Military Reporters just repeating DOD claims on suicide prevention

Military Reporters just repeating DOD claims on suicide prevention
by Kathie Costos
Wounded Times Blog
March 26, 2013

It took Army Times a few days to pick up on Military suicides up despite 900 Suicide Prevention Programs but glad they did since they get more hits than I do. More people finding out about this may actually get the DOD to stop doing it instead of pushing it. I read Army Times a couple of times a day when I can because tracking these reports from news sites is a mission I have been on since I started this blog in 2007. There have been only a few times I can remember where I felt the report was wrong. This is one of them.

DoD reviews 900 suicide-prevention initiatives Army Times
By Patricia Kime
Staff writer
Posted : Monday Mar 25, 2013

The Defense Department is reviewing more than 900 suicide prevention initiatives at the DoD and service levels to determine which ones support the overall strategy of reducing suicides and which can go in the dustbin.

The review by DoD’s Suicide Prevention Office, which follows a record year for suicides in the ranks — 349 in 2012 — began last fall, and a preliminary report should be out by October, Jacqueline Garrick, acting director of the DoD office, told members of the House Armed Services Committee on March 21.

“We’re working very closely with the services. They are providing us data and input on their programs and what they look like so we can flesh out … what strategic objectives they serve and the costs,” she said.

The Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force have tailored their own programs to reverse the decadelong trend of rising military suicide rates.

In 2001, the rate was 10.3 suicides per 100,000 troops; by 2009, that had risen to 18.3. Garrick said the rate remained fairly level in 2010 and 2011 but is expected to increase in 2012 once all the data is reviewed.

To fight the problem, the services have focused on resilience training, equipping soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines with strategies to cope with stress.
read more here

In the same hearing it was said that the number of suicides reported for 2012 will likely increase as they research "cause of death" but even with that, the number of 349 is wrong. It is at least 492 when you add all the reported branches however even those numbers are not complete. I've seen nothing on Air National Guard and Marine Reservists. Researching all of this has only confirmed my fear that CSF-resilience based programs do more harm than good. RAND looked at these programs and among the findings was that this approach does not fit with military culture and there is no evidence anyone can train or be taught to be resilient.

Again here are the reported numbers including 48 Marines, 59 Air Force, 60 Navy as reported On "Chiarelli:Suicide a nation wide problem by Patricia Kime on January 16, 2013 for Marine Corps Times. How could she forget about them? The total of Army Suicides was not released until February 1, 2013 and that release was only for Army, Army National Guards and Army Reservists. "In 2012, the Army had 182 active-duty suicides, the Marine Corps, 48; the Air Force, 59 and the Navy, 60, according to the services." Those numbers equal 492, not 349.

The 349 came from 2012 military suicides hit record high of 349, Robert Burns of Associated Press on January 14, 2013 before the DOD released their report in February. "The Army, by far the largest of the military services, had the highest number of suicides among active-duty troops last year at 182, but the Marine Corps, whose suicide numbers had declined for two years, had the largest percentage increase — a 50 percent jump to 48. The Marines' worst year was 2009's 52 suicides.

The Air Force recorded 59 suicides, up 16 percent from the previous year, and the Navy had 60, up 15 percent."

All of the numbers are tentative, pending the completion later this year of formal pathology reports on each case.

USA reported the numbers in November of 2012.

Gregg Zoroya's report on USA Today in November of 2012 Army Navy suicides at record high.

Of that total, the Army accounted for 168, surpassing its high last year of 165

53 sailors took their own lives, one more than last year.

The Air Force and Marine Corps are only a few deaths from record numbers. Fifty-six airmen had committed suicide as of Nov. 11, short of the 60 in 2010.

There have been 46 suicides among Marines, whose worst year was 2009 with 52.

That was not the worst reporting done on this hearing. The was another one that was nothing more than a selling job on Comprehensive Soldier Fitness.

It came from Military Suicide Research Consortium.

'Invisible wounds' taking toll, Congress told By David Vergun Source: United States Army Published: Thursday 21 March, 2013.

This sounds like it is working,

"Results from the Sample Survey of Military Personnel from 1999 to fall 2012 revealed that the percentage of officers and enlisted Soldiers who felt seeking behavioral health care would harm their career dropped significantly, from 81 to 54 percent for officers and from 69 to 52 for enlisted, he said."

but, after all these years there are still over half not believing they can seek help? Are we really expected to believe that? They came out with Battlemind so long ago that I was complaining about it in 2008. The other factor is if there were that many more thinking getting help was OK, then why was 2012 the deadliest on record? Do you see what is in the carefully chosen words released?

Start with the number of servicemen and women seeking help. 43% of those who committed suicide did not seek help. The problem is, that means 57% were "helped" but committed suicide afterwards. That news came from Senator Joe Donnelly.

Those numbers prove it is not working but then again all you have to do is listen to the families after they had to bury their family member lost to suicide connected to military service.

"The Army has additionally increased access to behavioral health care services, he added, pointing out that this has contributed to an overall increase in the number of behavioral health encounters from 991,655 in fiscal year 2007 to 1,961,850 in fiscal year 2012, a 97.8-percent increase."

WOW that sounds like they really have their act together. Sounds like it but again, look at the numbers. Now look back at the number of suicides for last year and then factor in at least 22 veterans committing suicide a day, then remember those veterans are part of the "civilian" suicides they point to.

I want to read a report that actually says they figured out what they got wrong but since all of this started so long ago and they haven't figured it out yet, with all the hundreds of millions of dollars spent, thousands of suicides that we were told should not happen, it is unlikely they will get it right now unless they stop all of these programs that do not work!