Xinhua News Agency Beijing, October 10th. "I seem to have lost myself somewhere." Deona Williamson, a U.S. Navy major who has been deployed overseas for many years, said that after returning from Afghanistan in 2013, she Symptoms such as depression, memory loss and chronic fatigue appeared, so I told my superiors that "I need help, something is not right".
Williamson, 46, is one of the real-world cases of U.S. service members turning to psychological problems. According to the Associated Press 9 report, the suicide rate of U.S. military personnel is on a spiraling upward trend. According to Pentagon data, the number of suicides among active duty personnel increased by more than 40% from 2015 to 2020, of which the year-on-year increase in 2020 reached 15%.
On April 15, 2017, U.S. soldiers patrol near the blast site in the Achin district of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Rahman Safi)
A 2021 study by Brown University's "War Costing" project found the number of active duty personnel and veterans who committed suicide since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001 That's four times the number of U.S. troops killed. The study cites multiple stressors of military life, including vulnerability to mental, physical, moral and sexual trauma and fatigue, a culture of male hegemony in the military, constant exposure to firearms, and difficulty reintegrating into civilian life. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced in March the creation of an independent committee to look at military mental health and suicide prevention programs. He acknowledged that the Pentagon is not doing enough with military mental health services.
Williamson said there were "a lot" of newsletters and manuals on suicide prevention and post-traumatic stress disorder on US military bases, yet she fought for years to get much-needed leave and treatment. After a month of hospitalization and relaxation therapy, the mental condition was stabilized.
According to Williamson, her relationship with multiple superiors has deteriorated due to her long-term fight for treatment.
On August 27, 2021, an ambulance was parked at the site of an explosion near the Kabul airport in Afghanistan. Two explosions on the 26th killed at least 13 American soldiers and a large number of Afghan civilians. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Sevrahman Safi) Sergeant Antonio Rivera, 48, who served 18 years and was posted three times in Iraq, said he had severe post-traumatic stress disorder. "I know I need help, I have signs of illness, and I've waited long enough."
Rivera was reluctant to seek help from within the military, saying, "It's more comfortable to chat with people outside...don't worry about affecting yourself. career".
Suicides at U.S. bases in Alaska are particularly serious. Some bases are nearly cut off from the outside world, have poor weather and lack therapists. Earlier this year, Army Secretary Christina Wormoth visited Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, where medical staff told her about understaffed, overworked, and untimely medical care.
"There are people who need our services, and we can't help them," a counselor told Wormus. "We need human support, otherwise, the soldiers will keep dying." (Chen Dan)
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