Washington Army and Air Guard suicides increased

When will they wake up to the fact that while it is great there are "saves" with suicide prevention programs, it should never get so bad that suicide is their only "hope" of ending their pain? These programs do in fact save lives but as the numbers prove, they cannot be the only answer when everything else the DOD is doing has failed.

WA Guard suicides rise even as prevention efforts pay off with interventions
Post by Adam Ashton
The News Tribune on Nov. 30, 2011
The Washington National Guard is seeing mixed results from an “all hands” effort to halt service member suicides, military leaders told state lawmakers in a briefing Wednesday.

The number of suicides among Washington Army and Air Guard service members increased from 0 in 2010 to four so far this year. Seven Washington National Guard soldiers took their own lives in 2009.

But leaders are taking heart in multiple successful suicide interventions that they attribute to enhanced awareness about behavioral health concerns in the military.

“These efforts are saving lives,” Washington National Guard commander Maj. Gen. Timothy Lowenberg said. “We have effectively intervened and prevented suicides form occurring because of this all-hands engagement.”

The saved lives in 2011 include a senior officer who posted on Facebook that he was ready to kill himself. Fellow service members spotted his plea and helped law enforcement officers find him before he could act.
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