Tragic when society pushes people/families off the grid to survive what ever way is possible. Hunger, thirst, exposure, sleep deprivation, being chronic victims of crime and police harassment, societal segregation, and illness hardly surprising when people in the group melt down and turn on each other.
It is sad when it is a Vet but I have worked with the homeless and even a few Vets are perpetrators so until the facts are in as to why his "own" turned on him gang fashion, a person who did not need a weapon to be lethal, I will reserve judgement.
What few people know is that any adolescent, no matter how profoundly mentally ill can suppress his medical record and sign themselves into the military with very little oversight. Where they learn to be even more able to dominate their families and are given discounted alcohol and enough drugs to float a boat at taxpayer expense for every thing from post adolescents' wisdom teeth extraction to a variety of "training" accidents, hazing, and STD's for in-barracks sex. That does not even count being in a combat zone sometimes quickly after boot camp/AIT training. Some "kids" can physcholically "honeyingmoon" that long which is long enough to get them veteran status. Since it is easier to just discharge them they retain their veteran status but may or may not be typical soldiers; how ever you might want to define that. Many come home with major problems. That are difficult to get treated by an often failed VA system.
I can't speak about other branches but I am sure they do not differ much
The suicide rate for Marines at MCB Camp Lejeune ( on base or off) is high and has been for a long time. The service people who are committing these suicides rarely leave a note.. they just walk into the woods and shoot themselves or kill themselves in the barracks or off base. Mostly kids, in their 20's. It is shocking to say the least. That these kids can see no other way out of their misery but to kill themselves.
I am sure some gained entry into the Marines with some mental issues not being detected but I am also sure that some were affected by the corp. itself. The lifestyle, vigor, stress and missions.
And while the Marine corp is working hard to try to stem and stop this from happening, to notice the signs earlier and intervene, lets face it, that is almost a oxymoron as your MOS is basically to " identify and neutralize the threat". That is what you are taught, that is what you train for, and that is what you do on missions.
You are trained to kill, you are not trained to complain. So you don't
