America's Medicated Army

jeez, what a world we live in.
If and when this war(s) are over, there will be millions dead and plenty of soldiers who've come home to slowly die of their addictions and mental health afflictions.
wish we could evolve already.
 
As far as I know, soldiers have always been "medicated". As for my sparking the whole "kpin/klonopin/rovitrol/clonazepam" debate, in the states it is known as klonopin, while in mexico I've been sold Rovitrol (otc i might add) instead. And I know in europe, it is also Rovitrol. But that is where my own personal experience ends, so end of that.

But yeah, right after the invention of the hypodermic syringe, morphine was known as "the soldier's disease"... its pretty well known that as far as the US army goes, dextroamphetamine ("go pills") and temazepam ("no go pills") are used to help stimulate/sedate the soldiers, whatever the need may be. And there is no denying that this affects the psyche of a soldier. Someone who is facing life/death danger therefore being rushed with adrenaline, with dexamph on top of that, may be pretty violent and compulsive. Hell, he may even shoot the first person he sees, because the drug may make him act on his impulses before using his head.

however, to me the use of ssri's is even worse (in the military) because of the lack of conscience or care that I myself remember, i had been prescribed these meds when i was in my early teens (zoloft, paxil, prozac, alternated between all those before I was put on benzos). However, I don't think there are any real upsides to this, because if high doses barely helped me or most people I know on these meds, ssri's certainly won't help a soldier's depression.

The one thing that I'm happy about is the MDMA research on soldiers with PTSD, and this may be one drug that would help them, but certainly will not help the kill count, and I can't even imagine pulling a trigger on MDMA. Is this SSRI thing new? I can only picture bad news when you mix an antidepressant that can increase the risk of suicide and dangerous behavior (which you dont notice except in retrospect for the most part, the dangerous behavior) with armed troops. Looks like mass suicide to me.

Then again, if I was a soldier and I took a few dexies, I would prolly be just as likely to blow my brains out after thinking about "the big picture" as amphetamines tend to do.

Still, i say, even MDMA, treat the people who have PTSD after you pull them out, which should be immediate, but wont be. Soldiers should not be taking SSRI's, in fact, you can't even serve if you're on them. Eric Harris, Columbine shooter, was on Luvox, and was therefore rejected from service, and this is in part what caused the tragedy. IMO, nothing but bad news.

Anybody know how long this has been going on? Specifically SSRI's in the military.
 
Napoleon said something along the lines of "an army marches on its stomach, not its feet." Hitler found a loophole with stimulants.... The blitzkrieg was fueled by stimulants.... No need for food or sleep, they are happy and eager to fight... seems like a pretty ideal drug if you want to work fast... America just prefer them as drug addicts than insane... get prescribed kpins early in the 3 years, you take them routinely for 3 years and you might be a little bit of a benzo addict by then..

if this makes no sense, sorry, i am a bit high...
 
FractalStructure said:
As far as I know, soldiers have always been "medicated". As for my sparking the whole "kpin/klonopin/rovitrol/clonazepam" debate, in the states it is known as klonopin, while in mexico I've been sold Rovitrol (otc i might add) instead. And I know in europe, it is also Rovitrol. But that is where my own personal experience ends, so end of that.

But yeah, right after the invention of the hypodermic syringe, morphine was known as "the soldier's disease"... its pretty well known that as far as the US army goes, dextroamphetamine ("go pills") and temazepam ("no go pills") are used to help stimulate/sedate the soldiers, whatever the need may be. And there is no denying that this affects the psyche of a soldier. Someone who is facing life/death danger therefore being rushed with adrenaline, with dexamph on top of that, may be pretty violent and compulsive. Hell, he may even shoot the first person he sees, because the drug may make him act on his impulses before using his head.

however, to me the use of ssri's is even worse (in the military) because of the lack of conscience or care that I myself remember, i had been prescribed these meds when i was in my early teens (zoloft, paxil, prozac, alternated between all those before I was put on benzos). However, I don't think there are any real upsides to this, because if high doses barely helped me or most people I know on these meds, ssri's certainly won't help a soldier's depression.

The one thing that I'm happy about is the MDMA research on soldiers with PTSD, and this may be one drug that would help them, but certainly will not help the kill count, and I can't even imagine pulling a trigger on MDMA. Is this SSRI thing new? I can only picture bad news when you mix an antidepressant that can increase the risk of suicide and dangerous behavior (which you dont notice except in retrospect for the most part, the dangerous behavior) with armed troops. Looks like mass suicide to me.

Then again, if I was a soldier and I took a few dexies, I would prolly be just as likely to blow my brains out after thinking about "the big picture" as amphetamines tend to do.

Still, i say, even MDMA, treat the people who have PTSD after you pull them out, which should be immediate, but wont be. Soldiers should not be taking SSRI's, in fact, you can't even serve if you're on them. Eric Harris, Columbine shooter, was on Luvox, and was therefore rejected from service, and this is in part what caused the tragedy. IMO, nothing but bad news.

Anybody know how long this has been going on? Specifically SSRI's in the military.
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It's Rivotril, not Rovitrol. Though it might have been sold under a different though somewhat simmilar names as Rivotril in Mexico, though that might just have been a Rivotril rip-off. And Rivotril is not OTC in Mexico, they often just don't bother with the prescription or will sell it under the counter when no one is watching, but legally, Rivotril is a controlled and regulated drug in Mexico.
 
Last December, a remarkable article appeared in Army Times, titled: "Not us. We're not going: Soldiers in 2nd Platoon, Charlie 1-26 stage a 'mutiny' that pulls the unit apart." It was written by Kelly Kennedy, who had been embedded with a platoon in Iraq, and was just one part of her far-reaching series on that unit. Kennedy has continued to write about the plight of soldiers and veterans as a top Military Times reporter.

Kennedy back then described several incidents that caused many soldiers in the unit to take a stand -- and "stand down" in Iraq due largely to the unbearable stress they had been under, particularly after witnessing many colleagues brutally killed. Among other things, they were afraid they would take their anger and frustration out on innocent Iraqis. After the mutiny, many were transfered elsewhere.

One of the triggers for the mutiny, Kennedy explained, was a quite shocking and, as far as we knew, a first in this war: Last July, a much respected first sergeant had taken out his weapon while out on a mission and, after shouting, "F--- this!", killed himself right in front of his men.

His name was Jeffrey McKinney. This was just one of dozens of recent "soldier suicides" that I have chronicled but certainly the most public.

A preliminary investigation had found that McKinney, after all the recent deaths, felt he had let his men down, although there was scant evidence for this. He had been having trouble sleeping, and even communicating, and was on medication. Beyond that, there was great mystery, including: Why was he not in treatment somewhere?
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The rest of the entry is here.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/6/16/133640/090/213/536765

Anyways, from what I've heard from my relatives and buddies who served drug use is very high. Especially in Afghanistan. Supposedly opium and hash are being sold openly outside of miltary bases in Afghanistan.

I also heard an NPR report from a solider that ended up taking a huge amount of valium everyday. He said many soliders were in the same position.

This war in Iraq is a total disgrace to me as an American, and I was opposed to it from day 1. My friends and relatives who actually served over there are facing increasing problems. One of my cousins was hit with an IED and had to pay for 3 surgeries out of pocket until they finally awarded him with a purple heart and some medical treatment. He still has very little range of motion in one of his arms.

I also met a guy at my school who served in Afghanistan who stated that soliders know that eating pods can produce effects. He talked about his unit plucking pods as they walked through the poppy fields. He seemed a bit off and I don't know wether or not to believe him but it makes sense.
 
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Pshaaw said:
no.. that wouldn't make good propaganda..

and that's probably why the 115 soldiers who killed themselves didn't make big news either.. that's the first time i've heard that statistic..
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Its actually much higher then that. US Solider Suicides are going through the roof. I suspect those 115 suicides occured only among soldiers actively serving in the field at the time of there suicide.

WASHINGTON - Army soldiers committed suicide in 2007 at the highest rate on record, and the toll is climbing ever higher this year as long war deployments stretch on.


At least 115 soldiers killed themselves last year, up from 102 the previous year, the Army said Thursday.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080530/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/military_suicides

From the dailykos.com diary I posted in my previous post

As of May 3, 139 soldiers, 25 Marines and seven sailors have killed themselves in the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones, according to Pentagon data.
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:(

Personally, i'm really scared for one of my cousins (the one I described above that got hit by an IED)... I hate to say it but I can see him taking his life and he has a wife and a son. He's trying to get help, but it just doesn't seem to be working. He saw some extremely heavy combat in the first Fallujah raid. It fucking sickens me that my government is trying to sweep his and other similar cases under the rug. Even my uncle (his father), who is a gung ho 18 percenter (Bush's approval rating) is extremely worried... and thats very scary.

Rachiam is correct, the US has had a long problem with this. We must demand this stop.
 
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The goverment certainly need a program for all this PTSD and related disorders. They are so good at programming for combat, but there is no de-program either. I mean how the hell are they supposed to come back and just be a civilan like that? It frustrates me.
 
^^^

A major part of the problem is many solidiers feel that admitting PTSD makes them "weak". The government knows this and exploits it when instead they should be encouraging those who feel they are having problems to seek help.
 
When I first met my bf it was something that he had mentioned that he was dxed with. I am a psych major and told him so at the time so I am familiar with some of the symptoms and what not. However he rarely talks about any of his experiences, perhaps because of classification. I also know that its not often people want to talk. i find myself wanting to reach out to him, but all you can really do is just be there if/when they are ready.
 
It is more probably along the lines that he feels unless you have been there there is no point talking to you about it. I have never been able to talk to my wife about what ?I have expereinced and that was my main reason in trying to do it in my BL Journal. IT is just so hard to get it out. It is not like it scarred me in any way I realise but you are changed, that is for sure. I went in at age 16, fought in 4 wars including the lasrt one, plus constant counter terror in Reserves over the years and to me it is the only time I feel alive.I thought that when I first killed I would be very somber, changed with the gravity but it was not like that at all. Life just seems alot cheaper, and at the same time among my loved ones so damn valuable that I have to control myself in order to let them lead their day to day lives...especially my 3 kids who are serving now. Just be patient with your b/f and offer a sympathetic ear if he begins to talk but do not push him into it. Most everyone I know is the same as me, not seeing a point to talk about it on one hand and on the other feeling they have to,especially as they age.
 
No, I don't even usually bring it up, he talks if/when he wants to.
Its strange, I'venever been in combat but it seems you are so focus on your own life and those of your fellow soldiers that you don't really think about killing other people at the moment. Maye once you get home, you do, and then there is no one there to help... Thats kinda how I see it, but feel free to tell me I'm wrong.
 
I'd think combat is like any stressful situation... such as going to prison, getting into a fight etc. When you are there you concentrate surviving/protecting yourself. Only once you are out of the situation and have time to think about what happened does it really hit you.

Some people are worse then others. Some get off scot free, some can deal with it, some just totally crack. It seems their is no rhyme or reason.

Anyways I think one of the major problems with the US army is the fact that they are understaffed (no way I'd join the military personally, especially not now with 2 wars and a terrible regime in power) so they are forced to send the same people over and over again.
 
rachamim said:
It is a fact. It is how i became addicted although it was in the Israeli Army and by morphine due ot injury but the rrates in all modern wello equppied armies are though the roof.

Western New Years they raided by Brigade's homebase (NACHAL Brigade, 50th G'dud, Mt Hermon is our home) and pissed all men on actual duty that night and just out of my G'dud, my Battalion, 7 men guilty for opiates.

The difference with our nation though is that they take care of us. In America they have tradionally had this problem since their Civil War and since then have just swept these poor men under the collective rug.


In Israel they invented that horrid thing called Rapid Detox and we were the first to use it, thank G-D I never opted for it. In my generation it was methadone or medical discharge which meant no jobs in the civlain sector.

It is how I began with MMT, For PTSD they offer us Ketamine and now MDMA so I have to say no Israeli soldier should really comaplin looking at how the Americans are making out.
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wow, omfg...fuck the usa. Go Israel! :\ But seriously...my god.

And to the OP's article, and to anyone else I guess...you guys actually consider this a surprise? Methamphetamine became FLOODED throughout the southwest and then onwards after the soldiers came back from Japan, through Hawaii, then to San Diego and on wards after WWII. It's an openly known fact that US troops have always been drugged up in one way or another. Especially (no pun intended), special forces/very high stress "out of the norm(for the military) operations".

But of all things, I am a little surprised...that or either just way out of the "mainstream"....Antidepressants (medicinal doses of benzos are completely understandable), but antidepressants?...are "we" TRYING to increase the suicide rates of our soldiers over there ever more?

"And the answer is to give them a pill"....wow..seriously...wow....but again, big surprise.
 
Valium and other benzos are often given to military snipers for aim and the ability to be comfortable for very long periods of time whilst waiting for a shot (or a spotter). They aren't, however, giving them doses to get high on, just smaller theraputic doses to give an edge (or take it away...).

Peace and nut grease.
 
Give me my drugs and send me out there with a machine gun.
"If I was in world war two they'd call me spitfire" - The prodigy

For somebody who DOESN'T want to be drugged up and kill people..that's horrible.
For someone who does, well that's bad but...yeah.

Next, they should give them all a double dose of Ritalin IV'ed and send them out there with whatever they shoot people with.

That would win a war.

If there were anybody to fight.

Honestly..I don't have much feeling for what I just read cause I already knew it. It's terrible, but there's not much anyone can do to stop it. Get the troops out of there, we're doing no good.
 
^ depends on who you talk to. Talking to the troops themselves they have told me that they have seen positive change. NOTE- I am not trying to start a debate of ANY sort of the topic, I'm just noting that the troops seem to be the ones that we should be talking to. The boots on the ground, not some political person who might not have ever been there.

Restating basic views to get us back on target:
I don't like it, but I guess there has to be something to deal with the horrors that are seen and have to be done at some points.
US army needs a discharge program so that soldiers and allowed to become healthy constructive civilans after, or at least as much as possible.
 
My friend Sean was in Iraq for quite awhile and he said he never even knew WHY he was there. I don't know much about the issue, and neither does anyone really. I just try to distance myself from the whole thing. There isn't any use fretting over something that 1) you don't really know about and 2) can't change

Yes, I wish it would end.
No, I will not worry myself over it.
 
btrswiet7u4ia said:
I don't know much about the issue, and neither does anyone really. There isn't any use fretting over something that 1) you don't really know about and 2) can't change
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That's naive and arrogant.

Alot of people do know about it and yes it can be changed! :\
 
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