Report says increasing number of suicides is unacceptable?

It would be impossible to count how many reports have come out over the years regarding military suicides but this is ridiculous.

Suicide Increase Impacts Volunteer Military

Report Says Recruitment Could Be Undercut

By Charley Keyes
CNN Senior National Security Producer
November 2, 2011

"The military must take care of its own," the report says. "Although a goal of no suicides may be unachievable, the increasing number of suicides is unacceptable."

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Military suicides are such a serious and growing problem that they threaten the future of the voluntary military, a new report warns.

The study from the Center for a New American Security says the upswing in suicides during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq will undercut recruitment and public confidence.

"America is losing its battle against suicide by veterans and service members," the report says.

"As more troops return from deployment, the risk will only grow."

The report says that suicides have climbed steadily since in recent years.
read more here

How many more years will we read the same type of comments made and still see the suicide rate go up?

This report has been posted all over the web but it took James Dao of the New York Times to go further into the report listing the recommendations.

November 1, 2011, 5:10 PM
Report Hashes Out Battle Plan Against Military Suicides
By JAMES DAO
With military suicides remaining at a stubbornly high level in recent years, there has been no shortage of calls to action. But this week the Center for a New American Security, an influential military policy group in Washington, offered some specific recommendations for what the armed services, Department of Veterans Affairs and Congress could do to bring the rate down.

The report (PDF) by Dr. Margaret C. Harrell and Nancy Berglass acknowledges up top that there is some debate over whether deployment is clearly linked to suicides. The Army’s comprehensive report on suicide last year asserted that deployment may actually reduce the likelihood of suicide. And in an interview, Dr. Harrell, a fellow at the center, said that data indicates that in the Air Force, people who never deploy are more likely to kill themselves than those who do.

But the authors say recent research suggests that there may indeed be an association between deployment and suicide, including data showing that people with traumatic brain injury are 1.5 times more likely to die from suicide than those without it. And they summarize theories among some experts that the “protective qualities” of military service — including having a sense of belonging and of service — can erode after troops return from deployments and are separated from their units, sent to garrison duty or discharged into civilian life.
read more here

Among the steps listed is this

* Reducing the number of suicide prevention programs among National Guard units so there is a more consistent approach to suicide prevention across the nation.

Shocker! The number of suicides has gone up so they want to REDUCE the number of prevention programs? How about they take a look at the fact nothing they have listed will actually address the problem because up until now, they have proven to have failed.

The DOD is still under the delusion the men and women entering into the military are able to "train their brains" to become mentally tough. Everything they have based their programs on leans on this approach. The problem is, they are telling men and women already tough enough to enter into the military they are weak. This leaves them feeling as if it is their fault if they end up with PTSD, thus, mentally weak and didn't train properly.

The last thing National Guards and Reservists need is to have something taken away from them. When they come home they go back into their communities among people without a single clue about where they just left. They need more support programs, not less.

Back to what has been done and the fact it has not worked can be directly tied to repeated failures. Getting care should never depend upon who the man or woman serves under but depend on standard orders. Kicking out PTSD soldiers is not the answer since there have been many reports of them staying in after being helped to heal and they are still serving today.

When the Army released a study showing a 50% increase risk of PTSD with each redeployment they should have geared up to address it considering they have sent troops back over and over again but did nothing to prepare for the increased mental anguish this would cause. They just kept pushing the programs based on Battlemind bullshit but changed the title of the failure to sound better.

They will continue to see increased suicides as long as they keep repeating proven failures.

What works would require the DOD to understand PTSD as well as understand the men and women serving in the military. To this day I have not read a single report addressing the difference between combat PTSD and PTSD in the general population. They do not address the different levels of it and they have yet to come to terms with the fact some turn to self-medicating so they don't have to use prescription drugs that make them feel worse. Some turn to street drugs so they don't have to report they have a problem because of the stigma associated with in by too many commanders still treating them as if they are "weak" minded. It is almost as if some have given up on PTSD veterans instead of discovering how much better they are when they have been treated properly after being battle tested and healed.

If they really want to treat the troops they have to understand them and the simple fact that PTSD is a wound to the soul. The Greeks use the word "trauma" for wound. Not cuts and blood but an emotional wounding. To address it properly it requires spiritual healing under whatever faith they already have and not the one the government wants issued to them. If they claim to be a "spiritual person" with no faith base, then treat them spiritually. If they claim to be Christian but "churchless" then treat them the way Christ did and take care of them as humans. Drop the push to get behinds in the pews of one faith over another. If they are Jewish, treat them under their own faith and the same goes for Muslims.

Use of common sense and actually listening to them would be a great place to start as well. How about having people treating these men and women are required to have been in combat themselves? How about making sure they have a full understanding of what combat does? How about making sure they did not gain their knowledge from reading a textbook?

I was talking to a Marine yesterday after he served two tours and had some horror stories to tell. He went to get help from the Marines but was given a zero disability while being medically discharged. He's getting 50% from the VA but the VA doctor wanted to know what was bothering him. He wanted to know where to begin since he had one trauma after another. The VA doctor was oblivious without a clue what combat does or was unable to communicate any understanding leaving this Marine to feel he was wasting his time.

If they really want to save their lives after the enemy couldn't take them, then they need to get serious about looking at the "weapons" they have been using. Otherwise they are still using swords against RPGs.

The VA isn't much better at it.

Keys to preventing suicide: End the stigma, get better data
By BILL MURPHY JR. AND DEREK TURNER
Published: November 1, 2011

Stigma and a lack of good data are making it harder for the United States to combat the scourge of suicides among military members and veterans, according to a report released this week by the Center for a New American Security.

“I have no idea how many [veterans] die by suicide each day,” Jan Kemp, national mental health program director for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, said at a forum introducing the report. “You’ve seen [the statistic], 18 a day. Honestly I don’t know how correct we are. It’s our best guess right now.”

Trying to reduce the number of suicides in the Army has been “the most difficult challenge in my 40 years in the military,” said Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the vice chief of staff of the Army, who also spoke at the forum. “The circumstances surrounding each suicide are as unique as the individuals themselves. That’s what makes this so incredibly tough.”

Chiarelli said the active-duty Army lost 156 soldiers to suicide in 2010, down from 162 in 2009. But he said the hardest part is identifying which 250 or so soldiers might be at serious risk of suicide ahead of time, in part because brain science is still immature.

“The number one systemic recommendation I would make is the study of the brain,” Chiarelli said, noting that fully half of active-duty soldiers who commit suicide are undergoing some kind of mental health treatment.
read more here

Study the brains? Is Chiarelli kidding? How many studies have they done since Vietnam Veterans came back and pushed for this to finally be done? How many more generations does it take for the VA to understand what makes humans human?

Kemp is correct and they don't really know how many suicides there are since there are so many claims unapproved. Without an approved claim by the VA, they are not counted. The other factor is families tend to not tie military service to suicides if too much time has gone by. They do not understand the impact on the whole life of a combat veteran, so they don't report it and even if they wanted to, without an approved VA claim, no one would care.

How much should we care? If showing up for a Veterans Day parade is too much for us to do for them, then the odds of us showing up to make sure there are less next Memorial Day are just about zilch.