A Sickness in the System

As if the U.S. Army didn’t already have enough to worry about. Recent reports reveal that, in 2008, suicides by soldiers reached the highest level in nearly three decades. The epidemic extended evenly to all stages of the service: About 35 percent were soldiers who had never been deployed, 30 percent were those on active service—three quarters of them on their first tour of duty—and 35 percent took place after deployment, often more than a year after the soldier had returned home.

This increase in suicides reflects the larger problem of the army’s failure to fulfill the mental-health needs of troops. An improvement of our nation’s military mental-health programs is long overdue—those who have chosen to serve our country deserve the same attention paid to their minds as to their bodies.

Though the U.S. military is already taking some necessary first steps to address the problem, they are not enough. Hiring 250 additional mental-health practitioners is a start, but even more should be hired and dispersed around the world where troops can access them. Should funding be an issue, money should be allocated from other programs. This is no area to cut costs; there is no higher priority than the health of our troops.

Before soldiers even don their uniforms, however, they should undergo a more intensive psychological screening as a preliminary test for the psychological toll of combat. Currently, applicants’ psychological backgrounds are evaluated by U.S. Army recruiters through an interview; it seems that an assessment of an applicants’ psychological background could be conducted by a more qualified individual. The U.S. Army’s role of defending the nation is extremely important, and filling our forces with men and women who are in top shape, not only physically, but also mentally, is of the utmost importance.

Soldiers already on the ground should also not be ignored. The repercussions of doing so resound beyond the individual—not only are suicides a tragic and often preventable phenomenon in themselves, but they also lower the morale of troops and the nation as a whole. As we fight two wars, in Iraq and Afghanistan, the need for high morale is clear. President Obama as commander-in-chief should work to implement higher-quality mental services into hospitals on the ground. The first place these services toward which these services should be directed is Afghanistan, since President Obama has been talking about sending more troops to assist in the fighting.

Finally, for those returning from war, veteran’s affairs hospitals remain shamefully inaccessible. That VA hospitals may not have the resources to attend to all soldiers does not mean that thousands of soldiers should get lost in the system. The suicide count of veterans is astoundingly high, especially considering the number of non-governmental mental-health practitioners that could potentially have helped them. If VA hospitals don’t have the necessary staff to see troops, the army should provide vouchers and referrals to mental-health professionals who can.

Mental health is at root a medical issue, but it is also a matter of honor. The current epidemic of suicides will be a stain in the history of the United States, but the U.S. has always moved to correct its injustices of the past. As such, any effort of the U.S. military to extend mental-health services for its troops should be one that all Americans embrace.


Anthony J. Bonilla ’12, a Crimson editorial writer, lives in Wigglesworth Hall.