News Analysis: February 13, 2009
Every recruiter in the Army is on stand-down today, after an investigation into a rash of recruiter suicides found that stress and poor leadership was crippling the recruiting ranks. All recruiters will receive suicide prevention and coping training. PTSD-related suicides are a serious problem for our war-weary troops. Suicides are not limited to the recruiters. Sadly, a rash of suicides has cast a pall over the US Military Academy at West Point. Our troops and veterans need help. We must do more to help them live, to fight suicide.
They’ve been fighting without enough rest and they need it — and we owe it to them. More dwell time for our troops.
One way to help free up funds for the health care and treatment of our injured troops: re-examine the need for some deeply expensive programs that aren’t necessarily geared towards the likely threats of the future.
If Iraq is getting more secure, is it lasting or regional? Because Baghdad can still be quite dangerous. Afghanistan is going to be a long slog. Pentagon investigators are heading that way to determine if the US is doing enough to train and equip local security forces. Good luck, Dr. Burson – the 74-year-old is preparing for a tour to Afghanistan, after two in Iraq. And, next door to Afghanistan, across a very porous border, it looks like Pakistan has been playing a bit on both sides?
The Army says its recruiting is on track, despite real challenges in recruiting the crucial 17- to 24-year-old demographic. The military is hoping to reach the youth by branching into new social networking realms like Facebook and MySpace. One base in Florida hopes to cash in on tourism.
The bad economy is not just a security threat, it makes life even harder for military families coping with the deployment of a parent and spouse. The new stimulus bill would aid military homeowners and the wounded.
Will Flipper get overworked by the military in cold conditions? Some say it’s about to happen, and to sea lions too.