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Pattern of brain damage is pervasive in Navy SEALs who died by suicide

nytimes.com

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Re: Pattern of brain damage is pervasive in Navy SEALs who died by suicide

#241

Post by TomK32 »

midjji wrote: post #230

If this is accurate there is likely very little to be done, and the solution will likely be to have less training and retire a decade sooner.

There's plenty to be done mostly in research: Regular checks on every solider after they had a blast that potentially affected their brain. Training can certainly be adapted as well as the gear that protects their heads and brains. I bet there's something of a gradient in the brain damage and not just a single event that causes it to go bad, the ages of those mentioned in the article are all within a decade. Reassigning soldiers earlier in their career to tasks without risk for their brain will save them and their families lots of pain.

Re: Pattern of brain damage is pervasive in Navy SEALs who died by suicide

#242

Post by baxtr »

kragen wrote: post #217

> Much of what is categorized as post-traumatic stress disorder may actually be caused by repeated exposure to blasts. that is to say, it's actually shell shock? as in, actual physical shock from actual shells? george carlin would be so proud https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuEQixrBKCc the article also mentions that they'd all trained extensively in diving deep underwater, which is also known to cause brain damage, b…

I wonder if the Havanna syndrome is somehow correlated with this as well

Re: Pattern of brain damage is pervasive in Navy SEALs who died by suicide

#243

Post by emsign »

This isn't new knowledge. I've heard about blasts causing sudden pressure buildup in the brain via the spinal cord years ago.

Of course this is now a much bigger problem for the military as it affects all combat soldiers even during training exercises.

Re: Pattern of brain damage is pervasive in Navy SEALs who died by suicide

#244

Post by midjji »

yieldcrv wrote: post #6

This is the kind of research I've been yearning to see on suicide. Just telling people not to, or to call a hotline, seemed like the worst most patronizing advice as it never solved the underlying thing. I've since learned that there is a subset of suicidal people where that's enough, where the suicidal tendency is a kneejerk decision that can be disrupted, but it bugged me that its not serving everyone that becomes…

You say that suicide hotlines are more for the friends of people at risk, than the people at risk, as if it is a bad thing. We as a society generally dont know how to help people who consider suicide for its myriad of causes. We do know how to help their friends though, and pretending that there is help to be had is a big part of it.

Re: Pattern of brain damage is pervasive in Navy SEALs who died by suicide

#245

Post by emsign »

baxtr wrote: post #242
kragen wrote: post #217

> Much of what is categorized as post-traumatic stress disorder may actually be caused by repeated exposure to blasts. that is to say, it's actually shell shock? as in, actual physical shock from actual shells? george carlin would be so proud https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuEQixrBKCc the article also mentions that they'd all trained extensively in diving deep underwater, which is also known to cause brain damage, b…

I wonder if the Havanna syndrome is somehow correlated with this as well

Pressure buildup in the cranium due to microwave heating? Victims have reported a feeling as if their heads are about to explode.

Re: Pattern of brain damage is pervasive in Navy SEALs who died by suicide

#246

Post by zxexz »

emsign wrote: post #245
baxtr wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if the Havanna syndrome is somehow correlated with this as well

Pressure buildup in the cranium due to microwave heating? Victims have reported a feeling as if their heads are about to explode.

Huh. I feel like that almost daily nowadays. Maybe I should grab some tinfoil. Unless it's coming from inside the head...

Re: Pattern of brain damage is pervasive in Navy SEALs who died by suicide

#247

Post by jstanley »

p51-remorse wrote: post #86
Mistletoe wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.wikihow.com/Avoid-Being-Shot Intrigued, I got some info from wikihow. > If you are a fast runner or have bad knees, run in a straight line away from the attacker towards cover. The faster you can get away, the fewer shots they will be able to fire. >If you are a slower runner and do not have knee trouble, a zig-zag run may be a better option. You may still be hit in this case, but the chances of being hit…

I’m guessing there aren’t many studies on this, but as a young, fast runner I’d zigzag every time if they’re shooting _at_ me. At least run in a straight line that isn’t collinear with the shooter’s position. Obviously, if you can find cover, put it between you and them and cover distance. It’s so, so hard for any amateur to hit a target that is moving radially in a polar coordinate system centered on them, at all. I…

> It’s so, so hard for any amateur to hit a target that is moving radially in a polar coordinate system centered on them, at all.

Isn't that the easiest possible way because they remain on a constant bearing?

Re: Pattern of brain damage is pervasive in Navy SEALs who died by suicide

#248

Post by midjji »

hammyhavoc wrote: post #33
mbrumlow wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Robots and drones. Flesh and mind are weak. Metal and code is strong.

EMP says hi.

The only usable EMPs we have are nuclear weapons. So if you are willing to use one, then just detonate it a bit closer to the surface and it will work just as well against everything we have.

Re: Pattern of brain damage is pervasive in Navy SEALs who died by suicide

#249

Post by midjji »

halJordan wrote: post #25
nunez wrote: post #23

What an incredible article. The other articles referenced within are also excellent. My concern: given that this is becoming more common knowledge, in a world in which other, potentially adversarial, countries are more than fine sending their soldiers through the mental meat grinder, how can we prevent outcomes like the ones shared here while retaining hard power?

In the medium term, these posts are all voluntary. They say you volunteer 3 times before you're a Ranger (enlisting, Airborne, Ranger). As people learn that they will likely kill themselves at 45, when you're supposed to retire at 40 and have 40 years of retirement, then they will leave SF early. In the short term I could see leadership pushing a fourth volunteering (volunteering to commit suicide so the Mission can…

Its mostly a question of pr I think. More highly trained troops are less likely to die or mess up, and that is bad pr. So we train them more, but if that training also causes deaths, which becomes bad pr, we will train them less. Younger less trained soldiers are cheaper too, so I think the tradeoff will favor less training as soon as this becomes common knowledge anyways.

Re: Pattern of brain damage is pervasive in Navy SEALs who died by suicide

#250

Post by niemandhier »

sofixa wrote: post #216
logicchains wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Historically, the rationale for excluding women from the draft was that they weren't eligible to serve in combat roles, voluntarily or otherwise Historically countries didn't let women fight in wars because they didn't want their civilisation to die out. If a country loses a double-digit percent of its men it can still repopulate just as quickly, because one man can make multiple women pregnant, while if it loses it…

> Historically countries didn't let women fight in wars because they didn't want their civilisation to die out. If a country loses a double-digit percent of its men it can still repopulate just as quickly, because one man can make multiple women pregnant, while if it loses its women then it takes significantly longer to repopulate, because one woman can't have multiple babies at the same time so the birthrate will ne…

There is research regarding this.

At least in Russia it meant: less options for women, a more male centric dating market and more children born out of wedlock.

https://direct.mit.edu/rest/article-abstract/99/2/229/58403/...

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