Suicide a nationwide problem

I have one question for the good General. If civilian suicides are the excuse, then why did the DOD spend so much money over all these years on preventing military suicides? That excuse does not hold up.

I have one thing to point out on the civilian/military suicide numbers too. 22 Veterans commit suicide a day and yes, they are civilians. The families are tied of hearing this as an "answer" when they have to decide what to wear to a military funeral that should have not happened.

Chiarelli: Suicide a nationwide problem
By Patricia Kime
Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jan 16, 2013

The former Army vice chief of staff, who once reviewed the grim details of every soldier suicide under his watch, says the nation’s medical and scientific community must address the alarming trend of suicide in the general U.S. population if the Pentagon has any hope of bringing the rates down.

Retired Gen. Peter Chiarelli, now the head of the Seattle-based brain injury research non-profit One Mind For Research, said in an interview earlier this month that the national effort to address suicide falls short of what’s needed to cut suicide rates among all Americans, including troops.

This week, the Army confirmed an Associated Press report stating that 182 active duty soldiers committed suicide in 2012, bringing the total number for active duty personnel across the services to 349, a 15 percent increase from 2011 and a record since the Defense Department began closely tracking statistics in 2001.

The figures exceeded the Pentagon’s own internal projection for the year of 325, according to the AP.
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