Army combats suicide in ranks

They never cease to amaze me what they can do when they want to do it. Oh, how I wish they had come out with something like this in 2006, then I wouldn't have had to make any of the videos I've made. Hard to believe I've been making them for over 3 years now. The first one, Wounded Minds version one was in the beginning of 2006 and honestly, it wasn't very good. What can you expect from someone with absolutely no clue how to make them? Anyway, after the third try I finally got it right. My videos cannot compete with the kind of videos the military can produce. After all, I have no resources at all. I have to hunt for the pictures online while they have a stock pile of photos. They even have achieve films to use. I'm glad what I started so long ago finally caught on but so very, very sad it took them this long to do it.

07-17-06
(From an officer in the Navy)
I saw your PTSD presentation online and want to share it with our Sailors returning from Iraq/Afghanistan.

Thanks for providing this much needed information,

Keep in mind that this email was for the first version of Wounded Minds and it really was not that good but it was much needed back then. So how is it that an officer in the Navy could understand this kind of need when it took the military all this time to finally figure it out?

Two years ago I did a suicide video that took months to pull in all the names and get it together. Death Because They Served took a lot out of me but I did it simply because of all the suicides we had back then and the fact that when the men and women came home from Vietnam, no one noticed as they suffered in silence and at least 200,000 of them killed themselves. By 1986 there were 117,000 deaths linked to Vientam and suicide. Two later studies put the numbers between 150,000 and 200,000, but I have a feeling too many of the families left behind never made the connection. After all, they never had the information they needed to be able to connect the two.

Anyway, at least the leadership in the military are finally listening and thinking of what they can do instead of just trying to cover it all up. It's the least they can do for the people willing to lay down their lives for the sake of this nation and it's time to stop them from taking their own lives because they did all that was asked of them but we never did what they expected from us.

Army combats suicide in ranks
By Dan Blottenberger, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Friday, May 8, 2009
BAMBERG, Germany — Soldiers and civilians who have experienced suicide in their families — or attempted suicide themselves — are featured in a video being aired by an Army suicide prevention program.

The 12-minute video is part of the second phase of a program launched by the Army in February after 143 servicemembers — a record number — killed themselves in 2008.

"Suicide is uncomfortable to talk about," Lt. Col. Gary Rosenberg, USAG Bamberg commander, said Wednesday before an audience of about 120 soldiers and civilians attending the second phase.

But "that is exactly what we need to do — talk about it," he said.

"Army leadership is determined to address this problem."

The first phase of the suicide-prevention program, which was held in early spring, featured videos of hypothetical scenarios in which servicemembers are beset by problems.

Participants were invited to talk about how they could be helped.

The second phase of the program, which is being held through mid-July, is intended to be a more deliberate and personal approach to training conducted by small-unit leaders and first-line supervisors, officials say.

The phase two video shown Wednesday, titled "Shoulder to Shoulder — no soldier stands alone," starts with the view of a graveyard, followed by an honor guard carrying the flag-draped casket of a fallen soldier and the words of Lt. Gen. Jack C. Stultz, chief of U.S. Army Reserve.
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http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=62556