Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

US Military's cyber command unit grapples with cluster of deaths by suicide

bloomberg.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

251–260 of 363 posts

Re: US Military's cyber command unit grapples with cluster of deaths by suicide

#251

Post by DANmode »

strictnein wrote: post #222
graemep wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its only a conspiracy theory if people on the other side of politics believe it Nothing like politics to make people miss the beam in their own eye

People who believe nonsense about the government assassinating our own citizens come from all across the political spectrum, especially on the fringes. I legitimately don't know the politics of the people commenting here, nor do you know mine.

Were Anwar al-Awlaki, and the three other U.S. citizens they smoked at the same time also fringe conspiracy theory?

or maybe you’re just not fully familiar with the rules of engagement Continuity of Government sets for itself.

Re: US Military's cyber command unit grapples with cluster of deaths by suicide

#252

Post by DANmode »

ghastmaster wrote: post #208
anigbrowl wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure how much value there is in comparing it with ordinary mortality considering the fairly strict selectivity on handing out TS clearances. You're definitely not going to give one to anyone who looks like an alcoholic or habitual drug user. You'll be less likely to give one out to people who struggle with cravings like heavy smokers or the morbidly obese. Gambling and financial instability are are also exclu…

> fairly strict selectivity on handing out TS clearances I have known two people with clearance(not TS). One was an EOD in the army, whom was one of the last people I would have trusted with explosives back then. The other did IT work for a defense contractor in the middle east. The latter did lots of drugs of all kinds and stole close to $5k of my gun and ammo. He's now in the military repairing helicopters. End ane…

Did you forget to report him, or was it squashed?

Re: US Military's cyber command unit grapples with cluster of deaths by suicide

#253

Post by DANmode »

dewyatt wrote: post #59
grommz wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Once you know about the NSA backdoors you become a walking security risk. Forget about that vacation in beautiful China, you will be held on a short leash for life.

It seems to me that if you end up adjacent to an operation that exposes you to certain technologies, you will be harassed and attacked with covert directed-energy weapons until you are suicided or institutionalized and discredited.

“will be” is too strong.

Re: US Military's cyber command unit grapples with cluster of deaths by suicide

#254

Post by Loquebantur »

CircuitSeuss wrote: post #230
Loquebantur wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://archive.ph/W2tpE > One of the dead was Technical Sergeant Kevin Stallings, a digital network intelligence analyst whose family told Bloomberg they wanted him to be identified to bring greater attention to the suicides. Stallings was stationed at Fort Meade, Maryland, Cyber Command’s headquarters. He took his own life the month before he’d have turned 37. These people aren't "drone operators", they worked for…

Or maybe… Things are really fucked right now. I agree that this is an abnormal number of suicides- I don't think anyone is disputing that. I disagree with your suggestion of “housecleaning” though. I would speculate that the answer is simplier: DoD “Hacker stuff” kills people. And worse. At scale. The psychological stressors of intelligence work alone is real and extremely high; Cyber Command’s role is not just to kn…

The US intelligence community engaging in murdering suspected "weak links" in order to "send a message", "clean the house" etc. is a regularly recurring phenomenon.

The fiction, that intelligence community (among many other places in US government) was some harbor of angelic superior morality, capable of restraining themselves in spite of total lack of effective oversight is certainly "simple". That doesn't make it true.

Re: US Military's cyber command unit grapples with cluster of deaths by suicide

#255

Post by DANmode »

sandworm101 wrote: post #74

This isn't Russian assassins. They kill specific notable people, not functionaries. Nor is this about not being able to talk about work. Working in these fields becomes your life. You talk about it all day. They don't want to talk about it more, certainly not at home. This is about over-qualification in a narrow field. These are people for whom there is only the one job. Then ... something happens that threatens that…

Here’s another list up dig into and prove no foul-play:

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/deaths-disappearances-scien...

Good luck.

Re: US Military's cyber command unit grapples with cluster of deaths by suicide

#256

Post by CircuitSeuss »

Loquebantur wrote: post #254
CircuitSeuss wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or maybe… Things are really fucked right now. I agree that this is an abnormal number of suicides- I don't think anyone is disputing that. I disagree with your suggestion of “housecleaning” though. I would speculate that the answer is simplier: DoD “Hacker stuff” kills people. And worse. At scale. The psychological stressors of intelligence work alone is real and extremely high; Cyber Command’s role is not just to kn…

The US intelligence community engaging in murdering suspected "weak links" in order to "send a message", "clean the house" etc. is a regularly recurring phenomenon. The fiction, that intelligence community (among many other places in US government) was some harbor of angelic superior morality, capable of restraining themselves in spite of total lack of effective oversight is certainly "simple". That doesn't make it t…

Absolutely! But I don't think that’s the most plausible answer here.

Re: US Military's cyber command unit grapples with cluster of deaths by suicide

#257

Post by mpyne »

alexashka wrote: post #231
jckahn wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm against the U.S.'s broken leadership as much as any sensible person. But even in normal times with sane leadership, national defense is often a matter of "kill or be killed." This is certainly an uncomfortable truth, but that's the way of the world.

> national defense is often a matter of "kill or be killed." You and Israel's current leadership are in agreement.

Ukraine is also running headlong into the reality of kill or be killed.

Re: US Military's cyber command unit grapples with cluster of deaths by suicide

#258

Post by victorbjorklund »

senderista wrote: post #193
kstrauser wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was a big thing for drone people based out of Eppley AFB in Omaha. Wake up, drive to work, attack enemies, drive home, sit there eating dinner with your family trying to pretend you didn’t kill someone and can’t talk about it. Combat troops get to lean on each other after a firefight: “dude, good shot. That guy was about to get us!” You get validation that you did something to safe you and your friends, and it’s…

I feel more compassion for the innocent people they killed and it's not even close.

They probably didn’t kill just innocent people.

Re: US Military's cyber command unit grapples with cluster of deaths by suicide

#259

Post by victorbjorklund »

superkuh wrote: post #210
OsrsNeedsf2P wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

We sure do. They mostly work in federal government and government contracting corporations. There are multiple clearly documented repeated drone strikes on US citizens, even US citizen minors, who never were even indicted with a crime, that ended in assassination. Like the two intentional strikes it took to kill 16 year old US citizen from colorado, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Abdulrahman_al-Awla... . Se…

Are American citizens always innocent? From what I have seen many Americans are guilty of a lot of bad stuff.

Re: US Military's cyber command unit grapples with cluster of deaths by suicide

#260

Post by ddq »

wbl wrote: post #81
a2800276 wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, they only kill random fishermen in the Caribbean, foreign leaders get kidnapped and tried in kangaroo courts. Except Iranian leaders, those do get killed. But that's just the last 6 months.

Those were military not CIA. The distinction really matters!

>The US doesn't even kill foreign leaders.

Is the US military somehow not "the US"? Do you not have any shame just blatantly lying like this?

Post reply on HN