U.S. Cyber Command is investigating what they term is a “suicide cluster”—a Pentagon term for an abnormally high number of suicides—amongst personnel who are reported to have worked in or closely interacted with the command. Beginning in early June, as many as five such people over the next four weeks took their own lives. This was reported by Bloomberg, citing public records, internal military communications, and people familiar with the matter.
Cyber Command operators hack into foreign military computer systems to disrupt communications, air defenses, and other battlefield capabilities. Apparently, such psychological stress - long known to have resulted in such problems as stress, disassociation and abuse of alcohol and drugs amongst the cyber warriors who kill remotely by guidance of drones - has now broken out amongst the ones doing the hacking. Bloomberg cited a previous Army-funded study of Cyber Command operators where physical illness, insomnia, memory loss and rumination resulted. (Rumination includes a prolonged if not obsessive dwelling upon negative emotions where there is little or no control over the situation, resulting in anxiety, depression and such.)
