Headline on Retired General Chiarelli Funny and Twisted at Same Time

Is this headline a joke?

General who led Army’s PTSD and TBI reforms is on bill at TEDxTacoma
New Tribune
BY ADAM ASHTON
Staff writer
March 20, 2015

Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli spoke Secretary of the Army John McHugh at his retirement in January 2012. Since then, Chiarelli has moved to Seattle and launched One Mind, an organization that aims to improve treatment of brain injuries. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. John G. Martinez) SPC. JOHN G. MARTINEZ — Spc. John G. Martinez

A retired Army general who launched an organization to study brain injuries and a former Joint Base Lewis-McChord Army Ranger who’s now in the business of making shoes in conflict-torn communities will be among the speakers at this weekend’s TEDxTacoma.

Former Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli and Combat Flip Flops co-founder Matthew Griffin are two of the three veterans on the bill at Tacoma’s version of the global Technology, Education and Design (TED) forums.

The full line-up for Saturday’s event is available at the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets start at $39 and the event is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Other speakers include Bradd Busick of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Tacoma-raised songwriter William Jordan and 11-year-old Olivia Anderson of Gig Harbor, who is trying to raise awareness about clean-water challenges in the developing world.

As the 32nd Army Vice of Chief of Staff, Chiarelli labored to understand and address a rising number of suicides among soldiers during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. His efforts are documented in Thank You for Your Service, a book by David Finkel of The Washington Post.
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Led reforms where? Suicides went up!

2008
The report from Associated Press

Facing prospects that one in five of the 101st Airborne Division soldiers will suffer from stress-related disorders, the base has nearly doubled its psychological health staff. Army leaders are hoping to use the base's experiences to assess the long-term impact of repeated deployments.

Chiarelli's comment

"I don't know what to expect. I don't think anybody knows," said Gen. Peter Chiarelli, vice chief of staff of the Army, as he flew back to Washington from a recent tour of the base's medical facilities. "That's why I want to see numbers from the 101st's third deployment."

2009
Stars and Stripes report

In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gen. Peter Chiarelli, vice chief of staff for the Army, called the suicide figures for his service "unacceptable" and fixing them "the most difficult and critical mission" of his military career.

2010

Report from Seattle Times

Chiarelli, who served two tours of duty in Iraq, says the mental-health crisis in the military has been the toughest battle of his 37-year career.

His highest-profile role has been in shaping the Army’s response to the plight of soldiers stressed from the long wars.

A 2008 RAND Corp. study found about one-third of troops returning from Afghanistan and Iraq had symptoms of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury. Reviews of suicide cases often find a link between the deaths and troubles with spouses; repeat deployments also appear to put soldiers more at risk.

There also have been some unexpected trends.

Looking at the data, Chiarelli found that last year, suicide rates were higher among soldiers deployed to Iraq, where combat tailed off sharply, than in Afghanistan, where troops faced greater risks of insurgent attacks.

It is great to try to change things but even better if the changes actually accomplished more than staying the course or worse, making it worse, which is what we've seen. Military suicides went up and so did suicides among veterans.