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  1. Signatures
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      • The President of the United States
      • The U.S. Senate
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  2. Created By
    Dorothy Yufer
    Newton, WV
About this Petition Petition Letter

The problem of military suicides, both within combat zones and after return home, is being overlooked by a large part of the population. Unlike in many previous wars, the All Volunteer Force has had the unfortunate result of eliminating many families from any contact with servicemen. But when the numbers prove that we are often losing more servicemen to suicide than to combat in some months, this is surely a wake-up call. My husband, a retired naval officer, is deeply involved with Viet Nam vets, but many of the Iraqi and Afhanistan vets need someone of their own generation to listen and help. Sometimes it may be possible that simply talking with people who understand because they have lived through the same experiences may be enough to turn the tables. In addition, more research is needed to find treatments that help to erase memories. For example, brain research described in the current series being chaired by Charlie Rose on PBS monthly indicates that certain chemicals are helpful and need to be further investigated. But most of all, we need to awake the public to this growing problem: simply including suicides among the casualties of the wars we fight would go a long way toward getting attention.

Recent Signatures

Military Suicides

Greetings,

The problem of military suicides, both within combat zones and after return home, is being overlooked by a large part of the population. Unlike in many previous wars, the All Volunteer Force has had the unfortunate result of eliminating many families from any contact with servicemen. But when the numbers prove that we are often losing more servicemen to suicide than to combat in some months, this is surely a wake-up call. Sometimes it may be possible that simply talking with people who understand because they have lived through the same experiences may be enough to turn the tables. In addition, more research is needed to find treatments that help to erase memories. For example, brain research described in the current series being chaired by Charlie Rose on PBS monthly indicates that certain chemicals are helpful and need to be further investigated. But most of all, we need to awake the public to this growing problem: simply including suicides among the casualties of the wars we fight would go a long way toward getting attention.

Please address this subject before we lose any more young men and women needlessly. When they commit suicide either in the war zone or after returning, they should be counted as combat casualties. Once we send them into war, we owe them forever. The All Volunteer Force may have kept us from the front lines abroad, but we should be willing to create a volunteer force at home. And our government should be doing everything they can to encourage such a force.

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