Why are so many ex-army people in prison?
I agree with Mark B. Also you will find that some ‘law enforcement officers’ and even courts see it as some sort of ‘scalp’ to ‘get’ a Vet – been done a few times to my certain knowledge. I would say that the myth that many Vets (and Hollywood etc) put out that they are all crazy doesn’t help, either. My experience of MY Vets is that they are all clued-up people and very professional – the others I accept on sufferance. The same about support also applies to non-Vet ex-soldiers – they receive too little, are often suddenly on a job market that doesn’t want them, and can even be discriminated against, because of the losers who think that all soldiers etc are no-brain humps when nothing could be further from the truth. Just for enlightenment – if they were all dysfunctional, no-brain humps – how come so many suffer from their experiences? Just because you’re a grunt or whatever doesn’t mean you have no feelings and are a mindless killing machine. To be that you would have to be insane, a
There is little doubt in my mind that ex-forces people need a lot more support as they return from the ordered disciplined life of military service in which for many food shelter and companionship is not a problem. After a few years of that a return to the total chaos of civilian life must be very hard. Some national service men had the same problems and certainly some WW 1 and WW ll servicemen. There is also another side of it which is socially and politically unspeakable but must be considered. That is how many would have ended up in prison earlier had they not been in the forces. This does not mean that greater support must not be given but to assist in a properly and successfully the backgrounds of servicemen prior to enlistment must be also looked into.
