Army Releases May 2012 Suicide Data, DOD head in the sand

Army Releases May 2012 Suicide Data, DOD head in the sand
by Chaplain Kathie
Wounded Times
June 24, 2012

The DOD still has their head in the sand, pushing what does not work and listening to the people they should be blaming.

A friend sent me a link and wanted to know what I thought so reluctantly I just read The “Myth” of our Returning Veterans and Violent Crime by Lt.Col. Dave Grossman, USA, Ret. Author of On Killing, and On Combat "An Obscene Bid to Smear our Veterans" (the granddaddy of Battlemind) and his latest rant trying to blame the media, the left wing and NPR for reporting on what is happening to a lot of men and women when they come home from combat. (You know, the place we sent them and then forgot all about them.) If there really was a "liberal" media, don't you think they'd be daily coverage from all these years and two wars?

As it is, I have to spend hours finding their stories. The most read ones are about healing, heroes and what we can do to help. I thank God that I have read less and less the kind of thing coming out from Grossman because it doesn't help anyone.

What keeps getting missed, and there is a boatload, is a question I haven't heard anyone ask. Did they really want to die? The latest suicide number are below. For all the numbers reported between active military and veterans we are seeing 19 a day taking their own lives. These men and women are only accounted for when they are either in the DOD or VA system. No longer on active duty or listed as disabled by the VA, no one counts them but their families. Answering the question with what we do know for sure is easy.

Men and women do not manage to survive hell in combat, protect the comrades they are with, risk their lives to save someone else, make it all the way back home again and suddenly say "I want to die today" for no reason at all. They did not want to die but because of the loss of hope that the next day would be better, they decided to not take any more breaths waiting for someone to let them in on the secret of healing.

They wanted to stay alive during combat but were not afraid to do what they had to do in order to protect the lives of their buddies, so no, they are not cowards and they sure as hell are not selfish as a few hacks suggested because it was just too tough for then to have to go to another funeral after another life ended by suicide. They wanted to come home to their families and friends so that last thing on their minds was not leaving them with their fingers on triggers or putting a ropes around their necks or crashing their cars into trees.

The truth is they are dying because no one is being held accountable. Failures like Battlemind replaced by "Resiliency Training" has been killing them off and forcing them to blame themselves for "not training right" and being "weak minded" but no one has paid any price for pushing this failure. Worse is the fact they now have "master trainers" and the program is being pushed harder. Talk to any veteran after they had this training and you'll see what I mean. Does the media have a clue? Do they know about it? Do they care? Any of them ask for answers on this? Anyone asking congress why they still fund it? Anyone asking the DOD to account for this when the numbers kept going up? Calls to the suicide prevention hotline kept going up and so did the number of veterans filing VA claims for PTSD? Any clue anyone? All these years and we have the following results to show for it but no reporter has done a damn thing about any of this other than to either ignore it or report on the face value of it and whatever the talking heads have to say about it.

Few commit suicide while deployed and if they do, it is usually not their first time in combat.

If Grossman really wanted to make a difference then he should have pointed out the real numbers about how few do in fact commit crimes and then address why the suicide numbers have all gone up while he wants to blame the media for reporting on what little they do spend time on.

Army Releases May 2012 Suicide Data
FRIDAY, 22 JUNE 2012
PRESS RELEASE
MILITARY

Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)—June 22, 2012. The Army released suicide data today for the month of May. During May, among active-duty soldiers, there were 16 potential suicides: four have been confirmed as suicides and 12 remain under investigation.

For April, the Army reported 14 potential suicides among active-duty soldiers. Since the release of that report, one case has been added for a total of 15 potential suicides: four have been confirmed as suicides and 11 remain under investigation.

For 2012, there have been 78 potential active-duty suicides: 42 have been confirmed as suicides and 36 remain under investigation. Updated active-duty suicide numbers for 2011: 165 (confirmed as suicides and no cases remain under investigation).

During May, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were nine potential suicides (two Army National Guard and seven Army Reserve): two have been confirmed as suicides and seven remain under investigation.

For April, among that same group, the Army reported 13 potential suicides. Since the release of that report, three cases have been added for a total of 16 potential suicides (seven Army National Guard and nine Army Reserve): 11 have been confirmed as suicides and five remain under investigation. For 2012, there have been 46 potential not on active-duty suicides (26 Army National Guard and 20 Army Reserve): 33 have been confirmed as suicides and 13 remain under investigation. Not on active-duty suicide numbers for 2011: 118 (82 Army National Guard and 36 Army Reserve) confirmed as suicides and no cases remain under investigation.

In a May 10, 2012, memorandum titled “Suicide Prevention for Department of Defense Personnel,” Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta stated, “Suicide prevention is first and foremost a leadership responsibility. To that end, leaders throughout the chain of command must actively promote a constructive climate that fosters cohesion and encourages individuals to reach out for help when needed. We must continue to fight to eliminate the stigma from those with post-traumatic stress and other mental-health issues. Seeking help is a sign of strength, and department personnel, both military and civilian, must show this strength or assist those in need of help.”
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