Obviously, they need better opt out options. To be stuck to something so much do to words on a paper.... To be stuck to it so much that your life becoming forfeit seems like an acceptable cost. This is honor? This is nobility? This is being true and proud?
Those who sign up take an oath to defend America from all enemies, foreign and domestic. Once a citizen has become a soldier, his duty is to follow lawful orders, and hope to hell that those above him make the right decisions.
Here is the problem - There is a difference between those who sign up because they want to defend America, and those who sign up because they want free goodies after they serve their minimum enlistment time. Those who sign up for the free goodies, IMHO, are the ones committing suicide. After all, they are the ones who are not doing it for the purpose of making a sacrifice for their country, and are the first to become disillusioned.
Now that does not mean that I don't care that soldiers are committing suicide. I feel badly about that. IMHO, here is how we fix the problem:
1) Tighten requirements for enlistment - Those who have criminal records, or who have had emotional or mental problems are not eligible - Period.
2) Don't let the military be the last resort for those who look to it as the last resort in their lives, or a path to free goodies.
3) Once you have screened out those who don't meet the criteria, give better pay, and better support.
4) Only go to war as a last resort. Iraq is the poster boy for this.
5) Treat our veterans with dignity. The fact that most of our homeless happen to be veterans is something that should shame us all. Once a soldier has done his service for his country, he should be regarded with respect, and not made to be a pariah in American society. Fact is, our government, both Democrats and Republicans, have taken a huge dump on our soldiers and veterans, this this has to change. For Christ sake, most of these guys put their own lives on hold, and on the line, in order to do a dirty and nasty service that most of us would not ever consider, so that we may sleep at night, comfortable in our beds, without worry. That has to count for something. If it doesn't, then something is seriously wrong with all of us.
I believe a little support in the way of psychiatric services for soldiers and veterans is not too much to ask for. It should be the least of many services they have earned and deserve. Tax money for veterans? You betcha. That is not Socialism. That is Patriotism, something that is sorely lacking in America these days.