Getting mental health help shows 'courage, honor and integrity'

Hagel: Getting mental health help shows 'courage, honor and integrity'
Army Times
By Patricia Kime
Staff Writer
September 3, 2013

At the outset of Suicide Prevention Awareness month, the Pentagon wants service members experiencing a crisis to make a call.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Tuesday that seeking mental health treatment is a “choice that embodies moral courage, honor and integrity” and recommended those who need help call the Military Crisis Line, 800-273-8255, anytime.

“The Department of Defense has no more important responsibility than supporting and protecting those who defend our country, and that means we must do everything possible to prevent military suicide. ... No one who serves this country in uniform should ever feel they have nowhere to turn,” Hagel said in a prepared statement.

This year, at least 157 active-duty and mobilized National Guard and reserve troops died by suicide, according to data provided by the military services.

The pace is down from last year during the same period, but 2012 was a record year for self-inflicted deaths — 350.
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Reminder, it should start with honesty and that must include the National Guards and Reservists.

The latest report from the DOD on Army suicides says "CY 2012: 185 169 have been confirmed as suicides and 16 remain under investigation but the report also includes "CY 2012: 140 93 Army National Guard and 47 Army Reserve." When you add the totals together there were 492 military suicides along with over 8,000 veterans.