Army Vice Chief pushes "resilience" despite deadly results

Army Vice Chief pushes "resilience" despite deadly results
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
August 7, 2013

WTF! Are they serious? Do they really think pushing this attempt will do more good than harm after all these years? It failed. It failed when they started it. It failed in 2009 when even I was able to figure out it would increase suicides. The DOD avoids acknowledging suicides that happen after discharge as if we are supposed to believe their hands are clean. They shrug their shoulders repeatedly excusing themselves for suicides going up claiming there is no link to deployment and suicides since "the majority were never deployed" but never seem able to explain how someone goes from being willing to die for someone else into someone not willing to live for anyone.

Before you read what Campbell had to say here is a good read to start with. Rand CORP took a look at what he's talking about and this is what they discovered in their research.

Most programs have been implemented before evidence of their effectiveness has been established.

They pushed it before they knew what this program would do.

Similarly, there are a number of factors related to resilience, but there is almost no evidence that resilience can be taught or produced.

They pushed it more even though honest researchers discovered these issues.

However interviews with program representatives identified five types of challenges to program implementation, which suggest opportunities to improve program capabilities:
– lack of leadership support by the military
– problems with logistics
– limited funding to sustain programs
– poor fit within the military culture
– mental health stigma.

Now you can read what Campbell is claiming.

Army Vice Chief highlights importance of resiliency campaign
Army
By Lisa Ferdinando
August 5, 2013

FORT JACKSON, S.C. (Army News Service, Aug. 5, 2013) -- Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. John F. Campbell said the service's Ready and Resilient Campaign is playing a key role in strengthening the force.

Speaking to Soldiers at Fort Jackson, S.C., Aug. 2, he said the Army is keeping its focus on the critical resiliency programs during these tough fiscal times, while eliminating redundant efforts.

"We have to take the best, most effective programs and maximize them," Campbell told Soldiers attending a resiliency course. "The resiliency training that you are going through here is No. 1 on the list, everywhere I go."

Campbell visited Fort Jackson on the last leg of a three-day trip looking at the Ready and Resilient Campaign, or R2C. R2C aims to support and strengthen the mental and physical readiness of Soldiers and includes a wide range of programs that go beyond Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness.

During the tour, which also took him to Picatinny Arsenal, N.J.; Fort Drum, N.Y.; and Fort Campbell, Ky.; Campbell met with Soldiers, program managers, family members and Army civilians to see what is working and what isn't working with R2C.

The budget situation is forcing the Army to make tough decisions about end strength, modernization and readiness and how to balance those areas so it doesn't become a "hollow force," he said.

He assured Soldiers that the resiliency programs are worth the investment and will remain a priority.
read more here

Where is the proof of this claim? Is it in the rise in suicides and attempted suicides since they started this bombastic approach? Is it in the number of OEF and OIF veterans committing suicide or the multiple attempts they somehow managed to survive only to try again? Is it in the the fact that the suicide prevention hotline has had hundreds of thousands of calls after they were discharged? Or is it in the fact there are over 900 prevention programs funded by the government?

Since its launch in 2007, the Veterans Crisis Line has answered more than 745,000 calls, 83,000 chats, and made more than 26,000 life-saving rescues. In 2009, VA added the anonymous online chat that has since helped more than 65,000 people.

Ok, so now let's take this apart. Keep in mind as I have said many times the fact I figured it out as just an average person but they can't should freak everyone out. They are paid to do a job they have failed to do. We see the results and the families left behind know the loss they suffered did have to do with military service.

It isn't as if the VA has a much better track record either. VA heads attitude toward suicides, shit happens has been coupled with the "better than nothing" approach in too many areas of the country. This goes back to 2008 when VA doctors were denying what was going on. California with the highest veterans population reported that they had 666 veterans commit suicide in 2006 leaving them as 21% of the suicides but only 6% of the population. That gives you an idea of where we were but now veterans are 7% of the US population and 22% of the suicides. What does that tell you? It should tell you that what they are doing in the military has not been working!

The data was collected from 34 states with a price tag.

The cumulative cost of the State Mortality Data Project has been $46,771.29 as of 11/16/2012; including FY12 expenditures of $35,094.23 and FY13 expenditures of $11,677.06. All costs associated with the State Mortality Data Project are related to state fees for processing and delivery of mortality data.

In Florida more than a quarter of the suicides? Yes. Florida is ranked third for the number of veterans.

According to the VA the population of veterans in Florida is 1,543,496 as of September 2012. 1,543,496 are "wartime" 415,171 Gulf War, 498,167 Vietnam, 498,167 Korean War and 113, 754 WWII veterans.

This should be the biggest warning of all considering that OEF and OIF military suicides were higher last year than during the entire Vietnam War.

Ok, so now let's back up and think about something else. The DOD says majority of the suicides were committed by servicemen and women without deploying. What does that tell you? What the hell should that tell the DOD? Consider recruits have to pass a mental health exam as well as a physical one. If they were not "mentally stable" then the test should have discovered an issue before they began their careers. The fact that the military is still doing personality discharges claiming mental health issues were "preexisting" and not caused by military service. They are also trying to claim that training is not dangerous enough to cause PTSD, avoid explaining how hazing and sexual assaults affect such a severe sense of hopelessness they choose death over life.

I lost my patience a long time ago with the military, with reporters just doing a copy and paste job without asking questions just as much as I lost it with bogus charities yanking our hard earned bucks while doing nothing. I am talking to these veterans and their families all the time and they are pissed off as well.

So when exactly does Campbell think this program will work? When the troops are out of Afghanistan? Will be really interesting to hear him explain things away when the numbers of suicides tied to military service go up over the next couple of years. While "military" suicides won't have to be counted once they are discharged the fact remains they had this training that very well could have cost them their lives as veterans.