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With the Guard being used heavily overseas in such pleasant places like Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army leadership has recognized that it was a disservice to the soldiers to cut them loose with no real support. While overseas we had suicide awareness classes once a month even though at a certain level they were treated as a joke. Sadly towards the end there was a suicide in a new unit that had just moved into our living area. He was a neighbor with one of my buddies.
In addition to the classes on suicide, going back home, dealing with children and spouses, etc., 1st Army also decided to stretch out our demob time from 3 days to 5 days so that we might relax and unwind while in a familiar (military) environment.
After that for the first 6 months our traditional drill schedule was very relaxed with more classes and VA briefings, not to mention a total of 2 days dealing with personnel from the VA. Again, all to the benefit of the soldier.
However, after the 5 days of demob, the soldier goes home and away from his buddies. He has no support base available except that one weekend a month. He probably does not have anyone who can watch him and know what to look for as a warning sign. He is alone. He is alone to sit and stew, to think and analyze. His family might not even know what's going on completely and simple chalk it up to 'readjustment'
As a whole we are failing our National Guard soldiers.
Sadly soldiers slip through the cracks all the time. By the second month home we lost an E7 to suicide within our BN.
Yesterday, we had one of our soldiers snap.
Quote:
Armed man holds off police near IUPUI
For more than seven hours, an armed Iraq war veteran has kept police at bay outside his apartment near Wishard Memorial Hospital and the IUPUI campus.
The 26-year-old Iraq war veteran was armed with a rifle in the Lockefield Gardens apartments, police spokesman Sgt. Paul Thompson said.
Police have not released the gunman’s name, but said he’s an Indiana National Guard member who served two tours in Iraq. The veteran has faced growing pressure: his wife filed for divorce and he was carjacked in Indianapolis on Sept. 6, IMPD spokesman Lt. Jeffrey Duhamell said.
Trained as an Army Ranger, the suspect is studying nursing at IUPUI, Duhamell said.
A number of friends from the National Guard were on the scene to help police and their comrade. The man was assigned to a Guard unit in Richmond.
The veteran apparently had been drinking last night, Duhamell said.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department SWAT was on the scene near Indiana Avenue and Blackford Street. Negotiators began talking to the man about 7:30 a.m.
Police said they responded to a disturbance call about 4 a.m. at Lockefield Gardens. They discovered that patio furniture had been thrown at an apartment unit, breaking glass. They also found blood.
“When officers got there they followed the trail of blood” to the suspect’s apartment, Thompson said.
Inside they could see him struggling with another man, who was trying to wrestle away his weapon. That man was a neighbor who had been trying to calm down the suspect. The neighbor came out unharmed about 15 minutes later, Thompson said.
The neighbor said the veteran had a second gun in the apartment.
Some nearby Lockefield residents were evacuated to the complex’s clubhouse. Police had not closed streets near the incident.
IUPUI officials said the incident would not affect classes, however parking in three student lots adjacent to Lockefield Gardens was restricted this morning.
This soldier was a really great person, and an even better soldier. Luckily he is not going to be charged. Instead he's under mental health care.
The problem is not just with the National Guard. Same thing happening with active and reserve as well. Not sure what the solution is. Some do ask for help and don't get what they need, others never ask for help.
It's been a tradition for many years amongst many local Virgin Islanders to enlist in the NG, many of whom saw it as not only a commitment to helping in areas where natural disasters occurred but also to further their education and learn a trade in order to better themselves and their families. These soldiers have worked tirelessly when needed at home, throughout the Caribbean, on the US mainland and all over the world to aid and assist when floods, hurricanes, etc. have devastated different localities.
Now they're being consistently deployed in war zones, sometimes over and over again with several of them over 50 years old. A few have lost their lives.
Actives and reservists knew what they were getting into, National Guardsmen had not a clue.
Several here (and I know elsewhere) have been fortunate enough to be employed by companies who are legally required to hold their jobs but several others have seen their own small businesses go down the tubes during these extended absences and I can relate a couple of horror stories about marriages and relationships completely breaking down in the aftermath.
The "debriefing" is basically a joke and most of these soldiers coming home find it hard to absorb all the brief "debriefing" advice as they just want to reunite with their families as quickly as possible and try to return to some degree of normalcy. The reality takes a long time to settle in. Even when they have problems, many don't understand that the problems are connected to their war zone experiences so either don't seek the help that they need or else find the help cursory and unhelpful.
It's a horrible state of affairs. I'm not a religious person, but "God" bless these non-combatants whose lives have been overturned and eternal pitchforks to the administration who not only created the problems but who never thought of or cared about the consequences.
I know the story is the same everywhere but there is one major factor here - residents of the US Virgin Islands cannot vote in US elections. These men and women don't even have a simple vote where US policies are concerned.
With the Guard being used heavily overseas in such pleasant places like Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army leadership has recognized that it was a disservice to the soldiers to cut them loose with no real support. While overseas we had suicide awareness classes once a month even though at a certain level they were treated as a joke. Sadly towards the end there was a suicide in a new unit that had just moved into our living area. He was a neighbor with one of my buddies.
In addition to the classes on suicide, going back home, dealing with children and spouses, etc., 1st Army also decided to stretch out our demob time from 3 days to 5 days so that we might relax and unwind while in a familiar (military) environment.
After that for the first 6 months our traditional drill schedule was very relaxed with more classes and VA briefings, not to mention a total of 2 days dealing with personnel from the VA. Again, all to the benefit of the soldier.
However, after the 5 days of demob, the soldier goes home and away from his buddies. He has no support base available except that one weekend a month. He probably does not have anyone who can watch him and know what to look for as a warning sign. He is alone. He is alone to sit and stew, to think and analyze. His family might not even know what's going on completely and simple chalk it up to 'readjustment'
As a whole we are failing our National Guard soldiers.
Sadly soldiers slip through the cracks all the time. By the second month home we lost an E7 to suicide within our BN.
Yesterday, we had one of our soldiers snap.
This soldier was a really great person, and an even better soldier. Luckily he is not going to be charged. Instead he's under mental health care.
I feel bad for the Guardsmen and reservists who never though they would have to go overseas and ended up doing so. But it is right in the contract, they let you know there is always a chance of it happening.
Any guardsman who thought they were going to be a non-combatants (besides medics and clergy) when they joined should have had that mistaken belief corrected at basic training.
The service has been all volunteer for a long time.
Is the solution to keep the guardsmen on active duty for longer to demobilize them? How long 3 months, 6 months, 1 year?
Did not know that STT, you would think that they could at least be able to vote?
Maybe I'm missing something?
All military past and present and those thinking of enlisting, hats off to you all.
I can see why my Mom got depressed when she found out I enslisted, this was back in the 80's. Maybe she was one of those 'visionaries'? Our lives and the way we do business and all sure have changed since Sep 11, 2001. Some places are trying to recognize vets [discounts and such] but the Veteran's Admin and other agencies should come up with better ideas to prevent this mental
discord. I had an idea for protecting our home land rather than sending all those troops overseas.
We fortify ALL of our border outline for the U.S. Sure there's going to be some areas real far up north that won't get the volunteering wave of the hands but wouldn't they rather prefer that than going across to Iraq/Afghanistan/ - the Middle East, in general? I think with all the people that we lost due to the war, they could have been doing their shifts, watching the borders along the U.S., and still be able to spend time with their families when the next group came on watch. The National
Guard folks could help out a little there and of course, when a national disaster happens, they would take charge. Maybe with having all of this help at home we could have lessened the impact wrought by Rita in the Gulf Coast and maybe prevented the damage of the wildfires in California (and elsewhere) ? Silly idea, huh?
residents of the US Virgin Islands cannot vote in US elections.
Residents of the Virgin Islands are U.S. citizens but cannot vote in United States presidential elections and cannot elect voting members of the Congress. However, in the U.S. House of Representatives, they are represented by a Delegate who can vote in congressional committees but not in the House itself. Virgin Islands residents can vote fully in all elections if they become resident in one of the 50 U.S. states.
I don't know what a good solution would be because for many NG or reserve there is a benefit to living away or they prefer to live some distance away from their base, which makes support services and staying connected to the network of people who deployed with them afterward difficult, but extending the demobilization time too long could upset those who are eager to reconnect with their families.
And of course we want to give people a break after a deployment, but for AD they go back to the office/shop after that break and, like you said, there are people that know what is going on and can keep an eye on them or there is simply comfort in being around someone who has experienced what you have.
I know a lot of units activate and stay stateside for training and getting ready to deploy - I wonder if there is some training or some other useful thing they can do when they get back (after a week or two of leave) and stay activated for a couple of months before going back to the civilian world.
Residents of the Virgin Islands are U.S. citizens but cannot vote in United States presidential elections and cannot elect voting members of the Congress. However, in the U.S. House of Representatives, they are represented by a Delegate who can vote in congressional committees but not in the House itself. Virgin Islands residents can vote fully in all elections if they become resident in one of the 50 U.S. states.
Rich
And you think you're telling me something I don't know? Yee Ha! Brilliant. Thanks.
I don't know what a good solution would be because for many NG or reserve there is a benefit to living away or they prefer to live some distance away from their base, which makes support services and staying connected to the network of people who deployed with them afterward difficult, but extending the demobilization time too long could upset those who are eager to reconnect with their families.
And of course we want to give people a break after a deployment, but for AD they go back to the office/shop after that break and, like you said, there are people that know what is going on and can keep an eye on them or there is simply comfort in being around someone who has experienced what you have.
I know a lot of units activate and stay stateside for training and getting ready to deploy - I wonder if there is some training or some other useful thing they can do when they get back (after a week or two of leave) and stay activated for a couple of months before going back to the civilian world.
With all due respect, you have totally missed the whole point of this thread. You might want to go back and read?
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