US Navy: Suicides Higher Than Last Year

Here's a thought. Since suicides went up afterwards, it may be a better idea to actually discover why they are still committing suicide instead of trying to remove one means of doing it. OMG! Will they ever get it? It doesn't matter if they have access to guns or not. If they have lost so much hope they want to die, they will just find another way. The DOD and the VA need to do something to help them heal and know why so many don't.

The truth is, most veterans heal and then do whatever they can to help others. Why doesn't the Navy start to look at how they do it so they won't have to come up with excuses?

The article claims that "resiliency training" started 2 years ago. Hmm, that may be news to everyone else since this all started back in 2009 which was predicted to increase suicides and then experts came out and said without a doubt it was a bad move.

They were all right since suicides did go up after every branch started to "address it" without knowing they were all using the wrong address.

Navy: Store Guns of Sailors at Risk of Suicide
The Virginian-Pilot
by Corinne Reilly
Nov 21, 2014

Two years ago, the service created a task force charged with building sailors' resiliency, which research has linked to decreased suicide risk.

Still, suicide deaths have increased, from 41 among active duty sailors last year to 46 so far in 2014.

In hopes of stemming suicides, the Navy this week formally advised commanders to ask sailors thought to be at risk of harming themselves to voluntarily turn over personal firearms for temporary safekeeping.

The Navy stressed that no one will be required to give up a personal weapon, and the guidance shouldn't be seen as an attempt to infringe on sailors' rights.

Rather, officials said, the advice is a common-sense response to a three-year trend: More than half of Navy suicides involve guns.

The guidance follows an October report by the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center. It found that across the military from 2010-2012, firearms were the leading method of suicide in the United States and in combat zones, but that they accounted for only 5.4 percent of suicides among those stationed in Europe and Asia, where access to guns is more limited.

"Reducing access to lethal means has been proven to save lives," Capt. Mike Smith, head of the Navy Suicide Prevention Branch, said in a statement. "Just as a person should be willing to turn over the car keys when not fit to drive, one should be willing to turn over their firearm for safekeeping until he or she feels fit again."
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