By GUS DAVIS APRIL 27, 2009
When I was in Vietnam, the Marines had the highest casualty rate of any of the Services. We knew that they had only one tactic and the subtle joke was: "Put your head down and charge." This wasn't really true, but it was somewhat indicative of how they approached everything.
Take the latest crisis: suicides are on the uptick. In 2008, 41 Marines committed suicide, a rate of 19 per 1000. Last year, the Marines lost more to suicide than Marines killed in Iraq.
Here's what the Marines plans to do: "All Marines will receive a two hour suicide prevention presentation." Problem solved, Marine style.
What is happening with the Marines and the Army for that matter? Not a simple explanation. Truly, there is nothing more tragic than some youngster taking his or her own life.
Here are just a couple of theories from the "Girlfriends:"
Andy thinks that it has to do with disillusionment. Young Marines arrive in Iraq and see the carnage; they view the attitude of the people and they ask themselves, "What gives? Is it worth it?" And, then in a moment of despair, without thinking, they do something stupid.
Larry, a former Marine, sees it as the basic quality of present day recruits. The situation is vastly different when he was drafted and chose the Marines as an alternative. Soldiers now come from lower socio-economic categories; they don't have the built- in constraints that they once did. Plus, we can never discount that repetitive tours produce their own peculiar types of problems.
Gary doesn't quite see it like Larry. He thinks that those less sophisticated might be just the ones who would not commit suicide. What we do know is that the more sophisticated have a tendency to seek out help more quickly.
My personal belief is that the uptick in Marine suicide seems to be an impulse move. Think about it: Marines at war, weapons everywhere, disillusionment, dear john letters, debt, divorce, loneliness, kids-a thousand and one things that a deployed soldier has to think about.
There are really no answers to this enormous riddle. Many put it off on drugs, medication, anything that makes us look for answers. Some or all of them may be true. Marines might have a good idea by offering a two day course. OK, no Marines are authorized to commit suicide. It is un-Marine.
