A General's Personal Battle

I don't know what to make out of this story. Is it that Maj. Gen. Graham has awakened to the fact what they've been doing at Carson has been all wrong or is this more of a selling job as if the military finally gets it? Suicides and attempted suicides go up every year and we keep hearing how the military is taking all of this very seriously. If they were doing the right research and making the right decisions, the numbers would have gone down instead of up. Personality Disorder discharges would have stopped and they would have been treated instead of kicked out of the military. Warrior Transition Units would not be punishing the wounded for not showing up for formation. PTSD wounded would not be redeployed with medications but no therapy right back to where they were wounded in the first place.

Experimenting? How many more years will it take to "experiment" with the wounded before they have a clue what it is? Ten? Twenty? Over thirty? That is what we're talking about here. It's been over 30 years since the term Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was used in a study commissioned by the DAV. It has not changed because humans have not changed. We've been reading the same reports and the same studies since the 70's.

The best program out there was done by the Montana National Guard and if any general were really serious about getting this right, they would take a look at how they are doing it and then use it. It would save time, save money, but above all, save the lives of the men and women that made it back home but could not survive the wound.

A General's Personal Battle
The military is facing a sharp spike in suicides, and Maj. Gen. Mark Graham is leading the fight to reduce them. His mission is close to the heart: His own son, a young ROTC cadet, killed himself six years ago.

By YOCHI J. DREAZEN
Fort Carson, Colo.

Maj. Gen. Mark Graham is on the frontlines of the Army's struggle to stop its soldiers from killing themselves. Through a series of novel experiments, the 32-year military veteran has turned his sprawling base here into a suicide-prevention laboratory.


One reason: Fort Carson has seen nine suicides in the past 15 months. Another: Six years ago, a 21-year-old ROTC cadet at the University of Kentucky killed himself in the apartment he shared with his brother and sister. He was Kevin Graham, Gen. Graham's youngest son.

After Kevin's suicide in 2003, Gen. Graham says he showed few outward signs of mourning and refused all invitations to speak about the death. It was a familiar response within a military still uncomfortable discussing suicide and its repercussions. It wasn't until another tragedy struck the family that Gen. Graham decided to tackle the issue head on.

"I will blame myself for the rest of my life for not doing more to help my son," Gen. Graham says quietly, sitting in his living room at Fort Carson, an array of family photographs on a table in front of him. "It never goes away."

Suicide is emerging as the military's newest conflict. For 2008, the Pentagon has confirmed that 140 soldiers killed themselves, the highest number in decades.

At a Senate hearing last week, Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the Army's vice chief of staff, told lawmakers that 48 soldiers have already committed suicide in 2009. The figure puts the Army on pace for nearly double last year's figure. "I, and the other senior leaders of our Army, readily acknowledge that these current figures are unacceptable," Gen. Chiarelli said at the hearing.

Beyond Fort Carson, the Army has launched a broad push to reduce the incidence of suicide. Over the next four months, all soldiers in the Army will receive additional training on suicide prevention and broader mental health issues. The Marine Corps, which is also being hit hard by suicide, will give all Marines similar training this month. In February and March, the Army for the first time ever excused units from their normal duties so, one by one, they could learn new ways of trying to identify soldiers in need of help.
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A General's Personal Battle