Why ask why?

So far this year, at least 334 ser vice members have com­mit ted suicide compared with 297 killed in Afghanistan and 144 in Iraq, according to Congress​.org.

This alarming fact is found in “Our Deadliest Enemy” from The Line of Departure blog. The article goes on to examine the reasons for this a bit. However, the article ultimately offers no single reason. Which leaves me to wonder why. An idea that echoes throughout Vonnegut’s Slaughter House Five.

Perhaps it is like that one commercial where the soldier comes back and sees the empty streets of a big city and only when he meets another soldier does the world around him come back. Certainly soldiers experience things that a regular citizen could never understand but what is the x-factor that seemingly pushes so many soldiers to suicide?

Perhaps it is a way to escape for some of them? Everyone deals with hardships in a unique way but maybe the weight soldiers have to carry is just too much for any normal method of coping to handle. Maybe it is a terrible feeling that no one will ever understand their experiences and it overwhelms them. But what is to be done?

The article mentions how the military is making a significant effort to improve mental health treatment for soldiers in and out of combat. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is finally getting the attention it deserves and hopefully much good will come from these efforts. Despite this there is still much to be said on the subject. Maybe some soldiers will never be able to cure their affliction…

In dealing with this subject one can see yet another terrible example of war’s impact on humanity. And why? What for?

Yes, there are many reasons to go to war but if we could just avoid it than we could avoid asking why to so many terrible questions.

Our Deadliest Enemy

Jamie McIntyre

The Line of Departure

November 25, 2009