Posted on September 26, 2012
by Eddie Scarry
Brian Kinsella never had any suicidal thoughts when he served in the U.S. Army. But he knew people who did and who followed through with them.
“I think going through deployment as a single man who didn’t have a family or children at home, I was in a much different place,” Kinsella told TheBlaze. “I didn’t deal with some things that other soldiers dealt with.”
Kinsella’s experience led him to create Stop Soldier Suicide, a non-profit that aims to raise awareness about suicide in the military and offer mental health counseling to soldiers who need it. On Friday, he’s attempting to further his cause by embarking on a 5,000-mile cross-country trip. It starts in Washington state, ends in New York City and he’s doing the whole thing on a Harley motorcycle.
Through the Stop Soldier Suicide website and social media, Kinsella said he’s seen outpouring of support across the country for his trip. He’s hoping many of the people who have reached out, soldiers and non-soldiers alike, will join him on their own Harleys as he passes through their towns.
The suicide rate is a big concern for the Army. So far in 2012 (through July), there have been 66 confirmed suicides among active-duty Army personnel and 50 more potential suicides that are still being investigated. For all of last year, the Army reported 165 confirmed suicides. Among non-active soldiers, there have been 54 confirmed suicides among Army National Guard and Army Reserve personnel compared with 118 confirmed suicides for all of 2011.
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