The bigger problem with military suicides

The bigger problem with military suicides
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 2, 2013

The reduction in military suicides is all over the net these days but statistics only work if we use all of them. The reported suicides are down, for the Army at least, since reports from the other branches has not been released to the public. The Army National Guards and Army Reserves are higher. The other factor being missed is that while last year was a record high among all branches there was only one war to fight. The most telling factor is there were less serving this year than last year.

The DOD likes to say that that half the suicides were committed by troops not deployed, almost as if they want to pretend there has to be something else causing them to commit suicide. If that was the case then that would mean their mental health evaluations for recruits are wrong. If they cannot cope with just training for war, then the DOD thinks they have an excuse.

So what happened between the time they enlisted and the time they took their own lives?

They would have had the same "prevention" and "resilience" training the others did but it didn't even work good enough to save the lives of the non-deployed. This is not obvious to anyone else?

How can they push programs that couldn't even help non-deployed stay alive? These are the same programs they used last year. As of this morning the DOD Suicide Event Report for 2012 has still not been released. It holds all the data they want to release including all branches and often forgotten about attempted suicides. No explanation as to why this has been delayed especially when they had a year to put it together.

The simple facts are simple but when we avoid looking at them we can keep asking why and ending up in the same sadness too many families face.

STARRS did a 5 year study on military suicides and this is what they found.

The coalition of researchers found a statistically significant rise in suicides following initial deployments. This finding contrasts sharply with a study featured in the Journal of the American Medical Association's Aug. 7 edition. Led by personnel at the Naval Health Research Center in San Diego, that study found no association between deployments and increased suicide risk.

This is a good article and you may get more out of it now that you know what the missing facts are.

Foon Rhee: Military tries to win war against suicides
Sacramento Bee
by Foon Rhee
Published: Sunday, Dec. 1, 2013

Six years since her oldest son took his own life while serving in the Navy, Melinda Pickerel still relives the shock.

“It’s always with me,” she says. “It’s an extreme trauma. As a survivor, you don’t realize how much trauma.”

It’s an intensely painful and personal experience that more and more military families are having to endure. Suicide took more lives of active-duty service members last year than did the war in Afghanistan. The 349 suicides were up 16 percent from 2011, and double the number in 2001.

This year, however, suicides in the military are down 22 percent through late October, the first decline since 2004. While there are worrisome long-term trends, it’s a glimmer of hope that a massive escalation in awareness, prevention and support is starting to pay off. Just maybe, spouses and relatives, fellow soldiers and commanders are all spotting warning signs earlier; service members are more comfortable seeking help; and trained professionals are available when they do.
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