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By Charlene Rubush, March 14, 2010 10:41 pm

In an article from The Times Free Press, it’s stated that the Veterans Administration reports that about 1,000 veterans a month try to commit suicide and that acts of rage and violence are common in the group. Many victimized by that rage and violence are the wives, children and friends of those veterans.

The rising and frightening number of suicides and suicide attempts by U.S. combat veterans is a shameful legacy of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. For too long, the military has been reluctant to admit the existence of the problem, but recent events have finally forced the Pentagon to confront it. To its credit, the military seems to have done an about face on the issue.

While the newfound understanding is welcome, it’s painfully overdue, and much more needs to be done to provide mental health assistance to veterans and active-duty troops. Many veterans and active-duty personnel refuse to seek assistance when confronted by mental health issues. That unfortunate attitude is a legacy of past military practices.

For decades , the military encouraged an independence and self-sufficiency among its members that suggested that an injury to the body was a sacrifice for one’s country, but that an injury to the mind is somehow cowardly or a figment of an over-active imagination. The latter caused many members of  the armed forces to avoid treatment. Continue reading 'The Ongoing Battle to End Military Stigma of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder'»