Last Updated: Friday, September 25, 2009 CBC News An increasing number of British war veterans are caught up in the criminal justice system, according to a study released Friday in London. About 8,500 veterans are in jail, making up almost 10 per cent of Britain's prison population, found the report prepared by the National Association of Probation Officers. In total, about 20,000 veterans most with chronic alcohol or drug-related problems and many with post-traumatic stress disorder are in prison, or on parole or probation. Most of the veterans had served in Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland. ------------------------------------------- That shows only too drastically how fragile the human psyche is. There is a limit how much "wrong" a soul can take or absorb. I wonder how many more are suffering from depression, how many take their own life?
Jeez, talk about tigers eating their young. Every nation needs to defend itself and sometimes even conscript soldiers to do it. Conscripts and volunteers alike need to be properly cared for then reintroduced back into society. There's something wrong with a picture of subjecting a nation's soldiers to hell then tossing them aside like nothing happened.
Some soldiers have difficult adjusting back to civilian life. Some came from 'criminal' backgrounds before joining the army (indeed, some join the army partly in an attempt to get themselves away from a lifestyle that will land them in prison), and returned to those ways when they left the army. I think these things are fairly well known. Yes, they need to be given help to adjust to life back home, and perhaps that help should be better than it is (and perhaps some of those currently in jail should really be in secure hospitals getting help), but sadly there will always be some who end up involved in crime. This has always been an unfortunate truth, all around the world - soldiers, for all their possible heroism, are just human beings like anyone else, and some of them will err and fall foul of the law and must be dealt with accordingly. Being a former soldier doesn't excuse crime, and society has to be protected from those who commit crime, no matter what their background.
Must be a Welsh or English thing because criminals or those attempting to escape justice aren't allowed to be soldiers in the US. No more "Join the army or go to jail". True, but if there is a spike in the stats where the percentage soldiers having problems exceeds the percentage of soldiers in the population, then you folks have a serious problem regardless if you choose to ignore it or not.
What a waste. Why not send them back to the front lines in Afghanistan, it's the best thing for them.
If they would like to, then that is not a bad idea. On the other hand, it is hard, very hard, for a person to get off drugs and alcohol once addicted. They would be useless as soldiers, if not outright dangerous to their comrades. At least one thing is good and that is, society is made aware of the problem and is forced to deal with it. I have at times wondered how these young ones get so motivated to go to war and risk their lives? They are certainly not defending their own country. It must be hard to find some need and honor in their selfless missions. In the beginning, when the Canadian boys and girls came back in coffins, it used to upset me quite a bit. Then someone said, well, they don't have to go to war...they do it voluntarily, for their own reasons. Which is true. Still, I am against Canada sending our youth to Afghanistan to get ripped to shreds for nothing...it is wrong!
Jose, What was, at one time more aptly called "The War Cabinet" here in the UK is now refered to by its more Orwellian term, "The Ministry Of Defence". Who are we supposedly defending ourselves against Jose?? Pashtun tribespeople and their exploding sheep on the streets of London?? Ah, yeah, that must be it. Or how about the Irish, with whom we have garnered a peace process as the direct consequence of dialogue and diplomacy. How about the Iraqi's and their non-existent WMDs??, or perhaps the Iranians with their non-existent WMDs, a peaceful nation, who have not attacked anybody in over 300 years, other than Iraq when they acted in self-defence against the kinds of weaponry supplied by?? Guess who Jose?? Yes, you've got it!! - US. Keep believing in the propaganda, lies and spin and remain ignorant Jose.
Here in the USA some have made similar or worse claims. Dan Rather comes to mind when he stated ( in 1985 ) that over half of the Inmates in American prisons were Vietnam veterans. The problem was that he just made it up and it was not true. There is a strong tendency in America to exaggerate the problems of veterans in society. For example many sources even the V.A. claim that they have done studies which show an alarming number of homeless people in America are war veterans. The problem is the V.A. used no valid empirical method to arrive at there conclusion. They never bothered to verify the veteran status of any homeless people in America they merely estimated based on conversations with homeless people who claimed to be veterans. I have to wonder if the National Association of Probation Officers in the U.K. bothered to verify the status of Inmates in any way. If they did not then it undermines their claim since Inmates ( like homeless people ) will often claim to be veterans just to make themselves feel better or because they know it is the answer someone wants. I honestly have no idea how this organization in the U.K. conducted their research but it needs to be asked. Here in the U.S.A. most do not even realize that all military personnel files are public record and with a little effort one can easily obtain a summary of anybody's service record if the person in question is truly a veteran. However , few bother to check.
I don't understand why Dan Rather or the VA would lie about these sad matters. Maybe the government is suppressing the numbers, for they have a reason to belittle the problem... afterall, they need new recruits. In Canada they started a new program, called "Leave Nobody Behind", where a former colonel travels the homeless shelters to find desolete veterans and make them aware of government programs that help them with whatever their needs. I think that is a good start. Any person who becomes downtrodden, lonely and depressed doesn't care anymore to go looking for help. Often, HELP is just a four-letter word and the beauracracy a person has to deal with gets overwhelming. Veterans have to deal with real trauma experiences they never forget. Also, they might blame themselves in many instances. War is real and brutal! http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2008/08/12/calgary-homeless-veterans.html
let's be honest here, people who enlist in the military at the lowest level generally come from the lowest levels of society, they are the least educated, least wealthy, least sophisticated...as much as people make them out to all be heroes they are for the most part join for their own cause, usually a job they can't get in civilain life...
How do you live with yourself in so much misery? It must be very painful. Cheer up. Life will get better. New opportunities abound for those with a good attitude.
the military always has been and always will be the fallback choice for the under educated and unemployeed...that's reality deal with it...
As opposed to spending all day whining on a keyboard about how the world hates you? Speaking of reality, have any facts to back up your claim about the military or is this only a SNERT opinion?
I would appreciate it if you could supply a complete and accurate service record of George W. Bush, please. Or by summary do you mean - John Doe - Joined November 1986 - Discharged January 1992
<<<<Mod Edit - personal attack>>>>This is John Kerry'esque stupidity all over again. There are studies everywhere <<<<Mod Edit - personal attack>>>> Here's one: http://www.dantes.doded.mil/Dantes_web/library/docs/voledfacts/ed_levels_FY08.pdf Compare that to the society averages. <<<<Mod Edit - personal attack>>>>
I would like to say I find it surprising, but I don't. You teach people to dehumanize the enemy and to kill, then you can not expect that all of them to unlearn it instantly.
I joined the military when I was 18 and now I make bank$, thanks to the military and it's training. Now I work for the military and they seem to be a lot brighter than most civilians I know. From this comment you made I would say even smarter than you. Half the enlisted I knew have degrees.
I think he was referring to the low Es. In general, I agree with you though. I dunno about smarter, but on par, sure.
I don't know TB. I went to college at a military base, and was the son of a project manager at NAVALEX, a department of the DOD. In my opinion, there are as many meatheads in the military as there are civilians.
Exactly what ways does the military dehumanize the enemy for soldiers to kill? Have you been through training yourself and have some stories to tell? The media has more to do with dehumanizing poeple than the military does. All you see is explosions from Muslims. Thats enough to change sentimite imo.
