Our Medicated/Wounded Military

(10:45PM EST – promoted by Nightprowlkitty)

Yesterday “GregMitch” posted a Diary on the same subject I’m placing up first.

But lets expand to on what our Civilian and Military leaders are doing to Our Troops and National Security in bushs, and now mccains call for More, occupations!

As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue, an alarming number of active-duty troops are turning to prescription anti-depressants to cope with the stress of battle. David Martin reports:

Many Frontline Troops Turn To Meds To Cope

(CBS) As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue, we’re learning that a large number of troops are turning to medication to deal with the stress of battle.

Each year, between 20 and 40 soldiers are evacuated from war zones for mental problems brought on by combat, says CBS News National Security Correspondent David Martin, and many more stay in the battle with the help of medication.

A recent survey found 12 percent of soldiers in Iraq reported taking either anti-depressants or sleeping pills. That works out to about 19,000 soldiers, half of them using anti-depressants.

Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, told Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith Tuesday, “This high rate of the use of anti-depressants and sleeping pills is really just a symptom of a deeper problem. We’re sending folks back over and over again in a tremendously stressful environment, and it’s taking its toll. The anti-depressants and sleeping pills are one way that the military and the individuals are trying to meet that threat.”

The current front page, Time Magazine, report mentioned in the video

America’s Medicated Army

While the headline-grabbing weapons in this war have been high-tech wonders, like unmanned drones that drop Hellfire missiles on the enemy below, troops like LeJeune are going into battle with a different kind of weapon, one so stealthy that few Americans even know of its deployment. For the first time in history, a sizable and growing number of U.S. combat troops are taking daily doses of antidepressants to calm nerves strained by repeated and lengthy tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Today we find out Much More:

Report: Unfit troops sent to war

The Army isn’t following its own rules, as some GIs with “significant” physical problems were deployed, the GAO finds.

About two-thirds of the soldiers at three Army bases who had “significant” physical problems were deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan anyway, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office survey released Tuesday.

I keep asking the question, “Why isn’t bushs new son-in-law in a Military uniform, he certainly looks young enough and healthy enough to be serving in the all volunteer military and in these theaters of occupations?”, I haven’t gotten an answer.

Well maybe others could push for one:

Senator questions injured soldier deployments

WASHINGTON – The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee blasted the Pentagon on Wednesday for sending a wounded Fort Carson soldier back to Iraq, questioning whether it had been done to fill depleted ranks.

Citing a Denver Post report, Sen. Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, asked about an Army captain’s e-mail saying that Fort Carson’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team had “been having issues reaching deployable strength,” and that some “borderline” soldiers were sent overseas.

“Are there shortages in deployment strength that are now causing some of these decisions to be made that otherwise would not be?” Levin asked at a committee hearing.

No wonder I don’t see as many cheap magnetic ribbons of support for the troops {while they Still support the bush}, not only on the younger folks vehicles but their parents as well, they can run but they can’t hide, as our Military Breaks even further!

Bring Them Home NOW, And Take Complete Care Of Them When They Return, Health, Education, and Welfare!!