Do you need more proof that "resilience" training does not work?

Do you need more proof that "resilience" training does not work?

Marine Corps studying spike in suicides
Marian University professor to help interview families
By Meg Jones
Journal Sentinel
May 12, 2013

Fond du Lac - A few years ago as the war in Iraq was winding down and fighting continued in Afghanistan, the number of Marines killing themselves spiked.

The U.S. Marine Corps wants to know why.

Though the Corps has previously studied suicides and attempted suicides by Marines, the military branch is launching a project this year to examine the complex reasons that Marines are dying by their own hand.

A team of researchers, including a professor at Marian University in Fond du Lac, will interview relatives and friends of active-duty Marines who died by suicide between 2010 and 2012. Their reports for the Marine Corps Suicide Prevention Psychological Autopsy Project will be used to identify suicide risk factors or trends that might be unique to Marines.

The reasons for suicide are often complex and can't be shoehorned into a simple explanation. But multiple deployments in more than a decade of war have taken a toll on military members and their families. And many are reluctant to ask for help because it could be considered a sign of weakness that could derail their military careers.

It's not just the Marines. Other military branches are coping with an increase in suicides.
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NAVY TAKES NEW TACK TO REDUCE SUICIDES
Chief of personnel outlines multipronged effort to reduce numbers
By Jeanette Steele
MAY 12, 2013

Navy suicides
Suicides among active-duty troops:
2006: 38; rate 10.1 per 100,000 people
2007: 40; rate 11.1
2008: 39; rate 11.0
2009: 46; rate 13.1
2010: 39; rate 11.1
2011: 52; rate 14.6
2012: 59; rate 16.8
Source: U.S. Navy

Suicide among Navy sailors spiked in 2011 and 2012, when the sea service began seeing more than 50 a year.

Veterans groups rang alarm bells in 2006, when suicide numbers began surging throughout the U.S. military. Self-inflicted deaths soared in 2009, then leveled off before climbing again in 2012.

But Navy numbers held fairly steady until 2011.

The Navy’s chief of personnel, Vice Adm. Scott R. Van Buskirk, recently sat down with U-T San Diego to discuss the issue.

Q: Why the uptick in suicides in 2011 and 2012?

A: We do a detailed investigation of each and every one. What we’ve found out is that it’s not consistent as to the reasons. Much of it has to do with relationships. Some of it has to do with issues that occurred in the lives of the sailors before they came into the service.

Q: What’s new in Navy prevention efforts?

A: We’ve put a task force together led by an admiral here recently to look at all of our programs that go toward the resiliency of our forces. That gets to the core of not just suicide but other behavior that may be indicators of stress. We’re attacking it from a much broader perspective.

Q: What are the programs?

A: We have several. Operational stress control. Recently we invested in mobile training teams that we positioned here in San Diego and in Norfolk, Va., professionals that are available to all of our units for training at the leadership and deck plate level that they can take advantage of. So our leaders and our men and women understand, when they see the symptoms of stress occur, so they can see the signals and get people the professional help.

Another key one is embedding behavioral health specialists where we see that we need them most. The Navy SEAL community has done a great job — one of our most-stressed communities. Embedding professionals (with troops) to reduce the stigma of seeking help, which was key. Because if you reduce that stigma, people will more readily seek that, when there’s no penalty associated with their career. Communicating that is really important.
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