Mission to Combat Military Suicides

Repeat after me, resiliency training does not work! The deadly results should have been enough to clue the DOD in on that one.

Mission to Combat Military Suicides
May 17, 2012
by Renie Workman

Suicides are on the rise in the Army and Army National Guard across the country and here at home.

In the 55th Brigade, which covers most of northeastern and central Pennsylvania, six soldiers have taken their lives since 2009, the most recent in March.

The National Guard is on a mission to combat soldier suicides.

Retired Pennsylvania National Guardsman Staff Sergeant Earl Granville knows all about serving and sacrificing for his country.

In 2008 the Carbondale native lost a leg in Afghanistan after a roadside bomb exploded.

In 2010 he lost his twin brother, Staff Sergeant Joseph Granville to suicide.

“Joe and I served, we joined together. We were bunk mates in basic training. We’ve gone to Bosnia together, we’ve gone to Iraq together,” said SSG (Ret.) Earl Granville, “If he saw the impact it made, I’m sure he would have decided a different way to go.”

Military officials said soldier suicides are on the rise across the country.

In 2011, the Army reported 164 suicides among active duty soldiers and another 117 for non-active duty, which includes the National Guard.

Local military leaders said Pennsylvania’s National Guard suicide rate ranks third in the country.

“It is so detrimental to the entire formation when somebody kills themselves. It hurts all of us. We lost a team member, we lost a brother, we lost a friend in many cases,” said SSG Eric Darling, a Master Resiliency Trainer with the National Guard.
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