Servicemembers and veterans paid the price of these failures with their lives

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
January 13, 2015

These politicians got their name on a bill.

Mr. Harkin (for himself, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Rockefeller, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Smith, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Thune, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Schumer, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Reid, Mr. Brown, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Voinovich, Mr. Coleman, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Chambliss, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Domenici, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Obama, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Dorgan, Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Stevens, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Biden, and Mr. Enzi) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, July 23, 2007

It was the Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention Act signed into law in 2008 by President Bush. If you sent me one of the petitions about supporting the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention Act, shame on you. Shame on you for not paying attention to any of this!

Why? Because most of what is in the new bill was in the bill passed back in 2007.  What good did it do? Did any of those politicians have to explain themselves when suicides went up? Did any of the groups pushing for passage of it have to face any of the families grieving later on? Did any of the people receiving funds year after year to reduce suicides have to pay back one single dime or pay for a funeral they were supposed to prevent?

You may have felt like you did something good but the truth is, you managed to just continue supporting failures. Year after year veterans and families have been told "this bill will work" followed by more suicides, more hearings, more whining about getting more money from charities and researchers, more families traveling to Washington to cry as they spoke about their pain.

Once these bills were passed with names attached to them, everyone patted themselves on the back as if they actually did something good, but where the hell were they when another year passed and even more veterans killed themselves?

I don't play well with others when veterans are suffering. I don't support groups when they don't give a shit about facts or use their ability to actually stop and take a look at what has already been done and failed. I don't simply pass on news stories just because it is easy to do when those articles are totally wrong. If you do, shame on you. If you trusted someone sending you this crap you are just as guilty as they are.

After you look at these charts, think about all the support you gave to politicians and groups claiming they were going to change things and help veterans live.

This chart shows how they committed suicide

The means by which they took their own lives has remained the same even though there have been many bills claiming to be about preventing suicides.

These numbers are just from veterans in the VA system. If they were not in the system, which according to to the VA they are compensating less than 4 million veterans out of the 22+ million veterans in this country. They don't address standoffs with police officers.

How many more bills do they need to pass that simply repeat failures? On the Defense Side these were the numbers

There were a total of 268 Service Member suicides in CY 2008, including cases pending final determination but strongly suspected to be suicides (Army = 140; Air Force = 45; Navy = 41; Marine Corps = 42).

The AFMES indicates that 309 Service Members died by suicide in 2009 (Air Force = 46; Army = 164; Marine Corps = 52; Navy = 47). This number includes deaths strongly suspected to be suicides but pending final determination.

The AFMES indicates that 295 Service Members died by suicide in 2010 (Air Force = 59, Army = 160, Marine Corps = 37, Navy = 39). This number includes deaths strongly suspected to be suicides but pending final determination.

The AFMES indicates that 301 Service Members died by suicide in 2011 (Air Force = 50, Army = 167, Marine Corps = 32, Navy = 52).

Of the 915 Service Members who attempted suicide, 896 had one attempt, 18 had two attempts, and 1 had three attempts.

Service Members died by suicide in 2012 The distribution of suicide DoDSERs across the four included Services was as follows: Air Force – 57 (17.9%), Army – 155 (48.7%), Marine Corps – 47 (14.8%), and Navy – 59 (18.6%).

According to AFMES data as of 31 March 2013, there were 319 suicides among Active component Service members and 203 among Reserve component Services members (Reserve [n = 73]; National Guard [n = 130].

Suicides by Quarter for 2013

Jacob Sexton Military Suicide Prevention Act of 2014 was passed and signed after Senator Joe Donnelly pushed it.

Shown Here:
Introduced in Senate (04/25/2013)
Jacob Sexton Military Suicide Prevention Act of 2013 - Expresses the sense of Congress that, as the United States draws down combat operations in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense (DOD) should continue to seek to assist in the identification of behavior indicating a risk of suicide in members of the Armed Forces (members).

Directs the Secretary of Defense to carry out a pilot program to assess the feasibility and advisability of using an online computerized assessment to assist DOD in detecting behaviors in members that indicate a risk of suicide or other mental health conditions. Requires: (1) 1,000 members of each regular component and 500 members of each reserve and National Guard component to be used in the pilot program, and (2) each participating member to complete two assessments. Requires the first superior officer of each participating member to also complete a computerized assessment on the behavior of that member as it relates to the risk of suicide or other mental health conditions.

Requires each member determined under the pilot program to have behavior indicating a risk of suicide or other mental health conditions to be referred to an appropriate mental health care provider for further assessment, care, and services.

Directs the Secretary to establish one or more control groups whose behavior permit comparison with the behavior and experiences of the participants.

Provides for the privacy of any medical or other information obtained under the pilot program. Prohibits information obtained from being used in determining the promotion or advancement of the member. Excludes the use of participant personally identifiable information in any required report.

Sounded good?

DOD launches after deployment web site Subject: Military Health System launched a behavioral health Web portal

The Military Health System launched a behavioral health Web portal August 5, 2008. The Web site, http://www.afterdeployment.org/ (AD), is the Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) response to a congressional mandate to develop a behavioral health Web portal focused on post-deployment problems.

More than 1.5 million troops have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001. The DoD estimates that up to 15-20 percent of returning troops have problems after returning home. Irritability, depression, increased stress, and relationship difficulties are the typical concerns faced by service members and their families following a deployment.

Multiple reports have highlighted the need for Web-based behavioral health tools to reach the many service members who do not seek out face-to-face care. In addition to barriers to care, such as scheduling appointments or getting time off from work, or transportation costs, many service members fear the stigma that talking to a counselor will damage a career or be seen as a sign of weakness.

In recent months, DoD has taken steps to combat the stigma associated with obtaining necessary mental health treatment. In May 2008, DoD officials announced that applicants for government security clearances would not have to report mental health treatment for their combat- related injuries on their applications.

The Web site offers self-care tools for the entire military community 24/7 anywhere an internet connection is available. The materials can be used anonymously. Additionally, military leadership and health care providers can tap the site’s materials to learn about common problems and change strategies and to obtain useful contact information concerning local resources.

That was done in 2008.  Right now people are happy yet another bill is being pushed that will do what all the others did.
How much more do you need to read to understand that more servicemembers and veterans paid the price of these failures with their lives?
Wasted years repeating failures, wasted money paying for them and absolutely no one held accountable for any of it. How about you start supporting the servicemembers and veterans and stop supporting those who fail them?

If they ask for your support, ask them what they did for it. If they ask you for donations, ask them what they have to show for all the money they got before. It is time to hold of them accountable. If they were putting veterans first, their bank account would be empty.