After an improvised explosive device (IED) left Army Sgt. Dominic McDaniel severely injured and unable to continue fighting in Iraq, the wounded combat veteran found civilian life nearly unbearable.
“I felt guilty because my guys got hurt, and I was in charge. It was my fault,” he said. “They started committing suicide when we got home pretty quick.”
McDaniel dealt with alcohol abuse, divorce, and severe depression before finding help; he now works for a non-profit organization that assists veterans who are dealing with trauma.
Many of his fellow veterans, however, haven’t been as fortunate.
“Now more people from my unit have committed suicide than died in combat,” the Iraq combat vet said. “It really kind of strips your humanity and soul away, war does.”
McDaniel’s story is detailed in a report released last month by Brown University’s Costs of War project. The report reveals startling trends in suicide rates of veterans who served in wars after the 9/11 terror attacks, including Afghanistan and Iraq as well as deployments in five other spots around the world.
According to the report, more veterans of the terror wars have killed themselves than those who died in combat. The paper estimates that 30,177 active-duty personnel and post-9/11 veterans have died by suicide—significantly more than the 7,057 service members killed in post-9/11 war operations.
The suicide rate among veterans of the terror wars exceeds that of the general population, according to the report.
“The suicide rate of veterans overall and adjusted for age and sex is 1.5 times that of the general population,” the June 21 report said. “Moreover, the current suicide rate of 45.9 among veterans 18-34 is about 2.5 times the suicide rate of that of the adjusted general population (18 per 100,000).”
And while the government hasn’t kept proper records of veteran suicides in earlier wars, statistics on active-duty suicides suggest that rates among veterans of the terror wars could be some of the highest in 80 years.
BY KEN SILVA
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