DOD condescending attitude kills suicide prevention

DOD condescending attitude kills suicide prevention
by Chaplain Kathie
Wounded Times Blog
September 27, 2012

This is from me, as a veteran's wife and advocate. I am not writing for any of the groups I belong to on this post because I doubt they'll agree with what I'm about to say. It has to be said and should have been said years ago.

I've been struggling for over an hour to start this post. The words in my head I just can't get past do not allow for being nice and polite at this point. So I'll be blunt and ask the question that has been filling my head everyday as I've tracked all the reports here for the last five years.

What is it going to take for the DOD to stop being condescending assholes?

They came up with suicide prevention so long ago it is hard to remember a time when they were not claiming to be addressing it. They jump for joy if the number drops one month pointing to all of their efforts but when the reports are followed by an increase, they repeat the same claims they made before that. Having failed, they then say they are studying what can be done, sink millions more into research and pretend to be doing something about it. Pretend may seem like a harsh word for the casual observer, but the evidence has proven they have learned next to nothing.

Most of them have no clue that Combat PTSD has been studied for 40 years and most that was learned has been ignored. I've been doing this for 30 years and I learned from experts. I also learned from living with it everyday. The experts I listened to were not in the Department of Defense. They were in the veterans' community. What they researched changed the way mental health was treated for civilians.

Whenever there is a traumatic event and crisis intervention teams show up, Vietnam veterans are behind their training. That's right. Vietnam veterans. They caused all of the research to be done addressing trauma. Before they came home, all other generations of veterans carrying the burden of combat inside of them were as close to being ignored as they could have been. Sure we say that WWII veterans were the greatest generation but they came home to suffer in silence.

For all the DOD has been doing, veterans are still coming home and suffering in silence without the help they should have received. These two reports that just came out tell the story of the fact the DOD refuses to change anything they have been doing.

Medal of Honor Hero Dakota Meyer

"Believing he had become a burden to his family, Dakota turned to the bottle. One night driving home he stopped his truck and pulled out a gun."

While you'd like to think he changed his mind, Dakota said he pulled the trigger but nothing happened.

MP Sgt. Smith's suicide leaves unit in shock Sgt. Derek Smith was in a small conference room at Fort Belvoir, Va., playing the role of a concerned friend in a suicide prevention training session. That Sunday, he was found in his patrol car, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. click link for more

News: Bragg MPs stand up against suicide

16th Military Police Brigade
Story by Sgt. A.M. LaVey
Courtesy Photo
ACE wallet cards with simple directions for identifying and intervening with those at risk.

FORT BRAGG, N.C. - In July, 38 soldiers took their own lives, setting a deadly record high for the Army. As of September, the total number of soldiers lost to suicide this year is 187. Army leadership prescribed mandatory training for every soldier and civilian member of the force. Fort Bragg's 16th Military Police Brigade held theirs Sept. 25.

"During the month of September, we had many events on post highlighting suicide prevention and reemphasizing the importance of personal intervention," said Col. Chad B. McRee, the brigade commander and Fort Bragg's director of emergency services.

Many believe personal intervention to be the key to preventing suicide in the armed forces.

"Suicide prevention starts with the involvement of every soldier and Family member," said Lt. Gen. Daniel B. Allyn, commander, XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg. "To effectively stop suicides before they happen, we must know our soldiers intimately."
read more here

They had training but suicide seemed like a better option than spending one more day regretting they survived.

What do we hear from the DOD? Most claims about all they are doing to address it. Stand Downs so they can give the troops the same bullshit they have been feeding them all these years hoping that this time it may change something. Ignoring what failed and viewing it as a delivery issue. We hear brass like General Pittard saying suicide is selfish then says that Fort Bliss has the least suicides without one reporter asking the right questions and Retired Gen. Peter Chiarelli says, "it’s time to stop “scapegoating” military leaders when troops take their own lives and, instead, focus on preventing suicides among all Americans." Leaving us with this piece of news 75% of military attempted suicides committed after treatment

This is sounding more and more like a grim fairy tale as year after year there are more bad reports followed by claims they are doing something about it.