Press Continues False Advertising of "22 a day" Veteran Suicides

It is harder to not be angry when you see this number showing up all the time.  

"It's hard not to be angry, it's hard not to be angry because it happens 22 times a day, 22 times a day," said Cochran.

If reporters do not know enough to even correct something that important, it is doubtful they will even consider what else they got wrong...and try to change the outcome.

Here is the headline that should be called false advertising.

News 13 Investigates: Fighting Veteran Suicide

It's a staggering statistic: more veterans are dying from suicide than on the battlefield. (Photo credit: Patty Best)

Here is something else,

Rep. McHenry says just last month, they passed the National Defense Authorization Act which requires mental health exams for active service members once a year. 

"We created a yearly mental health screen for those in active duty. That will give the VA a better baseline to work with for those out of the military now," said Rep. McHenry. 

More BS because they passed bills and more bills going back to 2007 that were supposed to save lives and encourage service members and veterans to seek help.

This is from the Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention Act signed by President Bush in 2007

Family education and outreachThe program shall include programs of outreach to, and education for, veterans and families of veterans (including, in particular, veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom and the families of such veterans) in order to assist the family members of veterans in—

(A)

eliminating or overcoming stigmas associated with mental illness;

(B)

understanding issues that arise in the readjustment of veterans to civilian life;

(C)

identifying signs and symptoms of mental health problems; and

(D)

encouraging veterans to seek assistance for such problems.

But going back even more years is this,

Postdeployment ScreeningThe Department of Defense (DoD) elected to use postdeployment screening to identify military members who may need mental health services.  Postdeployment screening became mandatory in 1997, with the creation of the Postdeployment Health Assessment (PDHA) occurring soon after. The PDHA is a two part process consisting of mental and physical health screening questions completed proximal to return from a deployment and a face-to-face encounter with a medical provider (e.g., not a mental health provider) who reviews the results and makes referrals

So how about we end the farce that any of this is new or the press cares enough to even look up the facts!