DOD task force confronts suicide

DOD task force confronts suicide
By Ashley Rowland, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Tuesday, November 24, 2009
SEOUL, South Korea — They’re often young, male, in the Army, and recently had their hearts broken.

Another thing they have in common: They fit the profile of many servicemembers who kill themselves.

The military has yet to understand thoroughly why more troops are committing suicide, or whether multiple deployments contribute to them, said Maj. Gen. Philip Volpe, co-chairman of the new Defense Department suicide prevention task force conducting a study on the problem.

The 14-member task force, which includes seven civilians and seven servicemembers, began meeting about a month ago and will present its findings to the secretary of Defense next summer.

Volpe said the military tracks suicides only among current servicemembers. That means if a former servicemember with post-traumatic stress disorder or other deployment-related mental health problems commits suicide, the military doesn’t record it.

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DOD task force confronts suicide