The military’s epidemic of suicide

Congress still doesn't get it. The means of how they kill themselves is not as important as why they kill themselves.

The military’s epidemic of suicide
Washington Post
By Dennis J. Reimer and Peter W. Chiarelli
Published: December 7

Gen. Reimer (Ret.) was chief of staff of the Army from 1995 to 1999. Gen. Chiarelli (Ret.) was vice chief of staff of the Army from 2008 to 2012.

As troop commanders coming up through the Army ranks, we learned that taking care of our soldiers was a primary responsibility of military leadership. We knew that the troops were our credentials, and we tried to create an environment where they could be the best they could possibly be. This meant getting to know them and their families — whether they lived on or off post. This was part of our responsibility for those under our command. It was — and still is — Leadership 101.

When we lost a service member, for whatever reason, it was a heart-wrenching experience. But it was worse in the case of those who took their own lives. Suicides have been a challenge for the U.S. military for a long time — and the problem is getting more severe. Suicides began rising in the middle of the 2000s, leveled off briefly in 2010 and 2011 and resumed climbing again this year, reaching a record high.

In fact, suicides have become an epidemic. This year, more soldiers, seamen, airmen and Marines died by their own hand than died in battle. Suicide was the No. 1 cause of death for U.S. troops. More than two-thirds of suicides involved firearms, and nearly three-quarters of those cases involved personal weapons, not military weapons.
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This is from Army Times

“The Greatest Generation went to a squad tent with their peers, probably cracked some beers, wine, and when they got back to the States, had their officers clubs, their NCO clubs. They had the fabric of a peer structure. We’ve completely isolated the social structure,” Jason said, addressing a University of Kansas-sponsored forum on post-traumatic stress in Washington, D.C., in November.

This is the truth. During my years of talking to veterans, trying to understand why some ended up with PTSD and some didn't, it became very clear that peer-support was the key and the sooner the better.

I was talking to a triple amputee Vietnam veteran when it all clicked a few years back. He said after he got blown up, all the others in the hospital with him were supporting each other. Talking to others in the same "place" as they were helped more than any doctor ever could.

After a lifetime with my family talking about every traumatic event until there was nothing more to say, I knew how well this worked. While they did not face death with me, they were there for me to talk to after every time and there is a long list of times. This was well before psychologists and mental health professionals were going to college to get a degree in it. Families like mine just used common sense taking the trauma into the "now" in a safe place and getting back to "normal" after it.

The best example is right after a car accident, my parents picked me up at the hospital. My Dad drove to where the car was towed to so that I could see what I walked away from. After we were done being shocked that I survived, he handed me the keys to his car and made me drive home. He knew if I didn't face what happened taking control wouldn't work. I had to do both. Face it and then take control of it so that I wouldn't be afraid of a repeat to the point where I wouldn't be able drive again.

It took a long time before I was able to relax more driving but I was able to do it because of what he did right afterwards. Civilians do it all the time because it works. Ever read about a traumatic event in your community and then see crisis response teams show up to talk to the survivors? That is what they are doing. Here is more of the article.

Official: Suicide prevention must get proactive
Army Times
By Patricia Kime
Staff writer
Posted : Friday Dec 7, 2012

The Defense Department plans to take a more proactive approach to suicide prevention in the coming months with initiatives focusing on veterans helping troops and metrics to identify at-risk personnel.

Jackie Garrick, interim director of the Defense Suicide Prevention Office, recently told the Defense Health Board that she wants to promote outreach instead of focusing mainly on reducing the stigma of seeking psychiatric care.

Programs that rely on one-on-one communication, with veterans serving as counselors, have a successful track record, she added.

“Is it good enough to put a poster on a wall and wait by the phone? I don’t think so. We have to turn this paradigm around and get in front of this problem,” Garrick said.

Her office was established in late 2011 to oversee the Defense Department’s development of suicide prevention programs. It compiles data and works with federal agencies, including the Veterans Affairs Department, civilian organizations, schools and state governments, to craft and distribute suicide prevention information.

The Army and Navy have reported their worst years since 2001 for suicides, with 168 soldiers and 53 sailors taking their own lives as of Nov. 1. The Marine Corps has registered 46 and the Air Force, 56.

The rising suicide rate in the military has prompted officials to look at myriad programs assembled by the individual services, the Pentagon and the Veterans Affairs Department to address the problem.

“There are too many messages. It’s confusing. You get a brochure and it has 15 resources on it and you’re in distress, you really don’t know what to do with your brochure and resources. We’re really trying to move to one message, the Veterans Crisis Line: ‘It’s Your Call.’ One message,” she said.
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