In 2009 a part of the US Army called Comprehensive Soldier Fitness (CSF) sprang forward to deal with the rising suicide rate. They spent $125 million taxpayer dollars. They wasted it.

The BBC released an article saying that the military’s suicide rate has now climbed to roughly one per day.

Suicide in the US military has sharply increased this year, hitting a rate of almost one death per day, figures show. As of 3 June, 2012 active-duty suicides reached 154, compared with 130 in the same period last year, the Pentagon confirmed to the BBC. The number far exceeds US combat deaths for the same period. “We are deeply concerned about suicide in the military,” a Pentagon spokeswoman said, adding it was “one of the most urgent problems” they faced.

Spiritual Fitness has failed

The CSF wasted $125 Million on an attempt to make soldiers go to the chaplain to get born again so they wont commit suicide. When we fail the mandatory test, they now make us do mandatory online Spiritual Fitness remedial training.

That remedial training included a lesson on how to fold the American flag like a good little Christian – which is not based in tradition at all, incidentally. They even created a disastrous “Virtual Spiritual Fitness Center” to match the millions of dollars they spend on bricks-and-mortar versions.

All along CSF personnel claim to the media / lawyers that ‘Spiritual Fitness’ does not refer to religion at all – rather it’s about team spirit and the human spirit. Why do they say that? Because they know that admitting it was religious is admitting it’s illegal. Take a look at that Virtual Spiritual Fitness Center, let me know what you think. ‘Team Spirit’?

Yet now someone appears to be lobbying congressmen with dubious statistics apparently gained from the unconstitutional testing and training. Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-TX) blamed the recent theater shooting in Aurora, CO on ‘attacks on Christianity’. Gohmert went on the air and started citing ‘unreleased DoD statistics’ that ‘prove’ that military suicides are ‘all’ atheist soldiers. He gave a very specific number and statistic, and he will be hearing from my lawyers with a Freedom Of Information Act request shortly.

What the hell is congress being told by the DoD?

*Click to embiggen*

Damage control

That article from the BBC seems to be swallowing the damage control hook, line, and sinker.

… News of the suicide rate increase comes despite years of effort by the US military to encourage troops to seek help for mental health problems. Those efforts include setting up confidential telephone hotlines and placing more mental health specialists near the battlefield. …

[*Continued below the fold*]

There has not been any visible increase in encouraging troops to seek MEDICAL treatment for mental health problems. They’ve drastically increased visibility for the chaplaincy (which is nearly universally Christian, and dominated by evangelists). Chaplains defend this policy by saying they take a special counseling course. Well so do *counselors*, along with the rest of their years of education – not to mention an entire career of exactly this type of medical experience.

Every time the military’s suicide rate hits the news, the Chaplaincy scoops up more and more funding for suicide prevention. It isn’t working, and it’s time to stop the madness. My friends are dying!

Beyond just this Spiritual Fitness nonsense, and even beyond the chaplaincy, the US Military spends hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on evangelism in the form of civilian contractors. There is an entire industry of sneaky evangelists who manipulate the contracting system, getting rich in the process. Their main focus is in converting service members, our spouses, and even our children to one specific brand of Christianity. Once again, I’m not talking about the chaplaincy whatsoever. These are civilians!

Stop throwing hundreds of millions of dollars away on evangelism and other hocus pocus. Do some real damage control… save some lives.