans that we are so thankful for at home. -Every 65 minutes, a military veteran commits suicide. -22 military veterans commit suicide every day. -31 percent of these suicides were veterans aged 49 and younger. -Every month nearly 1,000 veterans attempt to take their own lives. -That’s more than one attempt every half hour. -Suicides among active duty personnel almost equal one per day, or 349 per year. -The Veterans Crisis Line has answered more than 890,000 calls and made more than 30,000 life-saving rescues since its launch in 2007. -The number of active duty suicides in 2012 surpassed not only the number of American troops killed in Afghanistan but also the number who died in transportation accidents in 2012. -More United States troops have died from suicide than have been killed in Afghanistan since 2001.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 23:42:36 +0000
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