LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION urging the New York State Congressional deleg-
ation to provide the necessary resources in order to reduce incidents of
violence by the members of the U.S. Armed Forces

WHEREAS, Recent studies show that the incidence of violence, suicide,
and homicide by U.S. Armed Forces are on the rise; and
WHEREAS, Nationally, according to the studies, at least 121 Iraq and
Afghanistan war veterans have committed a killing in the United States
or have been charged in one; and
WHEREAS, The studies also estimate that nearly 20 percent of returning
veterans, or 300,000 individuals, have symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD) or major depression; and
WHEREAS, The studies also note that there have been a reported 147
Army suicides in 2009, with Army suicides increasing every year since
2004 as soldiers deal with longer and repeated tours in Iraq and Afghan-
istan; and
WHEREAS, The violence includes incidents such as one that took place
at Camp Liberty in May of 2009, in which five soldiers were killed and
four others wounded by a fellow soldier; another occurrence, reported at
the Fort Hood, Texas Army Base, described Major Nidal Hasan, an Army
psychiatrist, allegedly murdered 13 people and wounded 32 others; and a
third incident in 2008, confirmed four Marines tortured, murdered, and
raped Jan Pawel Pietzrk and his wife before setting their home on fire
in an attempt to destroy any evidence left at the scene of the crime;
and
WHEREAS, Such studies, conducted by both the U.S. Army and the RAND
Corporation, among others, also found that despite the increasing aware-
ness of the need for support and aid, there is still insufficient
professional help available for troubled soldiers; and
WHEREAS, Military culture militates against seeking help, and recent
studies show that in some cases there is a low level of confidence in
Army mental health care; furthermore, strong perceptions of excessive
prescribing of opiates and other psychotropic drugs, lack of adequate
participation in mental health by primary care providers, and signif-
icant understaffing of mental health services; and
WHEREAS, The studies also stated that between the years of 2004 and
2008, out of a population of 1.1 million, 2,726 Army soldiers were
involved in violent crimes; and
WHEREAS, The study conducted by the Army reports that it can find no
single factor to explain the violent crimes committed by soldiers, and
that the causes of such behavior therefore are multi-faceted and require
further study; and
WHEREAS, The several reports and the Armed Forces own studies show the
need for better training of officers to recognize the warning signs of
high-risk behaviors and to manage those in their charge who have such
behavioral problems, and to ensure that those who need to may seek help
without fear of humiliation or reprisal; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the New York State Congressional delegation be and
hereby is respectfully memorialized by this Legislative Body to provide
the necessary resources in order to reduce incidents of violence by the
members of the U.S. Armed Forces, and to encourage the U.S. Armed Forces
to study the rates and trends of violent crimes and to clearly identify
all risk factors, assess the adequacy of all health programs and develop
strategy to enhance resources and support; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the New York State Congressional delegation should
provide the necessary resources needed for better training of officers
to recognize the warning signs of high-risk behaviors and to manage

those in their charge who have such behavioral problems, and to ensure
that those who need to may seek help without fear of humiliation or
reprisal; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the New York State Congressional delegation should
provide the U.S. Armed Forces with the resources required to develop
improved and more comprehensive screening that may be needed to identify
soldiers as well as recruits and applicants, who may be at risk, and to
follow-up on such high-risk soldiers and their units and any other indi-
viduals so identified, with an especial stress on completing such iden-
tification prior to any war-zone or other high stress deployments; and
be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to each member of the Congressional delegation from the State of
New York.