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Saturday, February 16, 2013

Fort Bliss "sets example" of curbing suicides

Are you seeing what I'm seeing in this article?
Army Post Sets Example in Curbing Suicides, Preventable Deaths
Department of Defense
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 15, 2013 – As military leaders struggle to reverse rising suicide rates within the force, Fort Bliss, Texas, is bucking the national trend, reporting a 30-percent drop last year and serving as a promising model for the Army and its sister services.

Fort Bliss had the lowest suicide rate in the Army during 2012 -- four confirmed and one still under investigation from its population of 33,000 soldiers. That’s down from seven in 2011. Fort Bliss reported three other preventable soldier deaths last year, also the Army’s lowest rate. This came at a time suicides increased in the overall Army and across the military as a whole, despite sweeping initiatives across the services and the Defense Department to stem them.

So what’s the magic formula at Fort Bliss, a sprawling post in Southwest Texas’ high desert that became the new home to the 1st Armored Division last year?

Army Maj. Gen. Dana J.H. Pittard, the 1st Armored Division and Fort Bliss commander, can’t point to any single measure that’s making the difference. Rather, he credits a comprehensive approach that focuses on suicide prevention, risk reduction and resilience.
read more here
What is 4+1+3?

Again this sounds great but I would be more impressed with some questions answered. How many were transferred or discharged and then committed suicide soon afterwards? Would be a good place to start. To be fair this also shows they are holding leadership accountable. That is something that has been missing in the military as a whole. No one has been accountable for these deaths.

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