US use of women in combat 'unlawful'

American women are being increasingly involved in combat missions even though it has been banned for centuries, says an award-winning journalist from Philadelphia.

“Women in the United States are more into combat roles now even though it’s been barred for them for decades, centuries in the United States,” Walter M. Brasch, also an author, told Press TV on Saturday.

“They are facing the same problems that the male soldiers are facing, and we have a very high suicide rate among veterans who have come back from wars recently in Iraq and Afghanistan,” he stated.

He made the remarks when asked about a report showing US female military veterans commit suicide at nearly six times the rate of other women in the country.

The US Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) report shows that female suicide rate is so high that it approaches that of male veterans. For women, ages 18 to 29, veterans kill themselves at nearly 12 times the rate of nonveterans.

“The US Congress has just not spent a whole a lot of money on Veterans Affairs to help people who have these kinds of problems,” Brasch said, citing post traumatic stress, drinking, and drug abuse as some of the issues.

“What we need is more money spent for counselors, psychologists, social workers, and psychiatrists to help the people that we have sent to war,” the journalist said.

“And we have spent millions and millions of dollars on war and not as much money as we should have on bringing our soldiers back and giving them the kind of lives that they deserve after serving 1, 2, 3, 5 years, sometimes 6 years, in a combat zone,” he continued.

Brasch said Congress authorizes money to “send people to war” but leaves them to fend for themselves when they get home.

“And yet [lawmakers] stand out there and say about how patriotic they are and how wonderful the soldiers are, but as long as you’re spending a half of billion dollars for this war and a half of billion for that war and not spending enough for the soldiers when they get home, you are not patriotic,” he concluded.

AT/HRJ