by Darryl Walker, Jr.
Images of flag-draped coffins are often attributed to wars fought abroad. A seldom acknowledged internal battle, however, also poses a danger to U.S. service members. In 2014, twenty veterans took their lives every day. The risk for suicide among veterans was 21% higher than the general population, with women having a significantly higher prevalence. Invisible wounds such as major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and traumatic brain injuries are linked to increased rates of suicide. In 2012, the leading cause of death in the U.S. military was suicide—surpassing those directly related to combat.
Stigma, Policy & Access to Care
The fact that mental illnesses and cognitive impairments are stigmatized is a major problem. People with psychological disorders are discriminated against and viewed as weak. For example, when asked about troops returning from combat with post-traumatic stress disorder, Donald Trump suggested some were not strong enough to “handle it.” This corrosive perspective is enabled by the economic system of capitalism which serves corporate greed instead of human need. Social beings become alienated individuals saddled with expectations of self-sufficiency. This creates an atmosphere where veterans are compelled to suffer in silence.
The United States Congress and Department of Veterans Affairs has made important strides toward decreasing stigma and improving mental wellness in the military. The Female Suicide Prevention Act became law in 2016; stating that troops who “experience combat-related mental health wounds should have immediate, appropriate, and consistent access to comprehensive mental health care.” The bill requires that mental health programs treating women with the greatest rates of success be identified. At a practical level, this will ensure that the best practices for assisting women in the military are recognized and standardized throughout the country.
Conventional wisdom has focused solely on the individual rather than the larger structure. A rapacious appetite for profit is international in scope and requires an armed force to suppress the masses abroad. Defense contractors exploit the honorable desire to protect one’s community to make a pretty penny. Naked destruction is cloaked by narratives of patriotism; breeding a twin sense of nationalism and desensitization to its victims.
The Department of Veterans affairs doubled the resources available for its Veterans Crisis Line. This greater capacity enables the operation to run around the clock. Since its implementation in 2007, hotline counselors have “answered over 2.5 million calls, dispatched emergency services in crisis situations more than 66,000 times, and engaged 314,000 veterans or concerned family members through its chat option.” Additionally, access for marginalized communities was increased, in part, by the launch of TeleMental Health Services, which allows patients to be provided with expedited psychological care from specialists, from a distance, in real-time. (TeleMental is the satellite project of a larger service. Between 2003 and 2015, some 677,000 veterans utilized TeleHealth Services for mental health management; the program was expanded in light of the acute mental health issues befalling service members.)
The Military-Industrial Complex
Politicians and psychiatrists alike have danced around the true root of veteran suicide: warfare. Conventional wisdom has focused solely on the individual rather than the larger structure. A rapacious appetite for profit is international in scope and requires an armed force to suppress the masses abroad. The military is a global police force—with 800 military bases around the world—ensuring the will of those atop the pyramid with guns and bombs. An endless demand for expansion propels a war machine that views human lives, truth, and morals as expendable. A prime example is the War on Terror; justified, in part, by the claim that Iraq possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction. Leaders knew the assertion was false, but it loaned credence to an adventure of conquest worth billions of dollars. There is a military-industrial complex that lines the pockets of the wealthy by using our brave daughters and sons as cannon fodder. Defense contractors exploit the honorable desire to protect one’s community to make a pretty penny. Naked destruction is cloaked by narratives of patriotism; breeding a twin sense of nationalism and desensitization to its victims.
Hiding Violence: Language & Perspective
Language naturalizes the violence of the military. Leaders tend to frame military actions as mere defense or intervention. These are not exercises in semantics that are reducible to poor word choice; this is a strategy for justifying empire. Consider the fact that between 1789 and 1947, there was a Department of War. After World War II, however, it was renamed the Department of Defense. This not so subtle rhetorical shift is an attempt to gain consent for war by making the aggressor the victim, and the victim the aggressor.
There is a general interest in “treating” veterans for post-traumatic stress disorder, but not preventing the original trauma of warfare. If America is truly dedicated to ending suicide among service members, it would dismantle capitalism and the military industrial-complex that requires endless war.
Furthermore, the term intervention is disingenuous because it assumes that the United States is a neutral third party. America does not intervene, it interferes—with coup d’états if necessary to the needs of capital. What the United States government calls ‘foreign policy’ is a euphemism for imperialism: the invasion, obliteration, and/or occupation of another territory to gain power and profit.
A Strategy for Ending Veteran Suicide
The Trump Administration has proposed a military funding increase of $54 billion. Judging from the latest attacks in Syria, Afghanistan, and posturing toward North Korea—warfare will continue to be the country’s standard operating procedure. The prospect of more warfare only increases the probability that more service members will become traumatized, leading to more veteran suicides. At this point, the typical liberal proposal is introduced as a solution: the mental health system needs to be funded better. This idea tends to exist alongside a support for an increase in military spending. For example, Hillary Clinton supported a $500 million increase in mental health care for veterans, while also arguing that America “should maintain the best-trained, best-equipped, and strongest military the world has ever known.” There is a general interest in ‘treating’ veterans for post-traumatic stress disorder, but not preventing the original trauma of warfare. If America is truly dedicated to ending suicide among service members, it would dismantle capitalism and the military industrial-complex that requires endless war. Anything short of that is disingenuous and a middle finger to service members. We need to imagine a world that is free from capitalist exploitation and violence. The best strategy for ending veteran suicide is building a society that does not require the armed forces.
Darryl Walker, Jr. is a poet, bookworm, and member of Socialist Alternative RI. He has a Master of Arts degree in Sociology & Anthropology from Northeastern University, and Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Rhode Island College. He can be contacted here and you can read more of his writings here.
* * *
Our collected volume of essays, Demand the Impossible: Essays in History As Activism, is now available on Amazon! Based on research first featured on The Activist History Review, the twelve essays in this volume examine the role of history in shaping ongoing debates over monuments, racism, clean energy, health care, poverty, and the Democratic Party. Together they show the ways that the issues of today are historical expressions of power that continue to shape the present. Also, be sure to review our book on Goodreads and join our Goodreads group to receive notifications about upcoming promotions and book discussions for Demand the Impossible!
* * *
We here at The Activist History Review are always working to expand and develop our mission, vision, and goals for the future. These efforts sometimes necessitate a budget slightly larger than our own pockets. If you have enjoyed reading the content we host here on the site, please consider donating to our cause.
The Activist History Review 
Pingback: Dismantling Capitalism: Strategy for Ending Veteran Suicide – Zone of Non-being
Shame on us for not caring for our Vets (and anyone with a mental illness for that matter) after they have served and come home expecting our thanks. And what do they get? Our backs turned and disregard for what they have seen, felt and gone through–something that many of us are unwilling or unable to have done. I’m always brought back (maybe because it’s closer to my generation) to the Viet Nam Vets and how they suffered upon returning!! And still so many of them face illness…it is a disgrace.
LikeLiked by 2 people
You are absolutely right. The general attitude toward mental illness is deplorable. One would think that, given the propaganda about serving in the military (i.e. “the few, the proud”), the care would be excellent. But this is far from the truth. Many veterans struggle to navigate the VA, and are forced onto the streets. It is bad enough the US destroys other countries with war, but to not even provide care to those who served is unspeakable.
LikeLiked by 2 people
A sionista mafia khazarian-banksters, o verdadeiro governo oculto dos USA, não tolera o povo norte-americano. Utiliza as Forças Armadas desse país para fazer o trabalho pesado, para invadir militarmente outros países que não aceitam sua pretensa legitimidade, para impor ditadores títeres e promover o saqueio de outras nações, o que fazem há mais de 250 anos… aliados à midia mainstream, fazem apologia dos soldados norte-americanos, mas tudo é para enganar… quando retornam, após defender os interesses financeiros dos larápios, os soldados são largados à própria sorte… os bandidos não possuem nenhum senso moral ou ético, só a ganancia os move… a mentira, a enganação e a dissimulação são suas ferramentas de trabalho…
Aqueles que foram lutar no Afeganistão, para “defender a democracia” dos campos de papoula da CIA, quando retornam são largados na rua, mesmo com problemas mentais adquiridos na guerra… e não protegem os veteranos… sentindo-se abandonados até pela pátria, os mesmos recorrem ao gesto extremo, para terminar sua vida amarga e sem sentido…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have seen it personally
LikeLiked by 1 person
O povo norte-americano foi criado pela máfia sionista khazarian-banksters (diga-se Rothschild e seus asseclas) para servir como o braço militar, necessário para implementar a Nova Ordem Mundial. O povo acreditou na pérfida história dos USA representar “a defesa da democracia” no mundo, sendo o povo americano a reserva moral do mundo…e auto-considerando-se a policia mundial, com poderes para substituir todos os governantes que não estejam seguindo as normas democráticas ou “oprimindo o povo”, não respeitando as liberdades básicas… baseado nestas premissas, interviu militarmente em mais de 80 países, nos últimos 200 anos, e através de suas “agencias de informações”, promoveu e promove a eliminação física de quaisquer pessoas que se interponham contra seus interesses politicos e economicos… somente a contínua imbecilização coletiva permite aos crápulas a manutenção de políticas discriminatórias e a escravização coletiva dos povos, baseados em informações transmitidas pela midia mainstream e pelos curriculos educacionais, elaborados de acordo com a versão que pretendem inculcar nos povos… apoiam-se ainda na disseminação do uso de drogas, para manter os povos em estado de torpor, em fase de aniquilação de mais de 90% da população, através de fome, doenças, guerras e utilização de medicamentos e vacinas contaminados… estamos assistindo a tudo isto de maneira apática, conformista…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Concordo com muitas das teorias você express. Os Estados Unidos usa as suas forças militares para reprimir as rebeliões todo o globo. Ela existe unicamente com a finalidade de defender o lucro e o imperialismo. A discussão da democracia existe para proporcionar uma ilusão e a tampa para a violência sistemática que a classe dirigente perpetua a massas de pessoas. A ideia de uma democracia é potente – é um narcótico que coloca as pessoas a dormir, tornando-os esquecem que são oprimidos.
Penso que a finalidade de negociações comerciais, como o NAFTA, CAFTA e TPP – foi para solidificar o que poderíamos chamar de uma nova ordem mundial: um mundo onde a perda de soberania dos países e vêm mais e mais sob o controle da elites dominantes.
LikeLike