Soldier's Self-Harm to Avoid Iraq

Painful Solution — Self-Harm Rising Among Desperate Soldiers

June 9, 2008

A pen in a stomach. A bullet in the toe. A jump off a roof. These incidents all end with a trip to the ER, but never in a tour of Iraq. For soldiers desperate to avoid a repeat tour in the Middle East, these "accidents" are missions accomplished.

Self-harm is a rising, and alarming, trend among soldiers headed to Iraq — especially those on their second or third trip. "Some soldiers," said Col. Kathy Platoni, an Army Reserve psychologist, "will do almost anything not to go back."

It's a shocking, though sadly not new, trend. To see when it began, read more.

All the way back to World War I, the American Journal of Psychiatry documented hospital beds filled with self-made bullet wounds, punctured eardrums, and slashed Achilles heels — an "epidemic of self-inflicted injuries." And while there are no hard numbers, for past wars or this one, the consensus is that it's worse than ever. The news makes Klinger's lady-clothes protest pale in comparison.

This combined with 2007's record-setting suicide rates and mounting cases of PTSD illuminates a problem that the Army can no longer ignore. "We're definitely concerned," said Col. Elspeth Ritchie, the Army's top psychologist, "we hope they'll talk to us rather than self-harm."

Though talking is a hopeful solution, it seems like shooting oneself in the toe is about as loud as anyone can yell. And the message is clear: We're done. For those who've been there once, some twice — this is a desperate measure to say they don't want to go back. Is news like this inevitable in a time of war — or a crisis crying for immediate attention?

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52 Comments

gitsie123 4 years 47 weeks

You know what's funny is that a lot of you criticizing these soldiers who hurt themselves have probably never experienced combat. So its really easy for you to say do you job as soldier or don't sign up. Being in the army is your job and if you are not passionate about what your doing, would you want to continue?

gitsie123 4 years 47 weeks

stephley 4 years 49 weeks

Are all the civilian deaths due to terrorist acts? How many civilians are killed by U.S. shots, mortars, missiles and bombs fired from above and allegedly targeting terrorists? Do you know where you can find estimates on that? Can you tell a terrorist from anyone else from a plane or helicopter? If you want to take over the world, it's illegal attack another country. But if you want to spread democracy, kill a leader you find offensive and/or want to control oil fields, it's legal to invade another country. Motive makes the difference? And the Germans supported the war because otherwise they'd be killed (what history book is that from?). Did their soldiers know that they only had support from people under threat of death? Wouldn't that have affected their morale? Were the German people simply victims in the war then and not responsible for their government?

stephley 4 years 49 weeks

Are all the civilian deaths due to terrorist acts? How many civilians are killed by U.S. shots, mortars, missiles and bombs fired from above and allegedly targeting terrorists? Do you know where you can find estimates on that? Can you tell a terrorist from anyone else from a plane or helicopter? If you want to take over the world, it's illegal attack another country. But if you want to spread democracy, kill a leader you find offensive and/or want to control oil fields, it's legal to invade another country. Motive makes the difference?And the Germans supported the war because otherwise they'd be killed (what history book is that from?). Did their soldiers know that they only had support from people under threat of death? Wouldn't that have affected their morale? Were the German people simply victims in the war then and not responsible for their government?

UnDave35 4 years 49 weeks

Who is committing the terrorist attacks? Who is strapping bombs onto themselves, walking into a crowded area, and then detonating those bombs? It's not us.As for Hitler, the "whining" was because this man wanted the world for himself. The reason Hitler attacked the other countries was for his own global conquest. Do you really think Bush is tryin to take over the world? The German people publically supported the attacks, because they had to. If they didn't, the SS would hunt them down and send them to a camp, where they would eventually be killed.

UnDave35 4 years 49 weeks

Who is committing the terrorist attacks? Who is strapping bombs onto themselves, walking into a crowded area, and then detonating those bombs? It's not us. As for Hitler, the "whining" was because this man wanted the world for himself. The reason Hitler attacked the other countries was for his own global conquest. Do you really think Bush is tryin to take over the world? The German people publically supported the attacks, because they had to. If they didn't, the SS would hunt them down and send them to a camp, where they would eventually be killed.

stephley 4 years 49 weeks

We've had this conversation before: soldiers do not give up their right to their personal beliefs - they are supposed to refuse any order that they believe is illegal. What do you have to support the claim that al-Qaida is behind the majority of civilian deaths in Iraq? The U.S. government won't even officially count those deaths so how do you claim that?The legalities of the war are important. Otherwise what was all the whining about Hitler moving into other countries? If it wasn't illegal what made it wrong and worth a world war? Should the German people of the time be satisfied if they supported their government because they didn't want to let down the soldiers? Or should they have spoken out and tried to stop what was happening?Sadly, you cannot separate the two - you cannot have a war for the wrong reasons and make it okay.

stephley 4 years 49 weeks

We've had this conversation before: soldiers do not give up their right to their personal beliefs - they are supposed to refuse any order that they believe is illegal. What do you have to support the claim that al-Qaida is behind the majority of civilian deaths in Iraq? The U.S. government won't even officially count those deaths so how do you claim that? The legalities of the war are important. Otherwise what was all the whining about Hitler moving into other countries? If it wasn't illegal what made it wrong and worth a world war? Should the German people of the time be satisfied if they supported their government because they didn't want to let down the soldiers? Or should they have spoken out and tried to stop what was happening? Sadly, you cannot separate the two - you cannot have a war for the wrong reasons and make it okay.

UnDave35 4 years 49 weeks

You can think about any war like that Stephley. As one general correctly put it, war is he77. Does that mean we shouldn't fix what has been broken? BTW, we aren't doing the majority of killing of civilians. You can thank Al-Qaida for that.

UnDave35 4 years 49 weeks

WE can argue the "legalities" of this war all you want, but that isn't the point. The point cab was trying to make is the media has painted this as an all gloom and doom campaign. Our soldiers are dying for no reason, and the people over there hate us (sounds a lot like Vietnam, without the "babykiller" stamp). These references to Iraq aren't true.As a soldier, your job is to go where ordered, regardless of your personal beliefs. If you don't like that, don't sign up.

UnDave35 4 years 49 weeks

WE can argue the "legalities" of this war all you want, but that isn't the point. The point cab was trying to make is the media has painted this as an all gloom and doom campaign. Our soldiers are dying for no reason, and the people over there hate us (sounds a lot like Vietnam, without the "babykiller" stamp). These references to Iraq aren't true. As a soldier, your job is to go where ordered, regardless of your personal beliefs. If you don't like that, don't sign up.

stephley 4 years 49 weeks

This will sound harsh I know, but every time you talk about the good things going on in Iraq I think of someone breaking into a house, killing the family but fixing the plumbing on the way out. It isn't good enough to justify the pain.

stephley 4 years 49 weeks

UnDave35 4 years 49 weeks

Hey hypno - Since you looked it up, would you share what Myopic means?

stephley 4 years 49 weeks

"You can, in big part, thank the media for that when they constantly tell our troops that the war is illegal, everything they are doing is useless, most of the country doesn't beleive in their mission, and never report any of the GOOD things that are happening."Try to imagine what it is like to truly believe that the war is illegal - it is very hard to support anyone on mission that involves death that you believe is wrong. I'm very sorry, I know that makes people feel bad (even in my own family), but the thought of the deaths on both side in an illegal war makes me very sad. I will support any soldier who says 'I don't want to go back (or go)', 'I believe it is illegal and I believe it is wrong for me to take part'... but other people suggest that those soldiers are cowards or worse (remember the recent thread here.)What can be done?

stephley 4 years 49 weeks

"You can, in big part, thank the media for that when they constantly tell our troops that the war is illegal, everything they are doing is useless, most of the country doesn't beleive in their mission, and never report any of the GOOD things that are happening." Try to imagine what it is like to truly believe that the war is illegal - it is very hard to support anyone on mission that involves death that you believe is wrong. I'm very sorry, I know that makes people feel bad (even in my own family), but the thought of the deaths on both side in an illegal war makes me very sad. I will support any soldier who says 'I don't want to go back (or go)', 'I believe it is illegal and I believe it is wrong for me to take part'... but other people suggest that those soldiers are cowards or worse (remember the recent thread here.) What can be done?

hausfrau 4 years 49 weeks

hypno - i know a lot of the news they get over there is fox news for obvious reasons.and im certainly not arguing that news shouldn't be reporting the facts, but they facts on BOTH sides should be reported and the good stories should be reported too.

hausfrau 4 years 49 weeks

hypno - i know a lot of the news they get over there is fox news for obvious reasons. and im certainly not arguing that news shouldn't be reporting the facts, but they facts on BOTH sides should be reported and the good stories should be reported too.

hypnoticmix 4 years 49 weeks

Hey cabaker you just made me look up a work. MYOPIC Well the news is news cabaker we can't have important news stories be ignored. I agree that bad news is a moral killer whether you're a citizen or soldier. In my opinion since being in the military does nullify certain rights and privileges and one is no longer a citizen in the traditional sense while on active duty the powers that be have every right to ban news broadcasts and control internet reception if that's what it takes to keep moral from falling.

hypnoticmix 4 years 49 weeks

hausfrau 4 years 49 weeks

"they don't have the same sense of "mission" as the soldiers of WWII" You can, in big part, thank the media for that when they constantly tell our troops that the war is illegal, everything they are doing is useless, most of the country doesn't beleive in their mission, and never report any of the GOOD things that are happening. I mean really, are we so myopic as to think that troops overseas don't hear that stuff?

hausfrau 4 years 49 weeks

"they don't have the same sense of "mission" as the soldiers of WWII"You can, in big part, thank the media for that when they constantly tell our troops that the war is illegal, everything they are doing is useless, most of the country doesn't beleive in their mission, and never report any of the GOOD things that are happening.I mean really, are we so myopic as to think that troops overseas don't hear that stuff?

CaterpillarGirl 4 years 49 weeks

I dont know how i would feel if a relative of mine hurt themselves in some dumb way just so they wouldnt go back to serving out their duties. pity>embarrassment>sadness> all of the above?

CaterpillarGirl 4 years 49 weeks

I dont know how i would feel if a relative of mine hurt themselves in some dumb way just so they wouldnt go back to serving out their duties. pity>embarrassment>sadness> all of the above?

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