Why Do Individuals Enlist In The Military

Individuals enlist in the military for various reasons such as honor, experience, or as a career. Regardless of the reason for enlisting, many individuals do not consider the effects of combat situations. Of course in combat situations physical risks are always a factor, but there are also scars that cannot be seen by the eye. The two branches of the military that see combat situations the most are the marines and army, therefore, are more at risk at sustaining physical injuries and mental disorders. Physical injuries and life threatening situations often lead to the most frequent mental disorder amongst soldiers, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD. PTSD is a disorder that “is connected to a traumatic event or series of events …show more content…
Impulsive behaviors are linked to numerous premature deaths such as, “accidents (e.g., motor vehicle, accidental discharge of firearms) and suicide” (James 357). Veterans also have an increase in sensation seeking activities, which pushes many soldiers to reenlist or even participate in life threatening activities. High risk activities are also linked to “antisocial and borderline personality disorder” (James 361). Veterans that are antisocial or have personality disorders often develop chronic depression that leads to thoughts of suicide. The amount of motor vehicle accidents and thoughts of suicide can explain the increase of veterans driving vehicles intentionally into objects. It is no surprise that untreated veterans often end up on a self-destructive path, which result in the increase in drug abuse amongst veterans and active duty …show more content…
This addiction to opioids is carried over to the states where there is an increase in opioid dependency “Department of Defense service members rose from 1% to 10%” (Dabbs 885). Another study took into account the soldiers rank and marital status. Soldiers ranking from E1 to E4 are most likely to develop opioid dependency from PTSD, than soldiers with a higher ranking. Soldiers that are not married or single “had a higher odds of opiate abuse or dependence when compared to those who were married” (Dabbs 887), due to the fact that the ones that are married or in a relationship feel obligated to remain sober. Soldiers with only one deployment have the greater risk of having PTSD as compared to soldier with three or more deployments. Soldiers after the initial deployment have an increase across the charts, therefore, should be screened