Soldier suicides reach worrying numbers
The number of Greece’s soldiers who have committed suicide in the last 10 years could staff two army platoons, according to research conducted by Skai Television.

Since 1998, 75 military personnel have taken their own lives, according to the research. In 58 cases, the suicide victims were privates, while the remainder of incidents related to officers.

Increased demands on soldiers along with officers giving them a hard time are the reasons behind the deaths, Nikos Argyriou, a representative from the Solidarity Committee for Conscripts told Skai.

The latest victim came on Sunday from the island of Kos, where a 24-year-old conscript shot himself while on guard duty. Argyriou added that the number of suicides in the wider armed forces is higher as there are also incidents of staff in the navy and airforce ending their own lives.



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Hìåñïìçíßá : 20-03-07

Copyright: http://www.ekathimerini.com

Why the occurance of so many suicides?

Pulling the trigger is the easy way since while a private the first object you carry is a weapon... I don't think armed forces is THE cause of suicide. Armed forces MAY give a boost, a tone of disappointment, melancholy, low self-esteem etc, but these people had OTHER problems to worry about, which consequently proved to be more difficult than they expected... The cause of suicide should be sought in the family circles, environment and personality.

During my time at the academy one shot his self because his Girlfriend left him... Another major factor is.. Drugs..

The fact his girl left him is a good excuse for commiting suicide??? My personal opinion is that apart from incurable diseases (but then we discuss about euthanasia) no other reason is good enough to suicide... :D

You started a subject Ariadne, what's your opinion on that?

For you and me maybe it isn't but for some other "weaker" personalities it can be a fatal reason...During night watch, when everything seems so desperately lonesome a thing like that could prove mortal..It is these desperate moments that lead to consequences like that.

Commiting suicide if a boyfriend/girlfriend leaves? It doesn't make sense. If one party doesn't want to continue the relasionship it will never work, you'll both be miserable. Eventualy there's going to be someone you marry, it's important to remember that that person exists somewhere, and in turn to heal, dedicate all one's love for the greater good of the community.

Although, granted, gaurd duty could leave someone engulfed with emptiness and plagued by cold... and unless these individuals actively combat emotion with productivity it has the power to take over.

On the general topic, it amazes me that the soldiers aren't more closely monitered, especialy when it comes to mental health. Doctors should be more active in looking at people who are at risk of this sort of behavoir. If it is an issue with drugs, why isn't there something in place to deal with it? The one's on drugs especialy, are a danger to those around them.

@ D.E.A.

It isn't that someone so heartbroken has a weaker personality, it's simply that they've devoted all the strength and commitment of themselves into an idea that is unstable. And when that idea is destroyed, so are they.

@ DEA

Come on chap, have you ever thought any good cause of commiting suicide while in service during a lonely cold night on guard? Nah, I don't think so... :D

@ Ariadne

Unless the individual obviously behaves like a psycho or he consciously reports incidents of previous psychological instability or even use of drugs (psycho-drugs), there is no other filtering for privates when joining the army. And monitoring individuals as unit itself is something that can't be found in army with such huge numbers of people in the same place... Talking about the majority of camps of course, am not including SF or other special units camps.

The fact that me and you never considered suicide as a solution to an X problem doesn't mean that all peole act the same..During my time what i considered to be extreme was 5 days of complete hunger(except for those cursed 8 blocks of datrex) and insomnia.For someone else breaking up could be worse because people tend to invest many things on a relationship.For instance a 29 year old guy from our company burst out crying like a small child because he did 5 hours of night shift instead of 2... We should also keep in mind that many officers/commanders start careing about the wellbeing of their soldiers after the suicide of one of them...Saying that all is good in the army is a huge lie,in many cases the conscript is considered as a servitor or even slave even from the pettiest petty professional soldier...
Ariadne it's quite difficult to distinguish the not mentally stable person in a big mass of soldiers, now add to that, the ignorance and lack of interest towards the soldiers and you get the recent results.

But when there is a group of people in such close contact with one another. Doesn't somebody get the feeling that "Something is not quite right..." and if someone does get that initial feeling is their follow through to get that individual help?

When they go out on gaurd duty, are they in close proximity with other soldeirs or are they essentialy alone?

Let's assume you are a private and you sense there's something going wrong. It's not easy to report unless you have elements indicating the obvious. On the other hand, bureaucracy, silent code and personal protection are the motives of not doing so (hear and listen to everything, watch and see everything, but say absolutely nothing). Regarding the other part of your question; Well Ariadne, guard spots are not quite close, take for example MBT camps or Combat Wings. There is only radio or telephone communication, consequently you are on your own and you can do aaaanything you want... :lol: :lol:

I dont want to spoil the Thread ...But i prefer suicide statistics than "Killings" like in the russian Army for excamble...were the contission of the newcomers are very harsh and often un-human (somewere we had a thread abouted)
The question which arises to me...is... did someone see the statistics in other Armys "suicide" ...(i would prefer NATO) for making some comparison...?

Regards

I'm not sure where to find NATO's statistics, this came up about the US. The numbers are no doubt much higher now as the article is from two years ago.

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