Military Suicides For 2015 Four Hundred and Seventy Five Lives Gone

Four Hundred and Seventy Five Lives Gone
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
April 3, 2016

By the end of March the military decided that attempted suicides should no longer be treated as crimes.

"Tucked into recent massive changes to the Uniform Code of Military Justice is a reminder for military officials that suicide attempts are not a crime."

On April 1st the Pentagon released the number of Service Members, National Guard and Reservists lost to suicide.

The Pentagon reported Friday that 265 active-duty service members killed themselves last year, continuing a trend of unusually high suicide rates that have plagued the U.S. military for at least seven years.

Data released Friday also show that suicides among reserve troops — reservists in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps and the National Guard — were 210 last year. That is an increase from 170 suicides in 2014 but down from 220 suicides in 2013.

Keep in mind when you read those numbers 265+210=475.  More than one a day after all these years of "prevention" training publicity but no accountability. 

No one is talking about those attempting suicide after all the training they had anymore than they are talking about the fact young veterans are committing suicide at triple their peer rate.

The leaders show no sign of changing anything they are doing and more puzzling than anything else is, they don't seem to understand they are causing a lot more harm.

There are less serving in the military now, yet after all the training, billions in funding programs that have failed, they continue to push the programs.  Why? Seriously, why would they do that?

What has Congress done with all their hearings? Has anyone been held accountable for any of this?

The anguished cries of families and friends all across the country while elected officials seem satisfied with holding hearings producing more graves filled than combat itself. The chirp of crickets coming out of Washington have proven they have no ideas or any intention of holding anyone accountable including themselves.

Congress has jurisdiction over the Department of Defense, just as they have jurisdiction over the Department of Veterans Affairs. They write the rules but have not righted the workers of iniquity.

Fort Hood has just reported they had four suicides in the first quarter of 2016.

What will Congress do about any of this? Hold more hearings with grieving families trying to spare other families from the same pain? How many more years do they get to do that when the results get worse?

How many more charities do we have to put up with doing this and that to raise awareness about suffering when they failed to begin to comprehend the message they share is one of death based on a headline instead of the report that should have been important enough for them to actually read? They have had four years to read the Suicide Report from the VA and learn those numbers came from limited date from just 21 states.

How many more need to die while this lie has been allowed to be repeated over and over again while publicity is provided for those doing the "awareness raising" when no one is aware of the simple fact the quoted number is wrong or the simple fact that the majority of the veterans committing suicide are over the age of 50?

How many times will you write a check then wash your hands of your own responsibility in all of this? Have you held politicians accountable? Have you held heads of charities accountable or even asked where they money was going or why they deserved it?

Do we really care about all these lives gone when they should have been healing to live better lives? What the hell is wrong with us?