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

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

#371
post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like to think the brain is doing its work and just trashing info it doesnt need and making space for new info when i forget stuff... I guess if it was truly important i'd be worried, but work stuff usually isnt important once its done, emotional/personal stuff would be more worrisome, like alzheimer and others, but work stuff? Im happy to forget it if its done lol

Well, I'm only 38 so alzheimers is unlikely. It does run in the family though But no, my real worry is I'm going to wind up having to interview and talk about stuff I've done and I can't seem to remember any of it. That's a real problem and probably not good

Do you work on, like, 100 different projects and have slightly different roles in each one (i.e. PM at a startup)? Or do all the projects look roughly uniform from your perspective (eg. IC at MAAANGOS)? Do you take work home?

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

#372

I suspect the Cold War of cyber warfare that is happening is orders of magnitude bigger than the public knows. Imagine knowing this and not being able to get emotional support from your friends and family.

There's lots of people working for NATO and federal agencies in Europe that have been assassinated by the luckystrike branch of the FSB. The name comes from the Telegram account with underscores in between, and they're essentially recruiting kids or former inmates for GTA style missions. Starts with simple stuff like package rerouting, then goes on to gathering intel about places, people, putting in USB flash drives…

The open AI engineer who was ready to testify in a copyright case against them, also died in weird circumstances. His mom is out on an anti-Altman campaign.

Man this stuff sucks to be so out in the public and out of darkness. I mean we knew these things were happening but they’ve accelerated so much now and what are we going to do about it?

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

#373

I have always wondered how the Ukrainian FPV drone operators cope - some of footage is pretty gruesome - esp when the drone chases some hapless Russian running away before zeroing in and then blowing him up. Some even shows double tap mortar rounds being dropped on Russians and then gravely wounded they drop another one to finish them off.

A firm belief that one is doing the right thing is incredibly protective of mental health in war.

Ukrainian drone pilots have few doubts about what future they're working towards and what one they're preventing when they kill Russian soldiers.

US soldiers coming home from Iraq 2 (or Vietnam) don't have anywhere near that ideological buffer.

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

#374
post #312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Were all US soldiers in the Revolutionary War war criminals? What about the North in the Civil War? Or WWI/WWII? Nearly every soldier in any war will have directly or indirectly killed an innocent civilian. Which ones are war crimes and which aren’t? How do you decide and who gives you the authority to do so?

Who gives US president authority to just murder whoever he wants?

US voters

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

#375

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Israel will happily flatten a whole apartment complex to get one guy.

They also have been giving civilians warnings to leave areas before they "flatten a whole apartment complex"

Not so much anymore:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roof_knocking

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

#376

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…

News just in: talking about your mental health, especially for men, does not improve your mental health. For the majority of men, most of the time. If it did, shouldn’t we see mental health improving by now?

This is a fascinating assertion. I would love to read more about it.

Can you please provide some sources?

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

#377

Earlier quoted context omitted.

News just in: talking about your mental health, especially for men, does not improve your mental health. For the majority of men, most of the time. If it did, shouldn’t we see mental health improving by now?

LOL, I’d love to see that peer reviewed paper. Which one are you citing?

Nothing ever happens unless there's a paper to back it up

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

#379

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was, on a technical level, the most interesting work I’ve ever done. What people say about the US government being ahead of the commercially available technology curve is certainly true. The work I did absolutely had positive impact on the world. People rush to criticize and write off working in the defense sector, but it can be a very rewarding place to work. There are absolutely problems in that sector - bad man…

> What people say about the US government being ahead of the commercially available technology curve is certainly true. Is that what they say?

Yes, and it's true. Not in every field. For example, defense contractors have material science well beyond what is commercially available. I'm a nobody, and what I've seen is world changing.

And that isn't even the half of it.

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

#380

I suspect the Cold War of cyber warfare that is happening is orders of magnitude bigger than the public knows. Imagine knowing this and not being able to get emotional support from your friends and family.

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…

It appears to be a huge lapse on the part of command. These people should have eaten dinner thinking "I got them good, these fuckers".
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