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Fort Hood Texas army base slaughter: Symptoms of deeper problems
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Soldiers are experiencing higher rates of mental disorders and drug abuse
Fort Hood Texas army base Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a psychiatrist at Darnall Army Medical Center on the base was involved in a slaughter today, 11-5-09, that left 13 people dead, and 43 wounded.
Two hours later, a suspect was arrested who was overheard claiming he was with the shooter at the Fort Hood incident CNN Justice is reporting. During the shootout, it was reported that Major Hasan was killed. However, Yahoo News is indicating that he is still alive according to Lt. Gen. Bob Cone at Fort Hood.
The investigation on this one is going to take some time, but Major Hasan was about to be deployed overseas, and may have snapped. According to ABC News, "... officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because military records are confidential, had access to his military record and said he received a poor performance evaluation while at Walter Reed." Major Hasan was transferred from Walter Reed to Fort Hood.
The Wall Street Journal online stated Fort Hood is the, "...largest U.S. military facility in the world -- and a base that has been hit hard by post-traumatic stress disorders and other issues afflicting combat veterans." Sixteen US soldiers have taken their own lives in October 2009 here in America and overseas. The suicide rate is very high, and evidence that something more is at work here.
With a record number of soldiers testing positive for drugs, and counseling help for them shrinking, something is obviously going on with these men in the military. According to USA Today, 2.38% of troops tested positive for drugs in 2008, up from 1.74% in 2004. Some 7,000 soldiers in 2008 were sent to treatment for drug dependency.
A July 2009 update by the National Institute on Drug Abuse stated: "The operations in Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom) and Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom) have placed tremendous strain on military personnel and their families. Some have experienced devasatating consequences, including family disintegration, mental health disorders, and even suicide. Research conducted by RAND has shown that 25 to 30 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans have reported symptoms of a mental disorder or cognitive impairment. Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the most common, and traumatic brain injury may be a causal factor in some reported symptoms. Although less common, substance use is also a large concern, with aggregated data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's annual household survey revealing that from 2004 to 2006, 7.1 percent of veterans (an estimated 1.8 million persons 18 or older) met criteria for a past-year substance use disorder."
According to infozine.com, "There is a growing awareness that returning military personnel -- whatever their overseas role, need help confronting a variety of war related problems including traumatic brain injury, post traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances, and substance abuse, including tobacco, alcohol and other drugs. Many of these problems are interconnected, and contribute to individual health and family relationship crises."
With these kinds of problems experienced by our military personnel, much more emphasis needs to be placed on these people. Although the incident at Fort Hood is a rare occurrence, the fact that mental health problems, and substance abuse have risen dramatically in the military must be priority one in getting them treatment. These soldiers protect our freedom, and we owe them whatever help they need.
Of course, psychiatric, and substance abuse problems aside, we must also look at Major Hasan as possibly being a sleeper waiting for the opportunity to pull the trigger of his fanatical bend on Islam.
If you or a loved one needs help with any type of drug problem, contact these sites depending on where you live. SEMCA (Wayne County residents), CARE (Macomb County residents), PACE (Oakland County residents), Drug Free Detroit (City of Detroit residents).
In the flow...
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