Donnelly: New Military Suicide Numbers ‘Remain Incredibly Concerning,’
More Legislation on the Way
326 Servicemembers have taken own lives in first nine months of 2014, according to new Pentagon report Monday, March 9, 2015
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly released the following statement in response to the Department of Defense’s (DoD) new report on military suicides through the first nine months of 2014. The Pentagon reported today that 326 servicemembers took their own lives from January through September of 2014, including 200 active component servicemembers, 58 reserve servicemembers, and 68 National Guard members.
Donnelly, who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said, “Any servicemember lost is one too many, and the number of men and women taking their own lives remains incredibly concerning. There are more commonsense steps we can take to address the scourge of military suicide, and I will soon be introducing new legislation to take another step in addressing servicemember and veteran mental health.”
Donnelly’s signature legislation, the Jacob Sexton Military Suicide Prevention Act, was signed into law late last year and seeks to help prevent military suicide by:
requiring annual mental health assessments for all servicemembers, including Active Duty, Guard, and Reserve;
maintaining strong privacy protections for servicemembers; and
requiring a Pentagon report to evaluate existing military mental health practices and provide
recommendations for expansion and improvement.
The Sexton Act is named after Indiana National Guardsman Jacob Sexton, a native of Farmland, Indiana, who took his own life in 2009 while home on a 15-day leave from Afghanistan. For more information on the Sexton Act, click here.
For two straight years, we lost more servicemembers to suicide than combat. According to the Pentagon, in 2012, 522 servicemembers took their own lives, while we lost 316 in combat. In 2013, a record number in the National Guard took their own lives, and we lost 479 servicemembers overall, more than three times the number killed in combat (132).
I wanted to know why the press wasn't on suicide watch back in 2007 when I was doing research for this video and found over 400 of their stories national news just didn't have time for.
In 2007, there was great hope across the veterans community. Congress was finally doing something, holding hearings, listening to families after someone they loved committed suicide and made all sorts of promises to spare others from the same painful fate.
The Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention Act was not only passed by signed by President Bush. Everything in it has been repeated ever since passing in 2007.
In 2008 then Senator Obama traveled to the Montana National Guard to meet with the stepbrother of Spc. Chris Dana yet after his emotional response, his promised action, suicides went up and instead of using his fame to cause action worthy of those who served, he let it all happen.
We have let it all happen year after year after year allowing those we elect to make statements gaining attention for themselves while never once holding themselves accountable for the bitter outcomes of what they do.
Also back then there was the military "effort" called Battlemind. This was supposed to train soldiers to be mentally tough as if PTSD could be tied to being mentally weak. They claimed it would reduce suicides, yet they increased.
The next "best thing" was called Comprehensive Soldier Fitness and yet again, made them feel as if they were being told there was something wrong with them if they ended up with PTSD.
If Donnelly is a man of his word, then he needs to take a look at what these two programs have produced and did to the men and women tough enough to put their lives on the line, strong enough to make it through training and fierce enough to be redeployed time and time again even though the Army knew redeployment increased the risk of PTSD by 50% all the way back in 2006.
Donnelly needs to consider the abhorrent attitude of leaders like General Odierno who blames soldiers and families for suicides
"First, inherently what we do is stressful. Why do I think some people are able to deal with stress differently than others? There are a lot of different factors. Some of it is just personal make-up. Intestinal fortitude. Mental toughness that ensures that people are able to deal with stressful situations."
"But it also has to do with where you come from. I came from a loving family, one who gave lots of positive reinforcement, who built up psychologically who I was, who I am, what I might want to do. It built confidence in myself, and I believe that enables you to better deal with stress. It enables you to cope more easily than maybe some other people."
Donnelly needs to consider this attitude has been carried over into the Warrior Transition Units across the country as well.
Injured Heroes part 1: The war after the war
Injured Heroes part 2: Insulted by treatment
Army to investigate mistreatment claims by injured, ill soldiers at Fort Hood
They can keep doing the same thing over and over again and then get away with saying they're doing more of the same while the problem gets worse. We let it happen.
Oh I HAD TO COMMENT...On Jan 3, 2014, two years and 3 months after losing my daughter to active duty suicide, [AFTER RE-ENLISTMENT when 15 month combat tour of duty was up] I visited the very man who told the world that suicide was the fault of the family, Gen. Raymond Odierno.at the Pentagon. I went with 5 other Gold Star moms, but only 2 of us had lost our soldiers to suicide. The others went for some beef on their benefits from their sons KIA. But the whole trip was the idea of bringing suicide to his presence by my good friend and Gold Star mom, Debbie McLean, who also lost her son to active duty suicide and we have become close friends. Though there are some differences in our stories the similarities far outweigh them. I have to say this as the Army will not address her story, even after we sat with the General. I never had time to speak as too much time was put as a photo op with the "General and Gold Star Moms". Both of our children were isolated, stigmatized, called malingering and both died on active duty suicide after reenlisting and no one cared!! In my daughters case I know that they know they screwed up. In Deb's case, I try to share her story whenever I share my own. Take a seat, you won't believe this. Debbie's son was not only berated and abused while serving his country, where his COC sent him an email that said "I don't care if you kill yourself", but even AFTER HE DIED!! He was posthumously promoted to Sgt, brought home and Deb had a visitation for her son. In her profound grief the next day for the funeral, when she returned, her deceased son HAD BEEN DEMOTED BACK TO CPL., HAD HIS UNIFORM CHANGED [ thought that was ONLY DONE AT DOVER] and all of his name tags changed back from SGT to CPL. She was never told! The Army not only drives our combat vets to kill themselves but then desecrate the soldier, THEN BLAME THE FAMILIES!!! Really??? Well who was it that thought they were not only good enough, but humble and GREAT ENOUGH to serve our country? First, it was they themselves, then with family support, and the FINAL SAY CAME FROM, "YOU", THE MILITARY...I am so angry for all of the families who have lost the war within. It then transfers into a war within the family ...the shame and blame game. The freaking STIGMA. MY CHILD, and many children who became husbands, wives and parents, saved your butts, your jobs, by doing the dirty work to preserve our freedoms and rights. Yet IF. And when they come home they are forgotten and thrown away like a piece of trash, WITHOUT ANY ACCOUNTABILITY by "YOU", the military. The very institution that made my daughter, and Debbie's son, become so much different than when they left. First, abused then they came home dead! I take all rights in raising a HERO. I blame the military for their "murder!!"
ReplyDeleteStunning the press has let them get away with all of this but no matter how many family members make the trip to Washington year after year, they just don't care to get to the bottom of any of this.
ReplyDeleteI met Debbie last year and had a long talk with her. I also videotaped her speech.
http://woundedtimes.blogspot.com/2014/10/sons-suicide-made-her-gold-star-mom.html
I don't know what it will take to get the people with the power to change these outcomes actually understands WTF they are doing to the troops and veterans. I just know we can't get there from repeating the same failures.
You are in my prayers as always!