Suicidal Troops Sent Into Combat

Ken AshfordWar on Terrorism/TortureLeave a Comment

Not theirs.  Ours. 

Kudos to the Hartford Courant for uncovering this:

The Army’s top mental health expert, Col. Elspeth Ritchie, acknowledged that some deployment practices, such as sending service members diagnosed with post-traumatic stress syndrome back into combat, have been driven in part by a troop shortage.

"The challenge for us …is that the Army has a mission to fight. And, as you know, recruiting has been a challenge," she said. "And so we have to weigh the needs of the Army, the needs of the mission, with the soldiers’ personal needs."

Ritchie insisted the military works hard to prevent suicides, but is a challenge because every soldier has access to a weapon.

No shame.