Bill Briggs (NBC News) reports that 2012 saw more US soldiers die from suicide than from combat. Briggs also notes, "The Army's suicide rate has cllimbed by 9 percent since the military branch launched its suicide-prevention campaign in 2009." The Secretary of Defense is not a general in war. Whether people grasp that or not, I don't know.
I do know Foreign Policy in Focus has run two articles about possible Cabinet members. They attacked John Kerry. Kerry is a US Senator and was the Democratic party's 2004 presidential candidate. He has been nominated by Barack to be Secretary of State. What that position means is apparently unclear to Foreign Policy in Focus, judging by their juvenile critique. By contrast, they rushed to embrace anti-gay Chuck Hagel. The one-time Republican Senator -- elected in a 'suprise victory' on voting machines he owned (see Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman's "Diebold's Political Machine," Mother Jones) -- gets praised by them. Because he's seen as anti-Israel. On such are decisions made when you're an idiot.
I'm not sure what they think a Secretary of Defense does. (The Foreign Policy in Focus pieces were written by two different people. We're being kind and not naming them.) The Secretary of Defense does not have sleep overs with the Israeli prime minister. The Secretary of Defense does not engage in heavy petting with the Israeli defense minister.
When you hear about rates of suicide in the military? That's something that the Secretary is supposed to address. The same with assault and rape in the ranks.
Chuck Hagel is anti-choice and voted repeatedly against abortion in his brief Senate career. Last Friday, Adam Serwer (Mother Jones) reported on Hagel's record on abortion and a number of e-mails came in asking why Planned Parenthood and NARAL weren't objecting to the nomination? Because they campaigned for Barack. They're not independent and their interest isn't America's women. Their interest is getting a seat at the table and stealing your money.
NARAL and Planned Parenthood aren't about women, they're not about fighting for women or women's right to choose. They issue idiotic statements to Serwer about how it doesn't matter what Hagel thinks. As a feminist, I see reproductive rights as health rights and if you're willing to short change a woman on one health right, you'll do so on others. His comments regarding rape and abortion are equally troubling when you consider the rate of assault and rape in the ranks currently.
Planned Parenthood and NARAL have made themselves useless.
And I'm not seeing many adult standing elsewhere in the room. We have repeatedly pointed out here that the position requires addressing the issues of suicide and assault. We have noted Chuck Hagel has nothing in his public record that speaks to his being able to address either issue.
Yesterday Senator Patty Murray, Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, spoke about an amendment she was sponsoring, "This law is another step forward in our efforts to ensure that servicemembers aren't slipping through the cracks. It will help to not only standardize suicide prevention efforts, but also contains provisions to reduce wait times, ensure proper diagnoses, and achieve true coordination of care and information between the Pentagon and the VA. We cannot afford to be passive about the military suicide epidemic we face. We must continue to respond with every legislative and outreach effort possible in order to turn this tragic trend around."
DoD and the VA have to work together on the suicide issue because it is that out of control. Why the hell aren't we talking about that in all the fluff coverage of who might be the next Secretary of Defense?
The majority of people joining in the military are young. There's not a sudden rush of 39-year-olds, for example, enlisting. And some are very young. The Secretary of Defense is responsible for the well being of the military. For several decades, this has been ignored. I don't care for Robert Gates but he at least gave lip service to concern. For several decades, the position has been used to beg for money from Congress for weapons. It's why DoD's budget has doubled since 2001 (refer to figure 1-3 in this DoD report if that's news to you).
The health and safety of the members of the military is supposed to be the primary issue for the Secretary of Defense (or Secretary of War, as it was once known).
People seem confused by that. I don't understand why that is. The military has been put in the position, in the last twelve years, of repeatedly doing jobs that go beyond their own duties, trainings and functions. They've been stretched to the limit with repeated tours of duty. They've had little dwell time. All of this adds to a culture of dysfunction.
The military needs a major re-set today. That requires a Secretary of Defense who can offer something different, that's why Barack needs to go bold with his choice. Hagel's just a Robert Gates wanna-be with none of the prestige and even less training. But if Robert Gates himself were wanting another go, he would be the wrong person.
They need someone with a ton of energy to address the myriad of problems. I say that requires youth. My outside the box choices are former US House Rep and Iraq War veteran Patrick Murphy or US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice. I think both have the determination and energy to take on the job and to address what needs to be addressed to improve the culture of the military. I'm not suggesting they are the only outside the box choices. I would love it if others were being tossed out there.
Barack has not made his choice. He has not announced any nominee. Now is the time to think about what the position entails and who could handle it.
It is an administrative position, it requires tremendous energy and a razor-sharp focus. War is the least of the position -- it stopped being the main requirement when the US government made the decision to keep a standing army at all times. With war, contingency plans exist already and you're discussing those and advising the president on those. But the president is commander in chief of the armed forces and those decisions rest with the president.
The Secretary of Defense slot has no nominee currently. Now's the time to honestly discuss the issues. We've tried to start the conversation here. Instead, it's fan boyz panting over Chuckie Hagel. There are real issues at stake and these issue can determine people's health and whether or not people are alive. Suicide and assault have got to be addressed by the next Secretary of Defense. It's a damn shame that the press and the fan boyz are too busy boring us with the usual crap.
The following community sites -- plus Antiwar.com -- updated last night and this morning:
Senator Murray's office issued the following yesterday:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, January 3rd, 2013
CONTACT: Murray Press Office
(202) 224-2834
MILITARY SUICIDE: Murray Effort to Create Standardized Suicide Prevention Program Signed into Law by President Obama
New
law will eliminate gaps in care from one service to the next; change
comes in response to major review of military suicide prevention
programs
(Washington,
D.C.) -- Today, an amendment sponsored by U.S. Senator Patty Murray,
Chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, that would require
the Pentagon to implement a standardized and comprehensive suicide
prevention program was signed into law by the President as part of the
National Defense Authorization Act (S.3254). Murray crafted the
amendment after a major study by the RAND Corporation
showed that there are serious gaps and a lack of consistency in
military services' suicide prevention programs. The new law comes as
the number of active duty suicides continues to rise with 2012 exceeding
2011.
"This law is another step forward in
our efforts to ensure that servicemembers aren't slipping through the
cracks," said Senator Murray. "It will help to not only standardize
suicide prevention efforts, but also contains provisions to reduce wait
times, ensure proper diagnoses, and achieve true coordination of care
and information between the Pentagon and the VA. We cannot afford to be
passive about the military suicide epidemic we face. We must continue
to respond with every legislative and outreach effort possible in order
to turn this tragic trend around."
Senator
Murray's amendment [calls on] the Department of Defense to create a
comprehensive, standardized suicide prevention program; expand
eligbility for Department of Veterans Affairs mental health services to
family members; strengthen oversight of DoD Mental Health Care and the
Integrated Disability Evaluation System; improve training and education
for our health care providers; create more peer-to-peer counseling
opportunities; and require VA to establish accurate and reliable
measures for mental health services. For more information on Senator
Murray's ACCESS Act which was signed into law as part of the Defense
Authorization Act visit:
###
Matt McAlvanah
Communications Director
U.S. Senator Patty Murray
202-224-2834 - press office
202--224-0228 - direct
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
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