Military Counseling Network

Sound Off, June 2010

2010-06-09T16:17:00.002+02:00

The most recent edition of Sound Off is now here!

Open publication - Free publishing - More peace

Sound Off Deutsch, vol 2.

2010-03-11T18:08:00.004+01:00

Druckfrisch! Sound Off Deutsch Nummer 2

Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration in Heidelberg, Jan. 23rd.

2010-01-15T10:26:00.003+01:00

4th Annual International Commemoration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Heidelberg's Rhein-Neckar Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) with the Deutsch-Amerikanishes Institut (DAI) (German American Institute) of Heidelberg will jointly sponsor the 24th annual international commemoration of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on Saturday, 23 January 2010.

The program will be held at the Providenz Kirche (Providence Church) in Heidelberg at Hauptstrasse 90a. The commemoration program will start at 6:00 p.m. and features American and international guest speakers as well as spiritual and gospel songs. The theme for this year's program will be "A Dream Fulfilled?... Moving Towards Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's., Promised Land."

The U.S. keynote speaker will be the Reverend Osagyefo Uhuru Sekou, Senior Minister of Lemuel Haynes Congregational Church. Rev. Sekou founded the Interfaith Worker Justice Center for New Orleans in response to the catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina. He authored the critically acclaimed "Urban Souls," which explored the roots of hip-hop culture. Rev. Sekou is an associate fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies and Freeman fellow with the Fellowship of Reconciliation. A German speaker for the program has not been named.

The program will feature gospel music by the Benjamin Franklin Village Chapel Gospel Choir of Mannheim and the Pan African Organization's Manita Choir.

A reception will immediately follow the program at the Adolf Winter Saal at Plöck 16-18 in Heidelberg. The entire event is open to the public and is free.
Further information is available from NAACP Rhein-Neckar Branch President, Calvin Robinson, at 0621-9766327, or from the International Commemoration Program Chair, Michael AlliMadi, at 06221-182923.
*The Rhein-Neckar Branch, NAACP, is a U.S. Army Garrison, Heidelberg, Private Organization.

Submitted by Rhein-Neckar Branch, NAACP, Publicity Committee member, Malcolm Carpenter, Tel: 06203-81214/85010

Sound Off December 2009

2010-01-08T10:22:00.007+01:00

The December, 2009 edition of Sound Off is available at http://www.getting-out.de/sound.off.html. This issue features an article on the advertising scheme of the military, a review of the Obama Nobel speech, and a look back in history at the Saint of conscientious objectors. You may print and distribute our publication freely to anyone who may have interest. Your letters are also welcome. To add an e-mail address to the mailing list, or to offer submissions or suggestions, email us at mcn@dmfk.de

Veterans Court swears in mentors

2010-01-08T09:45:00.000+01:00

By Tribune staff | Posted: Tuesday, January 5, 2010 12:15 am

The new La Crosse County Veterans Court Initiative kicked off Monday with a courthouse ceremony recognizing mentors who will assist veterans in the legal system.

“This is a pioneer effort,” Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson said in an online video. “Not only for Wisconsin but across the country.”

Under the program, any veteran involved in an incident with local law enforcement will be assigned a mentor who also is a veteran, initiative chairman and county Circuit Judge Todd Bjerke said.

The mentor can discuss options on applying for veterans benefits and then get the person to meet with the county Veterans Service officer and do follow-up screenings for potential mental health issues.

Several mentors were sworn in Monday and will work to recruit and train additional mentors.

A large number of veterans suffer from mental health problems associated with military service, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain or blast injury and suicidal thoughts, Bjerke said.

If diagnosed with a mental health issue, the person most likely would qualify for Veterans Administration benefits, and a treatment plan can be developed.

“The courts would view the diagnosis and treatment for the veteran as a significant factor when resolving cases,” Bjerke said.

The initiative’s founders — mostly veterans, both professionals and nonprofessionals — decided to go with a trained mentor system after studying other veterans courts.

For more information on how to apply to be a mentor, call (608) 785-9719.

Call of Duty 3

2009-11-10T14:21:00.000+01:00

Ultra-Realistic Modern Warfare Video Game Offers Engine Repair, Awaiting Orders

Want out? Find out? Get out?

2009-11-03T11:24:00.005+01:00

In the age of quick of access to great quantities of information, it can be hard to know what information is accurate. For a soldier looking into his or her rights in the military, it can be difficult to find out the difference between truth, opinion and myth. With all of the sources of information, from asking Google or About.com to asking a buddy or a superior, the range of answers regarding a given question can be completely contradictory.
Take discharges, for example. In browsing the web, and in having talked with a good number of soldiers, one of the common answers given to someone asking about the possibility of a discharge before their ETS date is that such a thing simply does not exist. Some of the answers belittle the person for asking such a question. "You signed up for this, you can't get out now!" or "Suck it up, man up, and do it!" are common responses, often followed by accusations of cowardice or treason. It is because of this false assumed knowledge that many soldiers feel trapped in their current situation, and that they have no right or ability to find the information and help they need.
While this information is false and there are discharges available, the idea behind the information has some truth to it, which is that it is not simple or easy to be discharged early from military service. Such an answer would also not be accurate. Important here is finding an honest and accurate source of information, such as the Military Counseling Network and the GI Rights Hotline, where help can be found to see what the military regs have to say about a specific situation. A soldier may have more options than they think, and may have more options than even their command is telling them.

For instance, did you know..
..that you can be honorably discharged before your ETS date?
Regulations cover every type of discharge that exists, and these are regulations that your superiors are required to follow.

..you don't need to be a pacifist to be discharged as a conscientious objector?
The Supreme Court case of Gillete vs. US stated that "use of force in defense of home and family, or in defense against immediate act of aggressive violence toward other persons in the community" does not disqualify applicants for conscientious objection.

..you can be discharged if you have a persistent medical or psychological condition that makes service difficult? A disability or the inability to perform duties is obviously not helpful for the person who is disabled, but it is also a hinderance, and sometimes downright dangerous, for the Military to need to depend on injured soldiers to complete the mission.

..you are allowed to consult with a congressional office, lawyer or civilian counselor? Outside help can be very important, and let your command know that their are people on the outside who care and are concerned about your situation.

Information is truly empowering, and can help you or a soldier you know take more control of their situation. To find out more and to get informed, contact the Military Counseling Network in Germany and the GI Rights Hotline in the States.

1,000 U.S. troops wounded in Afghanistan in past 3 months

2009-11-03T08:55:00.000+01:00

1,000 U.S. troops wounded in Afghanistan in past 3 months - washingtonpost.com

Source: www.washingtonpost.com

More than 1,000 American troops have been wounded in battle over the past three months in Afghanistan, accounting for one-fourth of those injured in combat since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001.

The Distance

2009-10-16T09:38:00.005+02:00

"Military planners say robot soldiers will think, see and react increasingly like humans. In the beginning, they will be remote-controlled, looking and acting like lethal toy trucks. As the technology develops, they may take many shapes. And as their intelligence grows, so will their autonomy. "
San Diego Union-Tribune

"The solider-warrior could kill his collective enemy, which now included women and children, without ever seeing them. The cries of the wounded and dying went unheard by those who inflicted the pain. A man might slay hundreds and never see their blood flow......
Less than a century after the Civil War ended, a single bomb, delivered miles above its target, would take the lives of more than 100,000 people, almost all civilians. The moral distance between this event and the tribal warrior facing a single opponent is far greater than even the thousands of years and transformations of culture that separate them....
The combatants in moder warfare pitch bombs from 20,000 feet in the morning, causing untold suffering to a civilian population, and then eat hamburgers for dinner hundreds of miles away from the drop zone. The prehistoric warrior met his foe in a direct struggle of sinew, muscle, and spirit. If flesh was torn or bone broken he felt it give way under his hand. And though death was more rare than common (perhaps because he felt the pulse of life and the nearness of death under his fingers), he also had to live his days remembering the man's eyes whose skull he crushed."
-Richard Heckler
In Search of the Warrior Spirit.

"To fight from a distance is instinctive in man. From the first day he has worked to this end, and he continues to do so."
-Ardant du Picq Battle Studies

The picture above is the SWORDS robot developed by the Army and Foster-Miller, a robotics firm bought in November by QinetiQ Group PLC, which is a partnership between the British Ministry of Defence and the Washington holding company The Carlyle Group.

SWORDS is the next effort in fighting from a distance, a distance that brings with it an increasing ability to kill. Lt. Col. Dave Grossman writes in his 1996 book On Killing that despite the portrayal in our popular culture of violence being easy, “There is within most men an intense resistance to killing their fellow man. A resistance so strong that, in many circumstances, soldiers on the battlefield will die before they can overcome it.”

One of the most effective solutions to this quandary, the military has discovered, is to introduce distance into the equation. Studies show that the farther the would-be killer is from the victim, the easier it is to pull the trigger. Death and suffering become more sanitized—the humanity of the enemy can be more easily denied. By giving the Army and Marines the capability to kill from greater distances, armed robots will make it easier for soldiers to take life without troubling their consciences.

Contrary to the ability of the human soldier to be transformed by what he/she experiences on the battlefield, a transformation that is a profound testament to the human conscience, automated robots programmed to decide between friend and foe will not have the ability to be moved by seeing in the "enemy" a father, mother, brother, or sister. Rather than becoming a conscience objector, such machines allow persons to take life without troubling the conscience.

The Military Counseling Network:
Free counseling about military discharges, GI Rights, conscientious objection and getting out.

The War Films of Casey J Porter

2009-10-15T12:42:00.003+02:00

Check out the Films of former U.S soldier Casey Porter for a look into life on the ground in Iraq.

Afghanistan by the Numbers

2009-10-14T15:57:00.003+02:00

Afghanistan by the Numbers

from:
Measuring a War Gone to Hell

By Tom Engelhardt

For the whole story, which first appeared on the TomDispatch website.

(All figures cited below are linked to their sources. If a figure has no link, just click on the nearest previous link.)

Costs

Annual funding for U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan, 2002: $20.8 billion.

Annual funding for U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan, 2009: $60.2 billion.
Total funds for U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan, 2002-2009: $228.2 billion.

War-fighting funds requested by the Obama administration for 2010: $68 billion (a figure which will, for the first time since 2003, exceed funds requested for Iraq).

Funds recently requested by U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry for non-military spending in Afghanistan, 2010: $2.5 billion

Funds spent since 2001 on Afghan "reconstruction": $38 billion ("more than half of it on training and equipping Afghan security forces").

Percentage of U.S. funding in Afghanistan that has gone for military purposes: Nearly 90%.

Estimated U.S. funds needed to support and upgrade Afghan forces for the next decade: $4 billion a year ("with a like sum for development") according to former Assistant Secretary of Defense Bing West. (According to the Brookings Institution's Michael O'Hanlon, "It's a reasonable guess that for 20 years, we essentially will have to fund half the Afghan budget.")

Afghan gross national product: $23 billion ("the size of Boise" Idaho's, writes columnist George Will) -- about $3 billion of it from opium production.

Annual budget of the Afghan government: $600 million.

Maintenance cost for the force of 450,000 Afghan soldiers and police U.S. generals dream of creating: approximately 500% of the Afghan budget.

Amount spent on police "mentoring and training" since 2001: $10 billion.

Percentage of the more than 400 Afghan National Police units "still incapable of running their operations independently": 75% (2008 figures).

Cost of the latest upgrade of Bagram Air Base (an old Soviet base that has become the largest American base in Afghanistan): $220 million.

Cost of a single recent Pentagon contract to DynCorp International Inc. and Fluor Corporation "to build and support U.S. military bases throughout Afghanistan": up to $15 billion.

War-Fighting

Number of American troops killed in Afghanistan, 2001: 12.

Number of American troops killed in Afghanistan, 2009 (through September 7th): 186

Total number of coalition (NATO and American) deaths in 2009 thus far: 311, making this the deadliest year for those forces since the war began.

Number of Lithuanian troops killed in Afghanistan: 1

Two worst months of the Afghan War in terms of coalition deaths: July (71) and August (74) 2009.

U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan, 2002: 5,200.

Expected U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan, December 2009: 68,000.

Percentage rise in Taliban attacks on coalition forces using Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in 2009 (compared to the same period in 2008): 114%.

Rise in Coalition deaths from IED attacks in July 2009 (compared to July 2008): six-fold.

Percentage increase in overall Taliban attacks in the first five months of 2009 (compared to the same period in 2008): 59%.

Number of U.S. regional command centers in Afghanistan: 4 (at Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif, and Bagram).

Number of U.S. prisons and holding centers: approximately 36 "overcrowded and often violent sites" with 15,000 detainees.

Number of U.S. bases: at least 74 in northern Afghanistan alone, with more being built. (The total number of U.S. bases in Afghanistan seems not to be available.)

Estimated cost per troop of maintaining U.S. forces in Afghanistan when compared to Iraq: 30% higher.

Number of gallons of fuel per day used by the U.S. Marines in Afghanistan: 800,000.

Cost of a single gallon of gas delivered to the Afghan war zone on long, cumbersome, and dangerously embattled supply lines: Up to $100.

Number of gallons of fuel used to keep Marine tents cool in the Afghan summer and warm in winter: 448,000 gallons.

Number of troops from Georgia (not the U.S. state, but the country) being prepared by U.S. Marine trainers to be dispatched to Afghanistan to fight in spring 2010: 750.

Number of Colombian commandos to be sent to Afghanistan: Unknown, but Colombian commandos, trained by U.S. Special Forces and financed by the U.S. government, are reportedly to be dispatched there to fight alongside U.S. troops. (Note that both Georgia and Colombia are dependent on U.S. aid and support. Note also that neither the Georgians nor the Colombians would assumedly be bound by the sort of restrictive fighting rules that limit the actions of some NATO forces in Afghanistan.)

Percentage of American spy planes and unmanned aerial vehicles now devoted to Afghanistan: 66% (33% are in Iraq).

Number of American bombs dropped in Afghanistan in the first six months of 2009: 2,011 (a fall of 24% from the previous year, thanks evidently to a directive from U.S. commanding general in Afghanistan, Stanley A. McChrystal, limiting air attacks when civilians might be present).

Number of Afghan civilian deaths recorded by the U.N. January-July 2009: 1,013, a rise of 24% from the same period in 2008. (Unfortunately, Afghan deaths are generally covered sparingly, on an incident by incident basis, as in the deaths of an Afghan family traveling to a wedding party in August, assumedly due to a Taliban-planted IED, or the recent controversial U.S. bombing of two stolen oil tankers in Kunduz Province in which many civilians seem to have died. Anything like the total number of Afghans killed in these years remains unknown, but what numbers we have are undoubtedly undercounts.)

Escalation

Number of additional troops General McChrystal is expected to recommend that President Obama send to Afghanistan in the coming months: 21,000 to 45,000, according to the McClatchy Newspapers; 10,000 to 15,000 ("described as a high-risk option"), 25,000 ("a medium-risk option"), 45,000 ("a low-risk option"), according to the New York Times; fewer than 10,000, according to the Associated Press.

Number of support troops Defense Department officials are planning to replace with "trigger-pullers" (combat troops) in the coming months, effectively an escalation in place: 6,000-14,000. ("The changes will not offset the potential need for additional troops in the future, but could reduce the size of any request... officials said.")

Number of additional NATO forces General McChrystal will reportedly ask for: 20,000.

Optimal number of additional Afghan National Army (ANA) troops to be trained by 2012, according to reports on General McChrystal's draft plan: 162,000. (According to Naval Postgraduate School professor Thomas H. Johnson and retired Foreign Service officer M. Chris Mason,"[T]he U.S. military touts 91,000 ANA soldiers as 'trained and equipped,' knowing full well that barely 39,000 are still in the ranks and present for duty.")

Public Opinion

Percentage of Americans opposed to the war in Afghanistan: 57%, according to the latest CNN poll, an 11% rise since April. Only 42% now support the war.

Percentage of Republicans who support the war: 70%, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Percentage of Americans who approve of President's Obama's handling of the war: 48%, according to the latest CBS poll, a drop of 8 points since April. (Support for increasing the number of troops in Afghanistan is now at just 25%, down 14% from April.)

Percentage of British who feel their forces should be withdrawn from Afghanistan: 59%.

Percentage of Germans opposed to that country's 4,000 troop commitment to Afghanistan: More than 70%.

The Presidential Election

Estimated cost of staging the 2009 Afghan presidential election: $500 million.

Number of complaints of voting irregularities: More than 2,500 and still climbing, 691 of them described as "serious charges."

Number of members of the "Independent Election Commission" not appointed by Afghan President (and presidential candidate) Hamid Karzai: 0.
Cost of blank voting-registration cards in Ghazni Province in May 2009: $200 for 200 blank registration cards.

Cost of such a card purchased by "an undercover Afghan journalist working for the BBC" this fall: $8.

Number of voter registration cards (not including fakes) reportedly distributed countrywide: 17 million or almost twice the estimated number of eligible voters.

Number of ballots cast at the Hajji Janat Gul High School polling place, half an hour from the center of Kabul: 600.

Number of votes recorded for Karzai at that polling station: 996. (Number of votes for other candidates: 5.)

Number of ballots marked for Karzai and shipped to Kabul from 45 polling sites in Shorabak District in Southern Afghanistan that were shut down by local officials connected to Karzai before voting could begin: 23,900.

Number of fake polling sites set up by backers of Karzai where no one voted but hundreds of thousands of votes were recorded: as many as 800, according to the New York Times. (Another 800 actual polling sites were taken over by Karzai supporters "to fraudulently report tens of thousands of additional ballots for Mr. Karzai.")

Number of ballots in Karzai's home province, Kandahar, where an estimated 25,000 Afghans actually voted, submitted to be counted: approximately 350,000.

Private Contractors

Number of military contractors hired by the Pentagon in Afghanistan by the end of June 2009: Almost 74,000, nearly two-thirds of them local hires, a 9% rise over the previous three months.

Percentage of the Pentagon's force in Afghanistan made up of contractors in March 2009: 57%.

Ranking for the percentage of contractors used by the Pentagon in Afghanistan: highest in any conflict in U.S. history.

Diplomats and the Civilian Surge

Cost of new "crash" program to expand the U.S. "diplomatic presence" in Afghanistan and Pakistan: $1 billion. ($736 million of which is slated for the construction of a massive new embassy/regional headquarters in Islamabad, Pakistan.)

Number of additional U.S. government personnel reportedly slated to be sent to Pakistan to augment the 750 civilians already there: almost 1,000.

Expected number of U.S. government civilians to be posted at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan by the end of 2009: 976. (There were 562 at the end of 2008 and there are now reportedly more than 1,000 diplomats, staff, and Afghan nationals already working there.)

Estimated total number of civilians to be assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul as part of a proposed ongoing "civilian surge" by 2011: 1,350 (800 to be posted in Kabul, 550 outside the capital).

Cost of the State Department's five-year contract with Xe Services (formerly Blackwater) to provide security for U.S. diplomats in Afghanistan: $210 million.

Cost of the State Department's contract with ArmorGroup North America, a subsidiary of U.S.-based Wackenhutt Services Inc., to guard the U.S. Embassy in Kabul: $189 million.

Number of private guards provided by ArmorGroup North America: 450, based at Camp Sullivan, several miles from the embassy compound where they reportedly engaged in Lord of the Flies-style behavior.

The Metrics of Success

Defense Secretary Robert Gates on success in Afghanistan: It will take "a few years" to defeat the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

Admiral "Mike" Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Meet the Press: "I believe we've got to start to turn this thing around from a security standpoint in the next 12 to 18 months." (He would not directly answer the "how long" question.)

Senate Foreign Relations Committee report on the Afghan War: "None of the civilian officials or military officers interviewed in Afghanistan and elsewhere expected substantial progress in the short term. They talked in terms of years two, five and 10... Military officials believe the Afghanistan mission can only succeed if troops are there far longer -- anywhere from five years to 12 years."

Military experts cited by Walter Pincus of the Washington Post warn: "[T]he United States is taking on security and political commitments that will last at least a decade and a cost that will probably eclipse that of the Iraq war.

Anthony H. Cordesman, a member of a "team" put together by U.S. commanding general in Afghanistan Stanley A. McChrystal to assess war strategy, and a national security expert for the Center for Strategic and International Studies: "told reporters recently that even with military gains in the next 12 to 18 months, it would take years to reduce sharply the threat from the Taliban and other insurgent forces."

Robert Dreyfuss of the Nation summarizing the opinions of a panel of experts on the Afghan War, including Bruce Riedel, a 30-year CIA veteran and adviser to four presidents, who chaired President Obama's Afghan task force, two McChrystal task force members, Kim Kagan and Cordesman, and the Brooking Institution's Michael O'Hanlon: "(1) A significant escalation of the war will be necessary to avoid utter defeat. (2) Even if tens of thousands of troops are added to the US occupation, it won't be possible to determine if the US/NATO effort is succeeding until eighteen months later. (3) Even if the United States turns the tide in Afghanistan, no significant drawdown of US forces will take place until five years have passed." (Riedel commented: "Anyone who thinks that in 12 to 18 months we're going to be anywhere close to victory is living in a fantasy.")

New chief of staff of the British Army, General Sir David Richards: "The Army's role will evolve, but the whole process might take as long as 30 to 40 years." (After much criticism, he retracted the statement.)

New NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen: NATO's mission in Afghanistan will last "as long as it takes" to ensure that the country is secure.

Afghanistan by the Numbers

Cost of a Kalashnikov rifle in Afghanistan today: $400-600.

Cost of a Kalakov (the Afghan name for a new model of Kalashnikov): $1,100. (For a $150 surcharge, you can have it delivered to southern Afghanistan.)

Cost of a kilo of heroin in Afghanistan: $2,500. (Cost of that same kilo in Moscow: an estimated $100,000.)

Cost in police bribes of getting contraband into or out of Afghanistan: "$20 on each weapon, $100 for a kilo of heroin and $1,000 for each thousand kilos of hashish."

Afghanistan's ranking among the globe's "weakest states," according to the Brookings Institution: second weakest. (It is also regularly referred to as the world's fourth poorest country.)

Unemployment rate in Afghanistan, according to the CIA World Factbook: 40% (2008 figures).

Monthly wage for Afghan National Police: $110 (less than $4 per day).

Daily wage Taliban reputedly pays its fighters: $4-8. (Often the only "job" available.)

How long it may take to get a case through a government court (with bribes): 4-5 years.

How long it may take to get a case through a Taliban court (without bribes): 1 day.

Number of registered Afghan refugees still in Iran and Pakistan: 3 million.

Number of al-Qaeda base camps estimated to be in Afghanistan today: 0. (All reputable experts seem agreed on this.)

The Next War

The price tag the Obama administration's budget team reportedly put on U.S. future wars almost every year through 2019: More than $100 billion a year.

The cost of equipping seven Army brigades with a Boeing advanced coordinated system of hand-held drones, robots, sensors, and other battlefield surveillance equipment over the next two years: $2 billion.

Date when all 73 Army active and reserve brigades will be equipped with the system: 2025.

What Can't Be Measured

Here's a conundrum to be considered and filed away under the rubric "impossible to measure" as you leave the world of Afghan War metrics: The U.S. continues to struggle to train Afghan police and soldiers who will actually turn out and fight with discipline (see above). In the meantime, as a recent Washington Post piece by Karen DeYoung indicated, the Taliban regularly turn out fighters who are reportedly using ever more sophisticated and tenacious fire-and-maneuver techniques against the overwhelming firepower of U.S. and NATO forces. ("To many of the Americans, it appeared as if the insurgents had attended something akin to the U.S. Army's Ranger school, which teaches soldiers how to fight in small groups in austere environments."

Both groups are, of course, Afghans. It might be worth considering why "their" Afghans are the fierce fighters of history books and legend and ours, despite billions of dollars and massive training efforts, are not. This puzzling situation had its parallel in Vietnam decades ago when American military advisors regularly claimed they would give up a division of U.S.-trained South Vietnamese forces for a single battalion of "VC."

Here's something to carry away with you: Life is invariably hard when you set up your massive embassies, your regional command centers, your election advisors, your private security guards, your military trainers and advisors, your diplomats and civilian enablers and then try to come up with a formula for motivating the locals to do your bidding.

Tom Engelhardt, co-founder of the American Empire Project, runs the Nation Institute's TomDispatch.com. He is the author of The End of Victory Culture, a history of the Cold War and beyond, as well as of a novel, The Last Days of Publishing. He also edited The World According to TomDispatch: America in the New Age of Empire (Verso, 2008), an alternative history of the mad Bush years.

Copyright 2009 Tom Engelhardt

September Sound Off

2009-09-30T15:35:00.004+02:00

Part 4

2009-08-25T09:44:00.003+02:00

Broken Soldier from Displaced Films on Vimeo.

Episode Four: Broken Soldier

Broken Soldier: Why are so many veterans coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan psychologically damaged? Is it the natural trauma of war, or the product of military whose mission is to occupy and suppress the civilian population? Zollie Goodman recounts the racism against Iraqis imbued in his unit, while Kris Goldsmith reveals the hatred that finally made him a "broken soldier," caught in the endless web of the Veterans Administration. And the parents of Jeffrey Lucey mourn their son, one of thousands who could no longer live with what he had become.

part 3

2009-08-11T11:33:00.002+02:00

Why We Fight 7/21 from Displaced Films on Vimeo.

You are now watching: Episode Three: Why We Fight

Flashback to January, three months before Winter Soldier. How do you bring hundreds of veterans to Washington DC, to tell their stories? An IVAW national planning meeting reveals sharp differences among the members. Is the point of Winter Soldier to show how these wars are hurting America, or the destruction America is bringing to the people of Iraq and Afghanistan? Is the goal to strengthen the military, or weaken it? Despite the differences, a deep unity is built because, as Geoff Millard declares, the bottom line is “No one can hear our stories and still support this shit.”

Part 2

2009-08-05T10:34:00.000+02:00

For Those Who Would Judge Me from Displaced Films on Vimeo.

Soldiers speak out

2009-07-28T16:41:00.003+02:00

*Language Caution*

This is Where We Take Our Stand, the series that tells the riveting and timely story of the hundreds of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who testified at last year's Winter Soldier investigation, continues today. So far close to 40,000 people have viewed episode one (For Those Who Would Judge Me) and the trailer, and that's just a start. Watch episode two, tell friends, forward this email, spread the word and fan the debate. These stories must be heard.

2009-07-22T09:42:00.002+02:00

Military Personnel Still Face Asbestos Exposure Threat

Asbestos was widely used in various industrial products throughout the 20^th century due to its heat and flame resistant qualities. It was regularly considered as a form of insulation and piping. Many countries ordered the use of asbestos in their military sectors, especially the Navy.

Asbestos-laden materials were utilized in almost every vessel built prior to World War II. Shipyard workers, sailors and tradesman aboard these ships were wrongfully exposed aboard navigation rooms, sleeping quarters and mess halls.

These shipyards were vital in efforts to build and repair ships on the west and east coasts of the country. The military also used asbestos as insulation inside aircraft, vehicles and buildings. Although asbestos exposure does not always lead to an illness, frequent and long term exposure will greatly raise those risks.

Hundreds of thousands, if not millions of living veterans were exposed to asbestos-containing materials during their service. Asbestos was valued so high that its use was widespread until the 1970’s, when it began to be phased out.

The danger for asbestos exposure is still present today with over $194,000 worth of asbestos imported to Iraq in 2003, the last year such numbers were av. Aside from daily threats from military assignments and enemy fire, soldiers stationed in Iraq are at risk, as asbestos-containing buildings are damaged or destroyed by. Soldiers stationed nearby can be affected by asbestos because the fierce winds in Iraq can carry dessert sands and asbestos dust for miles.

Asbestos exposure can cause serious illnesses such as asbestosis and malignant pleural mesothelioma, a severe lung ailment that accounts for three percent of cancer diagnoses in the United States. Asbestos-related illnesses may not appear until 20 to 50 years after exposure, which makes mesothelioma diagnosis even more difficult. Manufacturers were aware of the toxic qualities surrounding asbestos, but repressed this information from the public.

Currently, mesothelioma is not readily recognized as a service-related medical ailment. However, veterans can apply for Veteran Affairs (VA) benefits for asbestos-related illness and must provide proof that their exposure occurred at the time of their military service. It appears that until there is a vehement change in policies enforced on a federal level against the use of asbestos, it will continue to inflict damage and harm to yet another generation of innocent by standards.

July 2009 Sound Off now available

2009-06-25T09:56:00.004+02:00

March 2009 Sound Off now available

2009-03-13T15:28:00.001+01:00

The March 2009 issue of Sound Off - featuring an article about conscientious objector Rich Siems' successful discharge application, an analysis of where video games and American military recruiting intersect, and a look at perhaps why selective conscientious objection is so hard to find in today's militaries - is now available.

Sound Off - March 2009

André Shepherd and MCN on Channel 4 News

2009-01-29T16:19:00.002+01:00

André Shepherd and the Military Counseling Network were featured on Channel 4 News in the United Kingdom.

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/politics/international_politics/the+refugee+gi+seeking+asylum+here/2913142

The Path of Most Resistance - Witness

2009-01-16T17:01:00.001+01:00

Express your support for German asylum

2008-12-12T11:37:00.008+01:00

To sign Spc. André Shepherd's online petition to the German government or send him a message of support, click the following link on Connection e.V.'s Web site:

Actions of support for André Shepherd

André in the media:

Spiegel (English) - Dec. 3, 2008

Stars & Stripes - Nov. 28, 2008

Reuters - Nov. 27, 2008

Associated Press - Dec. 2, 2008

Cleveland Plain Dealer - Dec. 2, 2008

WKSU Radio - Dec. 9, 2008

November 2008 Sound Off now available

2008-12-02T11:20:00.006+01:00

The November 2008 issue of Sound Off - featuring an article about André Shepherd applying for German asylum, a look back at conscientious objector Robert Weiss' release from military prison, and an analysis of just how much an American soldier in Iraq costs - is now available.

Sound Off - November 2008

André Shepherd seeks German asylum

2008-11-27T15:07:00.002+01:00

FRANKFURT, Germany – U.S. Army Specialist Andre’ Shepherd applied for asylum in Germany Nov. 26, becoming the first Iraq War veteran to pursue refugee status in Europe.

After attending college and failing to find meaningful employment, Shepherd enlisted in the military early in 2004. The promises of financial security and international adventure easily trumped working at a fast food chain. He became an Apache airframe mechanic, hoping to someday qualify up to the role of helicopter pilot.

His first unit was already deployed to Iraq when he completed his training, so he joined them immediately, with only one day at his unit’s home in Germany. Shepherd spent six months on a forward operating base near Tikrit, working 12-hour days to keep the heavily armed Apaches (and their signature Hellfire missiles) in the air.

Though he enlisted in order to bring freedom, prosperity and peace, Shepherd found none of these traits in the locals with whom he interacted.

“Some had the look of fear, while others looked outright angry and resentful,” he said of locals contracted for jobs around the base. “I began to feel like a cruel oppressor who had destroyed the lives of these proud people.

“Our unit did a lot of good things, giving schools books and bringing clothes to children,” he said. “These actions helped my conscience a bit, but I kept thinking to myself, ‘Had we not invaded, would these people need this aid now?’ ”

Shepherd began researching for himself not just the causes of the Iraq War, but the wider War on Terror. As inconsistencies in the official story emerged, the reasons for which he joined the military lost credence. As the myth of Weapons of Mass Destruction evaporated, so too did his faith in the mission.

“Saddam Hussein was admittedly a dictator,” Shepherd said. “However, he was not leading his country to produce any sort of weapon that could be used against the United States government and its citizens.

“When I asked my sergeant about this, he told me that many in the Army also had questions, but it was their duty to serve,” he said. “That may be true, but signing up voluntarily does not mean I should stop thinking or having a conscience.”

Upon his return to Germany at the end of the deployment, Shepherd began to investigate the options available to an American soldier who questions the morality of war. He spoke with a superior about conscientious objection, but was told the process was lengthy and his application would probably be denied.

U.S. military regulations also state a conscientious objector must have an objection to all war in all form. Since Shepherd’s objection was not in opposition to all war, his application would have required lying, which would have compromised the moral composition of his argument.

After months of deliberations, finding no suitable avenue in the Pentagon’s serpentine regulations, he packed his things on April 11, 2007, and went Absent Without Leave from his Katterbach base in the middle of the night.

He has lived underground in Germany for nearly two years, waiting for his unit to return from yet another Iraq deployment, but such a vaporous life can only be lived for so long.

Roughly 50 American service members are currently living in Canada, many of whom are pursuing asylum. Shepherd’s decision to pursue a similar status is the first of its kind by an American Iraq War veteran in Europe.

Seeking asylum in Germany is partially a matter of geographic convenience, but political matters also strengthen the case. A majority of Germans are against the war in Iraq, and German soldiers have never been deployed to Iraq in support of the conflict.

This disposition came to a head in 2005, when the German Federal Administrative Court officially declared the Iraq War violated international law, citing the assault launched by the United States as an act of aggression.

A German army officer had refused an order to develop a computer he feared would be utilized by the United States against Iraq. He was demoted and a criminal complaint was filed against him for insubordination. The federal court reversed the demotion because the charges contravened a paragraph in the German Constitution guaranteeing the right to freedom of conscience.

Shepherd’s application also cites a European Union regulation providing refugee status to a soldier who is in danger of being prosecuted if military service “would include crimes or acts” which violate international law. The application refers to the Nuremberg Trials, stating “It is established that a person cannot defend his or her actions by explaining that they had simply been following orders.”

In effect, Shepherd’s asylum application calls on Germany to clarify the nature of its opposition to the war in Iraq. The United States utilizes German airspace on a daily basis to carry out operations vital to the war, and U.S. bases within the country are home to roughly 60,000 American service members.

“We should not be forced to fight an illegal war, nor should we be persecuted for refusing to do so,” Shepherd said. “During the past five years we have waged a preemptive, internationally condemned war that was shown to be founded on a series of lies. After learning the truth about the nature of my military’s endeavors, I refuse to continue to be a part of this.”

Conscientious objector Robert Weiss released from military prison

2008-11-11T15:43:00.004+01:00

MANNHEIM, Germany – Conscientious objector Robert Weiss was released Sunday from the U.S. Military Detention Facility Europe in Mannheim, Germany.

Weiss was released roughly one month early due to good behavior and was transported directly to the Frankfurt Airport.

“Everything is exciting to me right now,” said Weiss while waiting for his flight. “I could be sitting in a traffic jam and I’d be thinking, ‘This is awesome, we’re not moving!’

“Somebody could swerve into my lane and cut me off, and it would be incredible,” he said, before immediately adding, “I am aware this euphoria will probably only last a week or so.”

Full of patriotism but lacking in prospects, Weiss joined the Army as a 17-year-old in high school. The abstract motions of killing in basic training did little to disturb him, but when an acquaintance was stabbed in the heart at a party and died on the way to the hospital, he was forced to confront what death actually met head on.

Seeking answers, he returned to a Bible he abandoned soon after joining the Army. Combined with an improbable discovery of Mennonite Theologian John Howard Yoder’s The Politics of Jesus – among other works – Weiss found he simply could not reconcile Jesus’ teachings with the military’s.

As his C.O. application meandered up his chain of command, Weiss was deployed to Iraq and idled the dusty hours away on noncombatant radio observation duty, one 24-hour shift at a time. The application process had long exceeded the maximum 90 days it should last, so he did not request leave, trusting instead he would be discharged at any moment.

“Finally, the day came for me to turn in my weapon and go home on leave,” he said. “About 20 minutes before I left Camp Prosperity, my First Sergeant approached me and gave me the paperwork for my [denied] application.”

He flew to the U.S. on vacation, but as his leave expired and his Dec. 22, 2007, return flight to Iraq drew near, his C.O. beliefs compelled him to miss the flight and avoid the combat patrol duties he would be assigned upon landing. He ultimately turned himself in at Fort Knox the following February and was transported back to his unit in Germany.

Weiss was sentenced to seven months confinement during a court-martial May 13, 2008, at Rose Barracks in Vilseck, Germany. The sentence also included a Bad Conduct Discharge, reduction to the lowest enlisted rank, and forfeiture of $898 per month for seven months.

An Honorable Discharge is required to receive GI Bill college tuition assistance, meaning the desertion conviction – a felony – disqualifies Weiss from receiving military financial aid. He nevertheless hopes to pursue a college education, preferably at one of the Mennonite institutions spread across the United States.

The Military Counseling Network is a project of the German Mennonite Peace Committee and is supported by Mennonite Central Committee and Mennonite Mission Network. MCN assists roughly 100 American military service members a year seek discharges and solutions in situations including conscientious objection, proper medical or psychological evaluations, family hardships, and discrimination.From left: MCN counselors Daniel Hershberger and Tim Huber, Robert Weiss, and former MCN counselor Michael Sharp.

September 2008 Sound Off Now Available

2008-10-01T16:20:00.002+02:00

The September 2008 issue of Sound Off - featuring an article about MCN receiving the Friedrich Siegmund-Schulze Award for Nonviolent Action, an introductory column by new MCN counselor Daniel Hershberger, a film review of "War, Inc.," and a comparative look at two recent military court sentences - is now available.

Sound Off - September 2008

MCN wins peace prize

2008-09-29T16:40:00.003+02:00

HÖCHST i.O., Germany – The Evangelical Association for the Pastoral Care of Conscientious Objectors (Evangelische Arbeitsgemeinschaft zur Betreuung der Kriegsdienstverweigerer - EAK) recently recognized the Military Counseling Network as a 2008 recipient of the Friedrich Siegmund-Schulze Award for Nonviolent Action.

The €3,000 prize was awarded Sept. 24 at EAK’s assembly meeting at the Höchst Monastery in Höchst in Odenwald near Darmstadt.

National EAK chairman Walter Herrenbrück noted that, while the road to conscientious objector status in Germany is easily travelled, in other nations such recognition is more difficult.

“The promotion of the fundamental right of conscientious objection is still indispensable,” he said. “This freedom must be preserved.”

MCN was recognized based on its efforts to support and assist U.S. Military conscientious objectors obtain honorable discharges. The organization assists roughly 100 U.S. Military servicemembers annually in a wide area of fields, also including family and medical hardships.

Former MCN director Michael Sharp acknowledged some could find it unusual that a historic peace church such as the Mennonites would work so intimately with professional soldiers.

“Jesus taught and lived a revolutionary idea,” said MCN counselor Michael J. Sharp. “No one is so far away, that they are not here with us. No matter what, they remain our neighbor.

“... For Jesus it was irrelevant whether people were prostitutes, thieves, or Roman soldiers,” he continued. “They all could experience transformation.”

MCN is a project of the German Mennonite Peace Committee. Committee director James Jakob Fehr noted the significance of such recognition from outside the Mennonite community.

“The German Mennonite Peace Committee is very excited about this prize for MCN,” said Fehr. “MCN has a well-earned reputation for caring about and helping soldiers. We are proud to be associated with their work and extend our congratulations, as well.”

At the ceremony, EAK also recognized the Village of Friendship in Vietnam. Founded in 1998 by former United States soldier George Mizo, the village works to rehabilitate victims of the Vietnam War and pursues reconciliation, understanding, and social work projects with a focus on those handicapped by war.

The award – named for the 20^th Century Protestant German pastor, teacher and theologian who proved influential in ecumenical and social causes – has been given six times in the last 14 years, most recently to London-based War Resisters’ International in 2004 for its work assisting conscientious objectors around the world.

"The Path of Most Resistance" premieres

2008-08-13T16:13:00.002+02:00

The Path of Most Resistance recently premiered at the Frontline Club in London as part of the establishment's Forgotten Season film series.

The film chronicles two U.S. military servicemembers who struggle to be discharged as conscientious objectors and the organizations (such as the Military Counseling Network) helping them.

A brief preview (featuring MCN counselor Tim Huber) can be seen at the following link, around the 55-second mark:

Forgotten Season

June 2008 Sound Off Now Available

2008-06-27T14:53:00.002+02:00

The June 2008 issue of Sound Off - featuring articles about Pfc. Robert Weiss and Sgt. Yovany "Geo" Rivero, a film review of "Battle for Haditha," and a final column from counselor Michael Sharp - is now available.

Sound Off - June 2008

Conscientious objector Robert Weiss sentenced to seven months in U.S. military prison

2008-05-26T11:04:00.000+02:00

VILSECK, Germany – U.S. Army conscientious objector Robert Weiss was sentenced to seven months confinement during a court martial May 13, 2008, at Rose Barracks in Vilseck, Germany.

Weiss pled guilty to charges of desertion and missing movement, which reduced the court martial’s proceedings mostly to the sentencing phase.

In early December of 2007, Weiss learned his application to be classified a conscientious objector and receive an honorable discharge was denied. Weiss was assigned non-combatant duties while deployed to Forward Operating Base Prosperity in Iraq at the time, and learned of the development immediately before travelling to the United States on leave.

As his leave expired and his Dec. 22, 2007, return flight to Iraq drew near, his C.O. beliefs compelled him to miss the flight and avoid the combat patrol duties he would be assigned upon landing.

While Absent Without Leave, Weiss lived in the Goshen, Ind., area and spent time speaking to Mennonite church groups about his experiences. He eventually turned himself in to military authorities Feb. 11, 2008, in Fort Knox, Kentucky.

“I had no intention of boarding the flight, your honor,” he said to judge Peter Masters. “… I believe they would have transitioned me to a Stryker [combat vehicle] driver position.”

The charges of desertion and missing movement can carry a maximum punishment of death by firing squad or seven years in prison, however defense lawyers for Weiss were able to secure a special court martial rather than a general court martial. A special court martial can issue a maximum punishment of 12 months in prison and a Bad Conduct Discharge, whereas a general court martial has a much higher punishment ceiling, and the possibility of a more serious Dishonorable Discharge. Both convictions are felonies.

Defense lawyers for Weiss orchestrated a pre-trial agreement with prosecutors that included guilty pleas, no out-of-country witnesses, and no jury, relying instead solely on a judge.

Though this agreement carried a prison sentence of eight months, Judge Masters issued a seven-month sentence, to be served at the U.S. Military Detention Facility Europe at Coleman Barracks in Mannheim, Germany. The sentence also included a Bad Conduct Discharge, reduction to the lowest enlisted rank, and forfeiture of $898 per month for seven months.

With good behavior, Weiss’ lawyers estimate he will be released after six months.

In his closing remarks during the sentencing portion of the trial, civilian defense lawyer David Court presented an overview of what the U.S. Military Code of Justice seeks to accomplish through criminal punishment. Court concluded most aspects – like rehabilitation and protecting society – simply did not apply to someone guilty of essentially refusing to commit an act of violence against other human beings.

“The only tenant that is relevant is to maintain Good Order and Discipline,” he said. “Those three letters [G.O.D.] that’s where Robert J. Weiss sees his command. He believes the requirements of his spirituality overcome that of a soldier.

“… He will believe he is being punished because he broke the Army’s rules, but not because he broke higher laws,” Court said.

Though shackled as he left the building, Weiss managed to rotate a wrist, flashing one last peace sign before boarding a van for Mannheim. He had only two words to say.

“God bless.”

Post-War Suicides Could Exceed Combat Deaths

2008-05-06T11:29:00.002+02:00

May 5

By Avram Goldstein

(Bloomberg) – The number of suicides among veterans of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may exceed the combat death toll because of inadequate mental health care, the U.S. government’s top psychiatric researcher said.

Community mental health centers, hobbled by financial limits, haven’t provided enough scientifically sound care, especially in rural areas, said Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland. He briefed reporters today at the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting in Washington.

Insel echoed a Rand Corporation study published last month that found about 20 percent of returning U.S. soldiers have post-traumatic stress disorder or depression, and only half of them receive treatment. About 1.6 million U.S. troops have fought in the two wars since October 2001, the report said. About 4,560 soldiers had died in the conflicts as of today, the Defense Department reported on its Web site.

Based on those figures and established suicide rates for similar patients who commonly develop substance abuse and other complications of post-traumatic stress disorder, “it’s quite possible that the suicides and psychiatric mortality of this war could trump the combat deaths,” Insel said.

Post-traumatic stress disorder, known as PTSD, is the failure to cope after a major shock, such as an auto accident, a rape or combat, Insel said. PTSD may remain dormant for months or years before it surfaces, and in about 10 percent of cases people never recover, he said.

Difficult to Predict

“We don’t yet know how to predict who is going to be the person to be most concerned about,” Insel said.

The Pentagon didn’t dispute Insel’s remark.

“The department takes the issue of suicide very seriously, and one suicide is too many,” said spokeswoman Cynthia Smith in an e-mail.

The department has expanded efforts to encourage soldiers and veterans not to feel stigmatized if they seek mental health treatment, Smith said.

Soldiers who’d been exposed to combat trauma were the most likely to suffer from depression or PTSD, the Rand report said. About 53 percent of soldiers with those conditions sought treatment during the past year. Half of those who got care were judged by Rand researchers to have received inadequate treatment.

Failure to adequately treat the mental and neurological problems of returning soldiers can cause a chain of negative events in the lives of affected veterans, the researchers said. About 300,000 soldiers suffer from depression or PTSD, the report said.

Treatment Options

Researchers aren’t sure whether it's appropriate to treat such patients with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, a class of medications that include Prozac, and other anti-depressants, Insel said. His institute is examining that question and novel treatments for PTSD, including using so-called virtual reality technology.

The psychiatric association reported last week that a survey of 191 military members and their spouses found 32 percent said their duty hurt their mental health, and six in 10 believed seeking treatment would damage their careers.

More than 15,000 psychiatrists are attending the professional group’s meeting.

Suicide Epidemic Among Veterans

2008-04-15T12:23:00.003+02:00

Nov. 13, 2007

(CBS) They are the casualties of wars you don’t often hear about - soldiers who die of self-inflicted wounds. Little is known about the true scope of suicides among those who have served in the military.

But a five-month CBS News investigation discovered data that shows a startling rate of suicide, what some call a hidden epidemic, Chief Investigative Reporter Armen Keteyian reports exclusively.

“I just felt like this silent scream inside of me,” said Jessica Harrell, the sister of a soldier who took his own life.

“I opened up the door and there he was,” recalled Mike Bowman, the father of an Army reservist.

“I saw the hose double looped around his neck,” said Kevin Lucey, another military father.

“He was gone,” said Mia Sagahon, whose soldier boyfriend committed suicide.

Keteyian spoke with the families of five former soldiers who each served in Iraq - only to die battling an enemy they could not conquer. Their loved ones are now speaking out in their names.

They survived the hell that’s Iraq and then they come home only to lose their life.

Twenty-three-year-old Marine Reservist Jeff Lucey hanged himself with a garden hose in the cellar of this parents’ home - where his father, Kevin, found him.

“There’s a crisis going on and people are just turning the other way,” Kevin Lucey said.

Kim and Mike Bowman’s son Tim was an Army reservist who patrolled one of the most dangerous places in Baghdad, known as Airport Road.

“His eyes when he came back were just dead. The light wasn’t there anymore,” Kim Bowman said.

Eight months later, on Thanksgiving Day, Tim shot himself. He was 23.

Diana Henderson’s son, Derek, served three tours of duty in Iraq. He died jumping off a bridge at 27.

“Going to that morgue and seeing my baby ... my life will never be the same,” she said.

Beyond the individual loss, it turns out little information exists about how widespread suicides are among these who have served in the military. There have been some studies, but no one has ever counted the numbers nationwide.

“Nobody wants to tally it up in the form of a government total,” Bowman said.

Why do the families think that is?

“Because they don’t want the true numbers of casualties to really be known,” Lucey said.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., is a member of the Veterans Affairs Committee.

“If you’re just looking at the overall number of veterans themselves who’ve committed suicide, we have not been able to get the numbers,” Murray said. CBS News’ investigative unit wanted the numbers, so it submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the Department of Defense asking for the numbers of suicides among all service members for the past 12 years.

Four months later, they sent CBS News a document, showing that between 1995 and 2007, there were almost 2,200 suicides. That’s 188 last year alone. But these numbers included only “active duty” soldiers.

CBS News went to the Department of Veterans Affairs, where Dr. Ira Katz is head of mental health.

“There is no epidemic in suicide in the VA, but suicide is a major problem,” he said.

Why hasn’t the VA done a national study seeking national data on how many veterans have committed suicide in this country?

“That research is ongoing,” he said.

So CBS News did an investigation - asking all 50 states for their suicide data, based on death records, for veterans and non-veterans, dating back to 1995. Forty-five states sent what turned out to be a mountain of information.

And what it revealed was stunning.

In 2005, for example, in just those 45 states, there were at least 6,256 suicides among those who served in the armed forces. That’s 120 each and every week, in just one year.

Dr. Steve Rathbun is the acting head of the Epidemiology and Biostatistics Department at the University of Georgia. CBS News asked him to run a detailed analysis of the raw numbers that we obtained from state authorities for 2004 and 2005.

It found that veterans were more than twice as likely to commit suicide in 2005 than non-vets. (Veterans committed suicide at the rate of between 18.7 to 20.8 per 100,000, compared to other Americans, who did so at the rate of 8.9 per 100,000.)

One age group stood out. Veterans aged 20 through 24, those who have served during the war on terror. They had the highest suicide rate among all veterans, estimated between two and four times higher than civilians the same age. (The suicide rate for non-veterans is 8.3 per 100,000, while the rate for veterans was found to be between 22.9 and 31.9 per 100,000.)

“Wow! Those are devastating," said Paul Sullivan, a former VA analyst who is now an advocate for veterans rights from the group Veterans For Common Sense. “Those numbers clearly show an epidemic of mental health problems,” he said.

“We are determined to decrease veteran suicides,” Dr. Katz said.

“One hundred and twenty a week. Is that a problem?” Keteyian asked.

“You bet it’s a problem,” he said.

Is it an epidemic?

“Suicide in America is an epidemic, and that includes veterans,” Katz said.

Sen. Murray said the numbers CBS News uncovered are significant: “These statistics tell me we’ve really failed people that served our country.”

Do these numbers serve as a wake-up call for this country?

“If these numbers don't wake up this country, nothing will,” she said. “We each have a responsibility to the men and women who serve us aren’t lost when they come home.”

An update: The chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, responded to the CBS News story Tuesday.

“The report that the rate of suicide among veterans is double that of the general population is deeply troubling and simply unacceptable. I am especially concerned that so many young veterans appear to be taking their own lives. For too many veterans, returning home from battle does not bring an end to conflict. There is no question that action is needed.”

How the study was conducted

MCN focus of MCC Peace Office Newsletter

2008-04-14T11:13:00.002+02:00

The Military Counseling Network was highlighted in the Mennonite Central Committee Peace Office 2008 first quarter newsletter.

MCC Peace Office Newsletter

2008 MCN Speaking Tour Concludes

2008-04-10T14:55:00.002+02:00

The Military Counseling Network recently concluded its 2008 Speaking Tour (Feb. 18 to April 8). Over the course of 51 days, MCN counselors Michael Sharp and Tim Huber made 77 presentations and spoke to 6,294 people.

Sharp and Huber began in Washington, D.C., working their way west across the United States, making stops in Ohio, Indiana, Kansas, New Mexico and California. They presented in four high schools, seven colleges and universities, two seminaries, and 16 churches. By plane, bus, train, and automobile, the two covered 15,929 miles (25,634 kilometers).