VETERANS CORNER
Rusty Strait | Senior Reporter
American Legion Post 53 in Hemet’s monthly meetings:
February 12 at 2:00 PM Super Bowl Sunday. Potluck – open bar. Big Screen TV.
Dinner every Friday Night from 5 to 7 PM. All are welcome.
Boys State
The American Legion Post 53 has been in recruitment mode for our Boys State. Robert Farris, our Second Vice Commander, has been in contact with our local schools recruiting both boys and girls.
American Legion Boys State is among the most respected and selective educational programs of government instruction for U. S. High School Students. A participatory program in which students become part of the operation of local, county and state governments, Boys State was founded in 1935 to counter the socialism-inspired Young Pioneer Camps. The program was the idea of two Illinois Legionnaires, Hayes Kennedy and Harold Card, who organized the first Boys State at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield.
In 2022 new legislation for Boys State came down from National to include girls into Boys State, so now it is also open to girls.
Increased Number of Suicides Among Deployed Soldiers
Studies indicate that combat-deployed soldiers who were bullied or hazed are more likely to have thoughts of suicide or suffer from mental health problems.
A survey of more than 1400 soldiers, according to JAMA Psychiatry, found that one in eight soldiers reported that they were bullied or hazed during their deployments. Official sources report that few previous studies have examined such harassment among military personnel. Bullying and hazing, unlike other stressful combat experiences, can be minimized by commanders and non-commissioned officers.
“Unit cohesion appears to mitigate the effects of deployment stressors; however this may be compromised for soldiers who are targets of malicious behavior perpetrated by fellow unit members,” one study shows.
Respondents who reported bullying or hazing during deployment were younger, (a higher rate among females)), and more likely to have reported previous PTSD and suicidal ideation….and also more likely to have reported several other deployment and non-deployment stressors.”
All too often, the problems of combat veterans are overlooked by the civilian population as they praise the military heroics of our veterans but neglect to consider the emotional stresses that a combat veteran suffers. Just sayin’
rustystrait@gmail.com
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