US soldiers buckling under pressure?

Sometimes I read about suicides by Indian Army soldiers posted at the frontier divisions in Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, North East etc. Everytime it happens the media creates a big hue and cry about the lack of will, strength and rampant depression among the ranks of Indian Army. The media takes the role of a judge and implies that Indian army officers and soldiers buckle under pressure while serving at the border. But the reality is far from these demoralising news reports. In September 2007, The Tribune, newspaper based out of Chandigarh published an article with statistics proving that suicide rates among soldiers in India is lowest in the world. Quite expectedly this newsreport was completely ignored by the so-called national media who continued to bombard the people with demoralising reports. According to the Tribune article, 131 suicides were reported across the country in 2006, 77 in 2005, 100 in 2004 and 93 in 2003.

In comparison to armies of developed first world countries where soldiers serve under far more comfortable conditions the rate of suicides in Indian army (10 per million) is miniscule. Considering the fact that the operational stress in those countries is far too less than in India, where the army is always stressed out because of its involvement in one or other type of civil or border operation. According to official statistics US Army records a rate of 17 suicides per million, in France it is 19 per million and Britain it is 14 per million.

A recent newsreport published in the Washington Post reveals that 2007 was a year when suicide rates in the US army hit an all time 15 year high. Much of these suicides are attributed to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan which have placed severe stress on the US Army. Americans usually accustomed to the coforts of their country are seldom capable of working in hostile field conditions and when soldiers are deployed for long periods in such hostile conditions they just can't handle the pressure. Historically, suicide rates tend to decrease when soldiers are in conflicts overseas, but that trend has reversed in recent years. From a suicide rate of 9.8 per 100,000 active-duty soldiers in 2001 -- the lowest rate on record -- the Army reached an all-time high of 17.5 suicides per 100,000 active-duty soldiers in 2006. Compare this with 10 suicides per 1,000,000 in the Indian army, where soldiers serve under horrific conditions.

Our soldiers serve under hostile conditions. Consider this, in the Ladakh sector soldiers live in tin sheds with no heating, they curl up in sleeping bags when temperatures fall below -40 degrees. Soldiers carry heavy self loading rifles (SLR) and are attired in less than adequate warm clothing. Officers have the luxury of kerosene heaters in their rooms, but again these can't be kept burning all night or all day as they are extremely dangerous and polluting. The plight of drivers in the army is even worse. These hard working souls have to sleep in their vehicles and every 2-3 hours wake up to start the engine and run it for some time and then go back to sleep. Otherwise the diesel in the engine freezes up and the vehicle wont start the next day. But then with a smile on their faces and prayer in their hearts they continue to guard our mother land from enemies who are all round the country.

I firmly believe that suicides in general and among soldiers in particular should be prevented at all costs. Since this post is about soldiers suicides I would like to press for better service facilities for them. Better housing in the borders, better attire and most importantly better pay and lesser pressure at work. This will go a long way in improving soldiers morale and they will serve with much more enthusiasm and suicide rates will drop from the present 10 per million to 1 or even zero.



Jai Jawan! Hail the soldier who gives his today for our tomorrow!

Links for further reading
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My favourite videos

Racing and watching races have been a great passion for me. I have been fascinated by couple of movies which showcase this kind of racing scenes. One of the legendary movies and book I love is Ben Hur. I found this video on youtube and through I'd share it with all the readers/ visitors of my blog.

Another movie video I really liked is the opening scene/ road rage in the movie Torque, in which the biker after being frustrated by two souped up road racing cars decides enough is enough and races ahead much to the charaign of the car drivers.

Ever heard of the city of Kingman?

I first landed into US at Los Angeles and then we drove down to Dallas, where I currently live. Enroute we visited several cities, tourist places and interesting and unheard of destinations. One of the places is Kingman sited close to the Grand Canyon. Kingman's claim to fame is not its proximity to Grand Canyon. For one thing, the city is sited on the historic Route 66, this is the city where 36,000 gunners of the US Army were trained for World War II in the Kingman Army Airfield. After the war in 1946 this training base was converted to a storage depot with the main role of destoying thousands of airplanes and melting them into aluminum ingots. Kingman was one of five sites chosen for the task which took 2 years to complete and yielded 70 million pounds of aluminum. In all 7,000 airplanes were destroyed or melted in the city. The few planes that escaped destruction are either flying in private clubs or in the museum as World War II memorablia. The entire history has been well recorded in the Kingman Army Airfield Museum in the town.

Founded in 1882, Kingman is sited in the ruggedly beautiful Hualapai Valley between the Cerbat and Hualapai mountain ranges. Founded mainly as a railroad habitations near Beale’s Springs along the then newly constructed route of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad, Kingman has come a long way and currently acts as a base for tourists visiting Grand Canyon and has over 50 inns, hotels, motels, bed & breakfasts, campgrounds & RV Resorts.

The museum I liked most is The Mohave Museum of History and Arts. Promoted in 1961 with the sole aim of preserving what is remaining of the heritage of Northwestern Arizona and to display it to public. The museum is a private owned not-for-profit organisation and is funded by revenues derived from visitors, memberships and contributions. The attached library has a fairly vast collection of documents, manuscripts, maps, and photos about Mohave County and the Southwest.

Some of the objects on display at the Mohave Museum





Every city in America, even suburbs, have their own official website, which acts as their main marketing platform giving all the information and inviting people to visit the place, relocate to the community etc. This concept of having websites is slowly developing in India there are nic.in sites for every district and city but then they are simply not alluring enough to motivate people to visit.

The official website of the city of Kingman says that its urban population in 2000 was 20,069 and an estimated 15,431 living outside city limits, making it a total of little over 35,000. For such a small population the city is quite large. Something I have liked about the US is the facilities installed by the goverment in every small town. The opportunities available for every individual to make it big is the same irrespective whether one lives in New York or Kingman. I am quite sure most Americans wouldn't have heard of Kingman, lesser would have visited it. For a population of 35,000 odd there is almost every facility one could need to live there. An airport, golf course, chamber of commerce, visitors bureau to promote tourism, sports complexes, museums, schools and even a court. Even trash collection is managed by the city council and done professionally leaving the streets squeaky clean. It makes me wonder when such facilities will be created in small towns in India.

Unbelievable but true! Prescription Glasses for $8!

Eye care is something very crucial to every human being. Without sight one can't negotiate his way through life and daily activities. And when eye sight fails due to some reason or the other one has to immediately take steps to either wear glasses or treatment and set it right immediately. But optical care is very expensive and eye care items such as glasses, accessories, lenses etc are almost out of reach of the middle classes, unless insured. But don't despair here is where you need to approach companies like Zenni Opticals, which is an online optical store offering great deals on prescription glasses. Their tag line is: Zenni Optical: Sell Rx Glasses $8 with case!.

Zenni Optical: Sell Rx Glasses $8 with case! Isn't it great to hear that ZenniOptical.com offers you stylish Prescription Glasses Online for as less as $8. The website has a wide range of frames to choose from, depending on what suits your face and what style you wish to wear. The lens options include single vision, sunsensor (potochromic) lens, tinted suglasses lens, bifocal lens and progressive lens. Virtually every type of lens is covered, so whatever your need of a prescription class maybe, Zenni Optical: Sell Rx Glasses $8 with case!.

Zenni can afford to sell at such low prices because all the frames offered on the site is manufactured at their own factory. The absence of middlemen like distributors, wholesaler and retailers makes the frames low priced to customers. Absence of middlemen saves several costs to the company and cuts down costs to the consumer. Advertising, marketing material, promotion and all other expenses are cut down and thus Zenni Optical: Sell Rx Glasses $8 with case!.

So it is obvious that if you are reading this article you must be looking for a low price option to buy prescription glasses. You could just go to Zenni Optical and avail their offer, Zenni Optical: Sell Rx Glasses $8 with case!. The website of Zenni Optical is very comprehensive and user friendly with several articles on how choose frames, how to order, how the shiping is done, the guarantee document. Moreover glasses in numerous categories including rimless glasses, half rim glasses, metal rim glasses etc are being sold online and all at very very low prices. So remember Zenni Optical: Sell Rx Glasses $8 with case! and you will get the benefit of low priced prescription glasses whenever you want.

Perils of Hitch Hiking

Hitch hiking is one of the popular modes of travelling in Europe. People stand on the highways and seek lift from others travelling in car, bus, motorcycle etc. There have been several incidents of crime against these hitch hikers but nevertheless people persist in this mode of travelling. I have had this desire to hitch hike in some part of my life somewhere in the world but then now after reading this news report dated Jan 26, 2008, on News24.com I am starting to feel apprehensive.

This happened South Africa. A young hitchhiker who was raped by three women when he accepted a lift last week, is receiving trauma counselling and medical treatment. The 20-year-old man is drawn and shaky as he explains that he was hitchhiking from Alkmaar to Nelspruit in Mpumalanga last Monday evening when three women and two men gave him a lift in a Toyota Venture with Gauteng number plates.

When the hitchhiker told them he wanted to catch a taxi from Nelspruit to Mangweni village near Komatipoort, where he lives, they claimed to be going in the same direction, to nearby Tonga. They first stopped at a shopping mall to buy some food and then they were on the road at 19:30.

"They bought food to eat but they didn't give me anything. I only bought a soft drink," said the tired-looking man in an interview.

He said that just before the Matsulu turn-off on the N4 highway, the driver pulled off the road and drove into some bushes and ordered him to undress so that the three women could have sex with him.

Raped at Gun Point
"I tried to resist, but the men became aggressive and pointed their weapons at me. I told myself to try obey everything they said because I realised my life was in danger," he said adding that when they fired off shots, one of them grazed his leg.

He said the men picked him up so the women could take off his clothes. Meanwhile the heavily built women also got undressed. He estimates the women to be aged between 26 and 38.

One of the men then prepared a place on the back seat of the Venture where the young man was raped. He said two of the woman raped him once, while a third raped him twice.

"I have never had sex like this in my entire life, I think these women were prostitutes. They knew what they were doing, but I'm afraid they might have infected me with diseases," he said, his voice laced with anger.

He said that the two men pointed their guns at him throughout the ordeal, until the women said they had had enough. He said his assailants had earlier asked him to pay R40 for the lift, but after raping him they offered to give him R20.

HIV test
He said that although he had a cellphone, wallet and bag of clothes, his assailants didn't rob him. They left him on the roadside to make his own way home. He caught a taxi.

"When I got home, I went straight to bed and slept right through until 15:00 on Tuesday. Then I told a relative what happened and they told me to go to the police," he said

Busi Sithole, a counsellor at the Masisukumeni Women's Crisis Centre in Tonga, is giving the young man counselling.

"We have already taken him to Tonga hospital to see a doctor. He was given treatment against possible diseases and was tested for HIV. He will get his results next week," she said.

Spokesperson for Tonga police station, Constable Mzwandile Nyambi, said police had registered a case with attempt to murder and rape charges.

"It is the first time that our police station has had to attend to this kind of case. We don't even know whether to call it rape or indecent assault," she said adding that the young man was very brave to report what had happened to him.

These is the irony of a patriarchal society. Men are not expected to be victims of rape, they are believed to enjoy such events. But men also undergo trauma and feel used. The society has been so male dominated that there are no mechanisms to deal with such crimes. When will it get created and when will we have a truly equal society?

Source: News24.com