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Subject: Injured Canadian soldier dies after apparent suicide resulting from Stephen Harper's illegal American ass kissing war of aggression and occupation
From: L.G.R.
Date: 11/23/2007 5:51:22 PM
Il s'est suicidé après avoir reçu la réponse de l'armée comme quoi il ne le
reprenaient pas. Ca met en évidence combien ces BS en uniforme sont
dépendants des ordres et ne se voient pas être obligés de vivre parmis le
monde normal. Excepté après leur pleine retraite qui se situe aux alentours
de 40 ans d'âge. Là l'argent les tiens en vie.
L.G.R.
<robertpeffers@aol.com> a écrit dans le message de news:
fdebb7a3-814f-4dbf-9b84-e3bcad53c068@s36g2000prg.googlegroups.com...
Injured Canadian soldier dies after apparent suicide
TU THANH HA
MONTREAL
November 16, 2007 at 9:43 PM EST
A Canadian soldier who had a foot blown off in Afghanistan has died of
an apparent suicide, raising questions about the distress faced by
combat troops.
Private Frédéric Couture of the Royal 22nd Regiment died on Wednesday
at his parents' home.
His left leg had been amputated below the knee after he stepped on a
land mine in December. His mother felt that he wasn't acting the same
after he was sent home, according to former army sergeant Georges
Dumont.
Mr. Dumont is part of a veterans support group that sued Ottawa for
failing to provide proper treatment for post-traumatic stress
disorder.
Mr. Dumont said he had called Pte. Couture, offering help. Pte.
Couture's mother, Linda Lagimonière, answered and told him that her
son had changed but that he felt he didn't need counselling.
Mr. Dumont's contacts at CFB Valcartier told him that Pte. Couture
committed suicide at his family home in Roxton Pond, 90 kilometres
east of Montreal.
A friend of Pte. Couture who spoke to the TVA network, said the 22-
year-old soldier shot himself even though he had said in recent days
that he was fine and looked forward to returning to Valcartier.
Pte. Couture's mother had said "something wasn't working right" with
her son, Mr. Dumont said. "It's possible he was in denial. You can't
twist a guy's arm to make him admit he's ailing."
Withdrawal and moodiness are warning signs, said a psychotherapist
helping military post- traumatic stress disorder sufferers. "You feel
like you're nobody and absolutely nobody understands what you went
through," said Rob Tyler, a retired army captain.
He said many are reluctant to seek treatment because they would be
seen as weak and lazy. "There's this whole cult in the military about
being tough," he said.
In interviews earlier this year, just after he was discharged from
hospital, Pte. Couture, sitting in a wheelchair, played down the
impact of his injury. "That's part of the risk of my job," he told the
Journal de Montréal.
But he was more despondent when he was initially wounded. A
correspondent with the Sunday Telegraph newspaper was embedded with
Pte. Couture's unit as it conducted a foot patrol in December. The
reporter described a loud detonation when Pte. Couture walked on a
mine.
"I'm 21 and I've lost my foot," the young man repeatedly said as
another soldier applied a tourniquet. "What do you think I'm going to
do?"
A news conference at CFB Valcartier was initially planned, then
cancelled.
Defence spokeswoman Sarah Kavanagh said all efforts were being made to
detect distress among combat veterans and give adequate support to
those who require special treatment.
She added that Canadian Forces medical experts had been in contact
with Pte. Couture and his family since his return from Afghanistan and
were closely monitoring the soldier's progress.
The federal minister for the Quebec City area, Josée Verner, announced
yesterday more than $1.4-million in additional funding for a local
outpatient program to help soldiers and veterans deal with PTSD.
"We're all powerless when confronted by suicide," Ms. Verner said.
With a report from Rhéal Séguin in Quebec City
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071116.wsoldier1611/BNStory/National/home
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