Judge Spent Night in Jail To Support Special Forces Veteran

UPDATE
Judge gives former soldier unusual sentence for probation violation
CBS News April 29, 2016

Joe Serna during one of his tours in Afghanistan CBS NEWS

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A compassionate judge sentences a veteran to 24 hours in jail, then joins him behind bars
Washington Post
By Yanan Wang
April 22, 2016

The judge knew that Sgt. Joseph Serna had been through a lot.

The former Special Forces soldier did four combat tours in Afghanistan over a nearly two-decades-long career with the U.S. Army. Through those years, the Fayetteville Observer reported, Serna was almost killed three times: once, by a roadside bomb, then again by a suicide bomber.

During a tour in 2008, Serna and three other soldiers were driving down a narrow dirt road in Kandahar when their armored truck toppled into a canal, the Associated Press reported. As water filled the vehicle, Serna struggled to escape.

It was his fellow soldier, Sgt. James Treber, who saved him.

“I felt a hand come down and unfasten my seat belt and release my body armor,” Serna recalled to the AP. “Sgt. Treber picked me up and moved me to a small pocket of air. He knew there was not enough room for both of us to breathe so he went under water to find another pocket of air.”

Treber died from the accident, but Serna survived. He was the only one who did.

A Gulf War veteran himself, Olivera was concerned that leaving Serna in isolation for a night would trigger his PTSD.

The two passed the time trading stories of their experiences in the military. Serna told WRAL: “It was more of a father-son conversation. It was personal.”
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Special Forces Veteran Goes From Texas to Liberty Fighting PTSD

Veteran stops in Pinellas during record paddleboarding trip
FOX 13 News
By: Kellie Cowan
POSTED:APR 16 2016

"That was like the lights finally coming on for the first time in a long time in a dark room and it was a wonderful place," said Collins

CLEARWATER (FOX 13) - After 20 years of Special Forces service, which included tours in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Iraq, Josh Collins is now taking on the biggest mission of his life: a 3,500-mile paddleboard trek that will take him from Corpus Christie, TX to the Statue of Liberty on his paddle board.

It's all in the name of bringing awareness to fellow soldiers who, like him, suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury.

Collins says Task Dagger Force, a charity dedicated to helping wounded Special Forces veterans and their families, helped save his life.

He's now hoping his recover story will inspire others suffering from TBI and PTSD as well.
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Anti-Trump Ads Feature Veterans

Conservative group releases brutal anti-Trump ads featuring veterans calling him a 'con man' 
Business Insider 
Pamela Engel 
Mar 7th 2016 

Military veterans are appearing in ads released over the weekend by an outside group, hoping to stop Donald Trump from snagging the GOP presidential nomination.

The ads, from the conservative American Future Fund, feature veterans disavowing Trump's statements about prisoners of war and end with the text: "Trump's a phony. Stop him now."

In one ad, former Special Forces commander Michael Waltz, who served in Afghanistan, said that Trump "hasn't served this country a day in his life" and called him a Vietnam War draft-dodger.

"He essentially called anyone who is captured in combat a loser," Waltz said. "It's something that I just personally can't stomach and am sickened by, as should every veteran and every soldier in the United States military."

Trump, who is the clear frontrunner for the Republican nomination, criticized Arizona Sen. John McCain last year and called into question his status as a "war hero."

"He's not a war hero," Trump said. "He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured."

Trump quickly walked back that statement and agreed that McCain, a Vietnam War POW, was in fact a war hero. Trump also said that he doesn't like "losers," referring to McCain's loss to President Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election.
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Navy SEALS Lacking Rifles?

Navy SEALs tell congressman there is a combat rifle shortage
Associated Press
By Richard Lardner
Published: March 7, 2016

Army Gen. Joseph Votel, the top officer at U.S. Special Operations Command in Tampa, Florida, and Losey's superior, told Hunter last week that he is aware of the congressman's concerns. "We're certainly running that down," Votel said during testimony before the House Armed Services Committee.

Navy SEALs demonstrate winter warfare capabilities in this Dec. 2014 photo.
U.S. NAVY

WASHINGTON — The tip of the spear may be losing its edge.

Navy SEAL teams don't have enough combat rifles to go around, even as these highly trained forces are relied on more than ever to carry out counterterrorism operations and other secretive missions, according to SEALs who have confided in Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif.

After SEALs return from a deployment, their rifles are given to other commandos who are shipping out, said Hunter, a former Marine who served three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. This weapons carousel undercuts the "train like you fight" ethos of the U.S. special operations forces, they said.

Hunter said he's been contacted by several SEALs, but he declined to provide further information about the weapons they use in order to protect their identities.
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Vietnam Veteran, Retired General Charles "Hondo" Campbell Passed Away

'Hondo' Campbell, former FORSCOM boss, Vietnam vet, dies 
Army Times
By Michelle Tan
February 9, 2016

Commander of a Special Operations A-Detachment in Vietnam, then-2nd Lt. Charles "Hondo" Campbell sets out on a mission in Vietnam in 1971.

(Photo: Army)

Retired Gen. Charles "Hondo" Campbell, former commanding

general of Forces Command, died Feb. 8, 2016.

(Photo: Army photo)

Retired Gen. Charles “Hondo” Campbell, former commander of U.S. Army Forces Command, has died.

Campbell served in the Army for 40 years, retiring in June 2010. He was the last continuously serving general officer who saw action in Vietnam to leave active duty, according to information from the Army.

He died late in Shreveport on Monday after a lengthy illness, according to The Shreveport Times in Louisiana, Campbell’s hometown. He was 68.

Tributes and condolences were pouring in on social media Tuesday, with many calling the man who went by the nickname “Hondo” a great soldier and leader. While the origin of that famous moniker is somewhat obscure, it reportedly is related to the character in the Louis L’Amour western novel by the same name, a role played by John Wayne in the movie version of the classic tale, according to information from the Army.
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Fort Bragg Special Forces Remembers MOH Staff Sgt. Robert Miller

On anniversary of his death, MoH recipient a model for Army special operators 
Fayetteville Observer
Drew Brooks
January 25, 2016

On the eighth anniversary of his death, Miller remains the only Special Forces soldier to receive the Medal of Honor for service in Afghanistan, and the only Fort Bragg soldier to be so recognized in the Global War on Terror.

First, there was just one insurgent.

A single man jumping from behind a boulder, screaming "Allahu Akbar!"

Staff Sgt. Robert Miller killed the man instantly.

Then, the valley erupted.

More than 140 enemy fighters, holed up in fortified positions overlooking Miller's 3rd Special Forces Group team and their Afghan allies, faced the soldiers on three sides.

The soldiers, trapped in the open terrain, had little chance to respond. Some of the enemy fighters were a mere feet away, unleashing hell with AK-47s, rocket-propelled grenades and PKM machine guns.

That day, Jan. 25, 2008, could have been the last for the Green Berets and their allies, according to some of the men who were part of the fight.

But as the ambush began, Miller took charge.
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Linked from Stars and Stripes

Orlando Sentinel


This is the memorial service after the Medal of Honor had been presented to his family.
Adm. Eric Olson Special Forces

Medal of Honor Afghanistan and Iraq

VIDEO: DOD tribute video to Medal of Honor recipient Staff Sgt. Robert Miller Department of Defense video

U.S. Medevac Helicopter Hit, Special Forces Soldier Killed 2 Wounded

46 minutes ago BREAKING NEWS
US servicemember killed in attack in Helmand
Stars and Stripes
By Tara Copp and Heath Druzin
Published: January 5, 2016

KABUL, Afghanistan — One U.S. servicemember was killed and two others were injured Tuesday during operations in Afghanistan's Helmand province, a military spokesman confirmed.

The servicemembers, along with their Afghan counterparts, were involved in a firefight and a mortar attack on a U.S. medevac helicopter, according to U.S. officials.

"U.S. special forces were conducting train advise and assist with their Afghan counterparts," said Col. Michael Lawhorn, spokesman for the international military coalition in Afghanistan.

Details were still forthcoming, but a statement released by U.S. Forces-Afghanistan confirmed one U.S. servicemember died as a result of the incident and two others were injured.

A medevac helicopter responding to the attack was struck by a mortar while it was on the ground supporting the forces, U.S. defense officials said. Lawhorn said the helicopter was not shot down.
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Civilian didn't just get into Fort Bragg, he lived there?

No Charges for Man Found Living at Fort Bragg Special Forces Barracks
Military.com
by Richard Sisk
Dec 18, 2015

A civilian who was found living in a barracks of the 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, was released without charges Friday, base authorities said.

"He has been released" but the case was still under investigation by Fort Bragg law enforcement, said Christina Douglas, Fort Bragg's chief of media relations.

Douglas said the man's identity could not be disclosed, and she could not comment on how he gained access to the base, how long he had been living in the barracks, or what his purpose may have been in residing there. The Fayetteville Observer reported that he may have posed as a soldier.
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Score One For A Good Guy- Army Holds Off on Discharging Martland

Army Delays Discharge of Soldier Who Confronted Accused Afghan Rapist 
Military.com
by Richard Sisk
Oct 06, 2015

"It was not until the Army was forced to shed tens of thousands of soldiers that it opened the QMP process to a population to which it would not otherwise have applied. This is the unfortunate by-product of indiscriminate cuts to our military." Rep. Mac Thornberry

The U.S. Army on Tuesday delayed the discharge of Special Forces Sgt. 1st Class Charles Martland who has admitted to roughing up an Afghan police commander accused of sexually abusing a boy.

The action followed a phone call on Martland's behalf from Rep. Mac Thornberry, a Republican from Texas and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, to Army Secretary John McHugh.

The service later issued a statement saying, "Out of respect for Chairman Thornberry's continued strong support for our military, and his personal appeal, Secretary McHugh has agreed to postpone Sgt. First Class Martland's discharge from the Army for 60 days to allow him to file an appeal with the Army Board for the Correction of Military Records."

The New York Times reported last month that in 2011 Martland and Special Forces Capt. Dan Quinn physically confronted an Afghan commander accused of sexually abusing a boy. Quinn has since left the Army and Martland has said he is being forced to retire for intervening.
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Joint Base Lewis-McChord Died After Parachute Accident

JBLM paratrooper dies during training exercise
KING 5 News
Alex Rozier
September 12, 2015

A soldier who went missing after a parachute jump in Mason County was found dead Friday night.

The jump happened during a training exercise that began around noon on Friday. After a search of the area, the body was found at approximately 10 p.m. that day.

The soldier was part of the 1st Special Forces Group based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The unit was training over a wooded area in Mason County.

The soldier's name has not yet been released.
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Linked from USAToday

Special Forces Soldier Calls Out Fake SF At Rhode Island Airport

Special Forces Soldier Calls Out Fake SF 

At T.F Green Airport, Stolen Valor This was filmed at the T.F. Green Airport in Rhode Island by an active member of the Special Forces.

Green Beret's Suicide Note: God has played Jenga with our lives

We can talk all we want about suicide awareness but never really say much at all. Making folks aware there are suicides within the military and veteran communities is one thing they already know very well. Keep talking about the obvious and the outcome is already known. Finding a way to stop blaming themselves is something they don't know. Telling them they are not stuck suffering is another.

Commentary: My stepfather 'did not deserve to die'
Army Times
By Grayson Ullman, Special to Army Times
July 13, 2015

Michael Bruce Lube, a Green Beret, committed suicide two years ago. (Photo: Courtesy Grayson Ullman)

On July 11, 2013, my stepfather, a Green Beret, donned the uniform he wore proudly for 18 years and scrawled a note on an index card.

"To the regiment, I have ridden my pathetic life about as far down the spiral as anyone should have to. I accept my dishonor and shame. I am a disgrace to the regiment, and willingly execute this, my last humble act. I am so goddamned tired of holding it together. There has been no end to it all. God has played Jenga with our lives. Goodbye and good luck.
- Michael Bruce Lube, Sergeant First Class, US Army Special Forces"

Then he picked up his favorite gun, a Heckler and Koch USP .45mm pistol.

I sent him text after text that morning. I told him that he'd be a grandfather some day. I told him that despite the tribulations we had gone through, we were strong; we were a family; we could struggle through. We could make it. We would find a way to alleviate his demons, to seek out healing.

I'll never know if he read them.

Late that morning, as a SWAT team shut down the highway outside our apartment and prepared to breach the door, he called my mother to assure her that this wasn't her fault. "I won't let the Army take my [Special Forces] tabs," he said. "I'm going to die a Green Beret."

He placed his green beret, carefully folded, far from where his body would fall, along with a picture of he and his mother and the collection of letters to loved ones he had just finished writing.

Then he pulled the trigger.

Michael's actions had horrific consequences that rippled throughout our entire family. The effects of his PTSD spread like an infection, subjecting each of us to his violent tendencies and emotional abuse. We all began to question our own choices — were we supporting him enough? Had we made mistakes? Was this our fault?
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Why Is Department of Defense Withholding Documents on Robert Bales?

Three years after Afghanistan killings, military again refuses to release report on Robert Bales
The News Tribune
BY ADAM ASHTON
Staff writer
July 1, 2015

The Defense Department is again denying a Freedom of Information Act request from The News Tribune seeking the release of an investigation into commanders who oversaw Staff Sgt. Robert Bales before he snapped and killed 16 Afghan civilians in March 2012.

A FOIA officer from U.S. Central Command on Tuesday told the newspaper that its latest request for the document would be declined under an exemption that allows the government to withhold information that could influence an ongoing law enforcement investigation.

The News Tribune has been seeking the report since August 2013, when Bales was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The Army in March also rejected a clemency request Bales submitted to Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s I Corps.

Bales was a JBLM Stryker soldier serving at a small Special Operations outpost in Kandahar Province with a team from the 7th Special Forces Group when he twice sneaked out of the base to murder civilians sleeping in separate nearby villages.

Maj. Alison Aguilar, spokeswoman for Army Special Operations Command, said Wednesday that all disciplinary proceedings for that group of Green Berets have been completed.

As The News Tribune previously reported, one Green Beret was discharged from the military because he provided steroids to Bales. Another soldier from the Special Forces team received a reprimand for drinking alcohol on the deployment. One more was discharged from the Army because of a separate civilian criminal investigation that began before he arrived in Afghanistan.
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linked from Military.com

Marines Resurrect Historic Name "Raiders"

Green Berets, SEALs, Now Raiders: Marines Resurrect Historic Name
by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jun 19, 2015

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Army has the Green Berets, while the Navy is known for the SEALs. Now, an elite branch of the U.S. Marine Corps will officially be known as Raiders.

The Marines will rename several special operations units as Marine Raiders at a ceremony Friday, resurrecting a moniker made famous by World War II units that carried out risky amphibious and guerrilla operations.

The exploits of the original Marine Raiders — who pioneered tactics used by present-day special forces — were captured in books and movies including "Gung Ho!" in 1943 and "Marine Raiders" in 1944.

The name will give a unique identity to the Marines' branch of U.S. Special Operations Command, which includes special forces from the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. The Marines' Special Operations Command, known as MARSOC, was formed more than a decade ago as part of the global fight against terrorism.
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Even Now Female Veterans Service Dismissed

When G.I. Jane comes home
LA Times
By GAYLE TZEMACH LEMMON
June 11, 2015

Since 9/11, more than 200,000 women have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, and more than 160 women have died in service to their country. Women have fought on the front lines as combat pilots and military police platoon leaders. They have received Silver Stars and Bronze Stars for Valor. Some have even joined special operations forces on combat missions.

Yet when people think of veterans, they rarely think of women.

As the veterans organization the Mission Continues found in a survey out this week of female veterans, a "common theme among our respondents was a perception of invisibility both in the service and at home. While in uniform, nearly two-thirds of respondents said they had to work harder than men to prove themselves. When those women left the military, barely a third (37%) said they felt recognized, respected and valued by society for their contributions as veterans."

One veteran in Minnesota told me recently that when she tried to join a local veterans organization, she was guided to the women's auxiliary rather than the group for service members. Another soldier based at Ft. Bragg told me that she saw a mandatory counselor after her tour in Afghanistan, who said that even though she "did not see combat" and was "mostly on base," she might have some reentry issues. He had no idea that she had served an eight-month tour as part of a special operations team of women and had been on night raids several times a week throughout her deployment.
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National Guard Family Told Son Can't Be Buried at Arlington?

UPDATE
Army sec. approves Arlington burial for La. guardsman killed in helicopter crash

Dad: soldier son killed in training crash deserves Arlington Cemetery burial
FOX News
Published May 30, 2015

A soldier from the Louisiana National Guard who died alongside Marines in a training accident deserves to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, his father said Saturday.

Former Green Beret Stephen Florich told Fox and Friends it is a “travesty” his son has been denied that honor because he was not on active duty at the time of his death.

Most active duty or retired military members of military service are eligible for in-ground interment at Arlington. Members of the reserves or National Guard are not eligible unless they have been on active duty.

“I think my son was very active on that aircraft,” Florich said. “My son was in uniform. My son was serving in the capacity as a crew chief and a door gunner. And in adverse weather conditions, he accepted a mission to train people for combat in the future. And in that, he gave all and lost his life.”

The March 11 crash in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida killed Staff Sgt. Thomas Florich, 26, of Baton Rouge, La., three other guardsmen and seven Marines. The Army UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter went down in heavy fog.

One of the Marines involved in the crash, Sgt. Andrew Seif, who had recently been awarded the Silver Star, the nation’s third highest award for valor, was buried at Arlington in April.

The seven U.S. Marines aboard the helicopter were all active duty service members and part of Marine Special Operations Command (MARSOC).
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National Cemetery Administration

Members of Reserve Components and Reserve Officers’ Training Corps


(1) Reservists and National Guard members who, at time of death, were entitled to retired pay under Chapter 1223, title 10, United States Code, or would have been entitled, but for being under the age of 60. Specific categories of individuals eligible for retired pay are delineated in section 12731 of Chapter 1223, title 10, United States Code.

(2) Members of reserve components, and members of the Army National Guard or the Air National Guard, who die while hospitalized or undergoing treatment at the expense of the United States for injury or disease contracted or incurred under honorable conditions while performing active duty for training or inactive duty training, or undergoing such hospitalization or treatment.

(3) Members of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps of the Army, Navy, or Air Force who die under honorable conditions while attending an authorized training camp or on an authorized cruise, while performing authorized travel to or from that camp or cruise, or while hospitalized or undergoing treatment at the expense of the United States for injury or disease contracted or incurred under honorable conditions while engaged in one of those activities.

(4)Members of reserve components who, during a period of active duty for training, were disabled or died from a disease or injury incurred or aggravated in line of duty or, during a period of inactive duty training, were disabled or died from an injury or certain cardiovascular disorders incurred or aggravated in line of duty.

Fort Bragg Soldier's Death Touched Many By How He LIved

Fallen Fort Bragg soldier remembered for selfless service, dedication to troops 
Fay Observer
By Drew Brooks, Military editor
May 27, 2015

A Fort Bragg soldier who died in Afghanistan the day before Memorial Day is being remembered for his selfless service to the families of fallen troops and his dedication to his soldiers.

Pablo A. Ruiz III died Sunday of non-combat-related injuries in Bagram.

The 37-year-old soldier from Melbourne, Florida, was deployed with elements of the 3rd Special Forces Group. The cause of his death remains under investigation, officials said.

Ruiz, who was posthumously promoted to master sergeant, was noncommissioned officer in charge of a dining facility for Special Forces soldiers in Afghanistan, according to officials.

His battalion commander, Lt. Col. John Sannes, said in an email from Afghanistan that Ruiz led by example, "always diving in alongside his soldiers to complete any mission or task."

"We lost a great soldier, leader, husband and father," Sannes said.
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Special Forces Soldier from Florida Died in Afghanistan

DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Release No: NR-197-15
May 25, 2015

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Freedom's Sentinel.

Sgt. 1st Class Pablo A. Ruiz, 37, of Melbourne, Florida, died May 24, in Bagram, Afghanistan, from a non-combat related incident.

He was assigned to Group Support Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Silver Star for Extraordinary Bravery in Afghanistan

North Hills native to receive Silver Star for heroics in Afghanistan
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
By Sean D. Hamill
May 6, 2015

For his role in the mission, Sgt. Greiner will be awarded the Silver Star in North Carolina today for displaying “extraordinary bravery and complete disregard for his own safety as he and his teammates assaulted an insurgent safe haven,” according to his citation.

The mission Air Force Tech Sgt. Matthew Greiner and his 81 fellow coalition forces faced on Sept. 27 in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, was fairly straightforward: Head to a small-town bazaar to destroy weapons and equipment and neutralize insurgents who had been spotted by intelligence there.

But what Sgt. Greiner, 29, a North Hills native, and his colleagues faced was anything but straightforward.

Instead of an enemy that fled the moment Sgt. Greiner and two Air Force colleagues directed an attack helicopter or fighter plane into the area — as they had experienced regularly before — they faced nearly 100 insurgents who did not want to quit.

“It was strange to see them fight so hard,” Sgt. Greiner, a combat controller with the 21st Special Tactics Squadron, said in an interview Tuesday.

What followed were two days of fierce attacks by insurgents that pinned down all 21 Americans — 18 of them Army Special Forces — and 60 Afghan forces for two days. That is, until the heroic efforts of Sgt. Greiner, along with two fellow combat controllers who were all under heavy fire during the mission, managed to coordinate enough air support to kill or drive the enemy away.

They managed to save the lives of all but one of the Americans and Afghans, Army Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Weathers, while nearly half the insurgents were killed during the battle. In addition, more than 50 pounds of heroin that was found — and would have been used to fund the insurgents — was destroyed.
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UPDATE
These U.S. airmen refused to be taken hostage in Afghanistan. Now they’ll get valor awards
Washington Post
By Dan Lamothe
May 5, 2015

On Sept. 27, 2014, a team of U.S. Special Operations troops were dropped into a volatile village in Afghanistan’s Helmand province. The U.S. military had withdrawn thousands of troops from the country in the previous year, and the mission called for 14 Americans and about 24 Afghan commando counterparts to clear a bazaar of weapons and insurgents, and then get out.

It turned into a fight for their lives, three U.S. Special Operations airmen involved in the battle recalled Tuesday. The insurgents, numbering close to 100, sprung a fierce attack in which they not only launched a barrage of fire on the Americans, but made plans on the radio to overrun their position and take them hostage, the airmen said.
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Suicide Study Shows No Link to Rest of Reports

I am a researcher by nature as well as profession. Understand something. A researcher will find only what they are looking for and only see as much as they want to find. Simple as that.

When a headline screams,

Study Finds No Link Between Military Suicide Rate and Deployments

.....some folks won't even read the rest of the article. After all, they just found out all they wanted to know. They'd miss the second paragraph,

The findings are the latest in a series of studies prompted by a military suicide rate that has nearly doubled since 2005. The study’s authors and other researchers cautioned, however, that the findings do not rule out combat exposure as a reason for the increase in suicides, adding that more information was needed.

.....and then miss this part as well.

The suicide rate for troops deployed in support of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, the study found, was only slightly higher than for troops who did not deploy to that area or remained stateside — 18.86 deaths versus 17.78 deaths per 100,000. The national average is about 13 deaths per 100,000.

They wouldn't know that suicides went up after "prevention efforts" were pushed across all branches and repeated even though the evidence showed more harm than good coming out of all of it. Yet again, some researchers didn't see it.

They didn't want to look at what tied everything all in together.

When we have state after state declaring the rate of veteran suicides were double the civilian population with Iraq and Afghanistan veterans triple their own peer rate, that says something right there especially when there are now more things being done to "prevent" them from happening.

Oh, almost forgot to mention that even as suicides went up, the attempted suicides also went up within the military and in the veterans community.

Army STARRS study busting myths on suicide from 2013

The coalition of researchers found a statistically significant rise in suicides following initial deployments. This finding contrasts sharply with a study featured in the Journal of the American Medical Association's Aug. 7 edition. Led by personnel at the Naval Health Research Center in San Diego, that study found no association between deployments and increased suicide risk.

That's just not the case for the Army, as depicted by Army STARRS data, said Dr. Michael Schoenbaum, collaborating scientist at NIMH.

"Soldiers who have deployed at least once do have an elevated suicide rate compared with Soldiers who never deployed," Schoenbaum said.

COMBAT MOSs HIGHER RISK

Troops in combat jobs have a higher propensity to commit suicide, the Army study found, and that may help explain some differences in conclusions.

"We've identified some MOS (military occupational specialty) categories that are associated with elevated suicide risk," Schoenbaum said. Those military occupational specialties include artillery and infantry.

Willingness to take risks might be a factor in Soldiers choosing a combat MOS, proposed Dr. James Churchill, NIMH program officer.

"They might be risk-takers, willing to step out into the street and lead their platoon," Churchill said, adding that it could help them excel at their jobs. "But at the same time, it might put them at risk for other types of things as well."

These Soldiers have an elevated risk for both fatal accidents and suicides.

Pretty much meets with the report of Special Forces committing suicide at higher rates as well.