Memorial Day marks a holiday when Americans recall sacrifices troops have made to keep the country free. They also are saluting those who have served and continue to serve the country during 10 years of brutal fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Libya.
Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli expressed his particular concern on Sunday for the potential for mental problems related to the wars,
Politico reports.
Chiarelli told CNN that 162 Army personnel out of a force of almost 750,000 have committed suicide during the past year.
Although that’s not an epidemic, “we’ve been fighting for a decade, and I don’t think we as a nation know the total effect of a decade of war,” Chiarelli said.
“I think that’s what we’re seeing . . . We just don’t know as much as we need to know about the brain and the effects that are caused in a brain for these long deployments and these repetitive deployments.”
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