Should the Military have a limit on Deployments for individuals?

Maybe reasonable limit on number of combat missions?

There was a creed that mentioned "knowing your Soldiers". I think the important thing is for Leaders to make fair assessment based on what that Soldier feels and mental health experts if needed. Every Soldier is different and you cannot set a limit on something that cant be measured by numbers. We all treat deployments differently, some of our jobs have little to no change when we deploy some of us the reality of death or loss of a loved one changes dramatically. 1LT Annala this  should indeed be a command responsibility the health and welfare of our Soldiers directly affect their ability to accomplish missions that we assign them. We risk not only their lives but the rest of their units if we ignore a potential problem.

SFC Byron Evans, exactly! Thank you fpr seeing and understanding the real issue. It is most certainly is a command responsibility to maintain the ability and stability of their unit mission capability status, starting, I believe, with the squad leaders. If the squad leader detects a possible problem with a soldier, he takes that concern to the Platoon Sargent who should observe and engage that soldier with coversation in order to get a first-hand feel for that soldier's physical and mental preparedness ability to support the mission. Report his/her findings to the Platoon Leader and he/she then inform the Company Commander or OIC to make a command decision about a course of action for the soldier in question. Yes, 1LT Annala, it IS a command responsibility to ensure and protect the wellbeing of the soldiers in their command. That's what GOOD leaders do. Again, thank you SFC Evans for being able to see beyond yourself and see the big picture, the wellbeing of the soldiers in your command. Be blessed in all you do.

Deployments are hugely different between the services and even between the components. I did 3 deployments with the Guard and was away from my family for 4.5 years. That's not uncommon in the Guard. I read somewhere that some Air Force guy did 5 deployments, but that was less than a year total time in Iraq.

Spot on Sir, We would still have the same problem just more people with that same problem.

I love deployments personally!

Severe PTSD, Military murders and military/veteran suicides to name a few. Also mass murders on U. S. Army bases. It's not healthy for the human mind after so many deployments and death and carnage.

SPC Edward Tapper
I don't have any numbers but I would say that deployments are not the reason a Soldier/Veteran commits suicide. It may play a part in some, but not the main reason in the majority. Other than Fort Hood I cannot recall any mass murders on any military installation. Back in 93 a Soldier shot his 1SG and supply sergeant at Ft Campbell, he had never been in combat. In 1995 a Soldier shot 19 people and killed one at Fort Bragg sniping them during P.T., he had never been to combat. If the draft was started Soldiers would still get PTSD. I understand your frustration but the draft would not solve anything and in my opinion would only make things worse by forcing people to do things against their will.