Military Deaths and Accidental Suicides

I’m surprised that male-to-male rapes in the military have not received a great deal of media attention.  I would assume it’s because many of the victims would not or could not come forward with their charge of military-on-military assault.  I’ve read that rape is about power and control and exerting a dominant force.  For the male victim, I would speculate that it’s a source of shame and feeling as if they’ve been robbed of their manhood. 

Though it’s not in anyone’s best interest, I totally understand why one would self-medicate on drugs and alcohol.  A flashback of rape could be just as bad or worse as seeing combat death, as it’s a death of another sort… a death of pride and self-respect, which is the epitome of military character. 
I can’t speak for all men, but from my life experience, it seems as if men aren’t as forthcoming as women with their feelings, so psychotherapy could be a long and costly (but necessary) process. 

Keeping such a dreadful experience secret would obviously be as detrimental to one’s mind as releasing the ugly truth.  I wouldn’t be surprised if reports found that many assailants were victims.  I wouldn’t be surprised if victims started to take matters into their own hands if they felt that justice would not prevail.

Regardless of no longer fearing losing one’s job due to sexual orientation, I’m sure that some victims are afraid of being labeled as homosexual and that keeps them from coming forward.  I’m sure they’re afraid of military retaliation and/or fraternization, which keeps them quiet.  I’m sure these veteran-victims are raging with anger and disgust because they were attacked by a comrade. 

I do hope the military really dives into figuring out how to reduce military-on-military assault, which reasonably seems like one [of many] causes of the accidental deaths and suicides in the military.  We need to do a better job with protecting our veterans because it’s the right thing to do.  After all, these are the people that fight, govern and die so that we are safe and protected. 

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-peoples-professor/201208/the-other-war-military-suicides-and-accidental-deaths?goback=%2Egmp_2788736%2Egde_2788736_member_236364079

Note: My LinkedIn comment regarding the above link