The tragic shooting massacre at the U.S. military base at Fort Hood, Texas last week has shocked the country. This is particularly impactful with the incident occurring during the national debate on whether to send more troops to Afghanistan.

Ironically, Fort Hood is the base from which the majority of troops sent overseas are deployed. Until investigators interrogate Army Major Malik Nadal Hasan, the suspect in the shootings, the real motives of the incident are unknown.

However, this tragedy reveals a fact known among military personnel that soldiers, most of whom have been involved in two continuous wars since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, are encountering high stress levels.

When news broke of the shootings last week, there was early opinion that Hasan may have reacted to stress, related to his pending deployment to Afghanistan. One of his relatives reportedly said Hasan had tried unsuccessfully to get out of the army, and did want to be deployed.

Ironically, Hasan was a licensed army psychiatrist involved in counseling soldiers returning from combat. This has given rise to another speculation that Hasan was stressed by the accounts of soldiers who had been in combat.

Several reports indicate that soldiers exposed to combat have suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) on return home and are subject to psychiatric treatment to enable them to adjust to their families and society.

However, the situation seems to be worsening with an increasing number of soldiers redeployed shortly after returning. These soldiers have already experienced the agony and stress of combat, and some have genuine fears of returning, but are committed to the military.

A young soldier facing his third deployment, twice to Iraq, and now Afghanistan, was reported as saying he was consumed with dread about going to Afghanistan, but he feared being seen as a coward if he resisted, and that stress levels could drive him to suicide.

Evidence of this stress has been the unusually high rate of suicide among military personnel. Army statistics released in June indicated that the confirmed or suspected suicide rate among U.S. Army on military bases rose significantly in May to 17; continuing a four-month upward trend and on a record pace for a second straight year. The rate of suicides in March and April were 13 each. The Army said the total number of potential or confirmed suicides since January stood at 82. Last year the Army recorded 133 suicides, the most ever.

A high number of military suicides (11 suspected or confirmed between January and May) occurred at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, home to the 101st Airborne Division, where units have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan several times since 9/11. These soldiers are said to have experienced significant combat related stress associated with the deployments. Officials at the base have conducted two “suicide stand-down training events" this year to help soldiers cope.

In January, the Army implemented a service-wide effort to combat stress. This included a stand-down for all 1.1 million soldiers, in which the troops were trained in identifying signs of distress in the ranks, and encouraged to get help for their comrades.

Often during the debate to send more troops to Afghanistan, soldiers are thought of in a numerical sense, not as humans.

The tragedy at Fort Hood removed this numerical veil, revealing that it is human beings of both genders, various ages and races, that are being sent to fight in strange places, under deplorable conditions. This has caused serious disclosure and reflection for those supporting the deployment of more troops to Afghanistan.

Commentators have been pointing to the army’s stress levels since the Fort Hood tragedy, bringing home the reality of the concerns facing President Obama as he wrestles with the decision of sending more troops to Afghanistan.

Several young people seek refuge in the military as an alternative to unemployment and failing grades. Most are unaware of the stress related to a military career, even without facing combat. The days are long gone when a military career provided decent pay and educational opportunities, without involvement in combat. Sadly, too many of these youth and experienced officers are succumbing to the stress of combat.

The nation must have a defense force, and this force will face battle some time or the other.  However, it is becoming obvious that more attention must be paid to the stress factor during the recruitment, training, deployment, redeployment of military personnel, and after their return. Military personnel are paying a high price, not only with their lives, but with their mental health. As we commemorate Veterans Day, we must be cognizant of the stress that combat places on the humans that comprise the military, which secures our safety.

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