Military suicides alarms VFW's national commander

Military suicides alarms VFW's national commander
Jun 23, 2012
Written by
Jeff Matthews

Richard DeNoyer, VFW’s national commander, says military suicide rates need attention. Tia Owens-Powers

More U.S. military personnel committed suicide in the first five months of 2012 than were killed in action in Afghanistan.

Of all the issues affecting soldiers, veterans and their families, that one concerns Richard DeNoyer the most. DeNoyer, national commander in chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, was in Alexandria this week appearing at the VFW state convention.

"The bottom line is that's just about a suicide a day," DeNoyer said. "Why are these young people committing suicide? It's obvious our country as a whole is not doing enough to recognize it and deal with it."

According to a recent Associated Press report, there were 154 suicides among active-duty troops in the first 155 days of the year -- 50 percent higher than the number of U.S. forces killed in action in Afghanistan over that time.

DeNoyer said VFW is lobbying Congress to provide more psychiatric care and counseling both in the military and the veterans hospital system.

In addition, he said efforts need to be stepped up to combat the stigma of active-duty soldiers seeking psychiatric care.
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