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2008-06-09 Home Front: Politix

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Posted by Bobby 2008-06-09 05:55|| || Front Page|| [11124 views ] Top

#1 12% of combat troops in Iraq and 17% of those in Afghanistan are taking prescription antidepressants or sleeping pills
Only 12 to 17%? The percentage in the general population is larger. Maybe the soldiers cope too well.

Posted by Spot">Spot 2008-06-09 07:54|| 2008-06-09 07:54|| Front Page Top

#2 It sounds like BS. However, after WW2 Medics reported that they would have liked to dose troops with tranquillizers, on rare occasions. America has never had a doped up army, and never will.

Posted by McZoid 2008-06-09 08:48|| 2008-06-09 08:48|| Front Page Top

#3 Beer and hookers is the tradition remedy. Too bad the leadership is prissy to allow it.

Posted by ed 2008-06-09 09:20|| 2008-06-09 09:20|| Front Page Top

#4 I blame all the school teachers who jacked up the young boys with Ritalin back in elementary school. It undermined their adaptation skills to the environment they now face. Oh wait, that over prescription of the drugging of America is OK, never mind.

Posted by Procopius2k 2008-06-09 09:23|| 2008-06-09 09:23|| Front Page Top

#5 The Israeli army is now regularly giving marijuana to soldiers with PTSD, and they believe that it works as well or better than prescription drugs, it is non-addictive, and has no significant withdrawl.

Posted by Anonymoose 2008-06-09 09:29|| 2008-06-09 09:29|| Front Page Top

#6 This is more of the left's "Soldier as Victim" BS.

Posted by OldSpook 2008-06-09 09:32|| 2008-06-09 09:32|| Front Page Top

#7 This is much more a statement about the medical profession and the general culture than it is about the military. We overmedicate and undermoralize.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2008-06-09 09:47|| 2008-06-09 09:47|| Front Page Top

#8 It's a pharmaceutical conspiracy, battling for EXPENSIVE Rx $ to be had with the increased health care benefits for vets. I agree the military needs the benefit package, but these antidepressants have withdrawal symptoms, keeping people on them for years without doing the intensive therapy necessary to resolve the problems, often on the government tab. Still its better than the heroin many use to self-medicate, only to fund the Taliban and other narco-terrorists.

Posted by Thealing Borgia6122 2008-06-09 10:50|| 2008-06-09 10:50|| Front Page Top

#9 So I guess we won the war.
[/reading between the drive-by media lines]

Posted by wxjames 2008-06-09 13:46|| 2008-06-09 13:46|| Front Page Top

#10 about 12% of combat troops in Iraq and 17% of those in Afghanistan are taking prescription antidepressants or sleeping pills to help them cope

Numbers are useful tools but you always have to ask yourself "what does this mean?" We have already been through the scary military suicide numbers which, wonder of wonders, are less than their comparable civilian cohort.

Another trick to watch out for is making comparisons in different units. Like this:

In 2004 doctors wrote 147 million prescriptions for antidepressants

Is that more or less than 12-17 percent? You would need an actuarial table and a calculator to convert that to a percentage, but I'd bet a box of donuts it is greater than the military statistic they quoted. Note also that is only anti-depressants and does not include sleeping pills like the mil stat does.

Posted by SteveS 2008-06-09 14:42|| 2008-06-09 14:42|| Front Page Top

#11 The only thing I can agree with in this article is the need for a larger armed force - about half again the size of our current one.

Posted by Old Patriot">Old Patriot 2008-06-09 14:55|| http://oldpatriot.blogspot.com/]">[http://oldpatriot.blogspot.com/] 2008-06-09 14:55|| Front Page Top

#12 This story is full of useful statistics.

Now what was it that Twain said about statistics?

Posted by Shomosh Tojo7120 2008-06-09 18:49|| 2008-06-09 18:49|| Front Page Top

#13 One is forced to conclude the answer is to significantly upsize the Armed Forces -- that way the fighting troops will get more time between deployments to recover. How brilliantly the Time journalist presented his case! ;-)

Posted by trailing wife ">trailing wife 2008-06-09 19:10|| 2008-06-09 19:10|| Front Page Top

#14 I wonder are they including taking Modafinil as an anti-depressent/ sleep tablet?

Modafinil is an ideal combat aid. i.e. More awake, more alert, longer.

Exercise tends to help with depression, so I think these numbers are misleading.

p.s. I know what I'm talking about as I've found a medication (Escitalopram) that with exercise stops my mood-symptom depression. Hopefully Modafinil will help with the tiredness problems.

Posted by Bright Pebbles 2008-06-09 20:07|| 2008-06-09 20:07|| Front Page Top

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