SUICIDE ATTENTION NEEDED WORLDWIDE FOR SOLDIERS "not just in the USA
By Kevin Stoda, Germany
American suicide rates for military personnel are setting all-time highs, but America is not the only place where PTSD and related war experiences can lead to violence. Germany is only now beginning to brace itself for the hard lessons of war and war zone experience "and how that continues to effect volunteers and their loved ones (and society) long after the battles are over.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125720469173424023.html
During most of the Cold War era, no German soldiers were sent to engage in wars, battles or do international peace keeping duties until the Yugoslavian breakup of the 1990s and the end of Cambodian wars. Since that decade, German forces have been found in war zones in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and in Africa. Since Germany sees its forces abroad as working in peacekeeping and development capacity, there has been little inclination to really face the issues of post-traumatic stress faced by its troops.
James Dunnigan wrote in August, "In the last three years, some 62,000 German troops have been stationed in combat (or peacekeeping) zones, where they can be exposed to traumatic events, the most traumatic one being not allowed to fight back.
Dunnigan claimed that a lot of the stress had had to do with the rules of engagement (ROE) that most German, non-combat and combat troops find themselves in. "While many Germans oppose the presence of their troops in Afghanistan, the restrictive ROEs [prior to changes in August this year] had become a growing embarrassment. The thousands of German soldiers who had served in Afghanistan continued to complain about it when they returned home. And then there the growing number of soldiers coming back suffering from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Last year, 245 German soldiers, who had served in war zones (including Afghanistan), were classified as PTSD casualties. The year before, there were only 83 PTSD casualties. The restrictive ROE caused stress. Just the thought of it can be stressful.
Suicide attempts have not been uncommon among returnees from wherever German Peacekeepers have been, though. The Yugoslavian occupations have brought back severely strained troops to make their way in a post-military Germany.
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