Soldier's heart does not have to include head full of demons

You are smarter than slogans

Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
February 5, 2019

Someone lied to you. Someone told you something and you believed it because you trusted them. You never bothered to ask them to prove it was true.

I do not need someone to prove God is real. I see it everyday. I see it in the unique people who always put others first, even if it means they will be last for everything.

I see it when men and women are willing to endure all kinds of hardships, including the judgment of fools, for the sake of others.

I see God's Love in all types of acts of kindness and compassion, mercy, inspiration and unselfishness.

I also see what evil can do pretending to be good. I do not need proof that the Demon is real. I see what he does to those who find purpose serving others.

I also see it when people claim they are doing something to change what is wrong, when the result proves they lied to us. They can deny it all they want, but after all these years of hearing how important it is to prevent suicides, and how expensive it is according to them, we see suffering increase every year.

We hear it from the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, Congress and especially from all the "awareness" fundraisers running around the country with their BS stunts. Did they think we wouldn't notice that they are spreading messages of despair instead of anything helpful?

Before they were "paying attention" we were way ahead of all of them. We were talking about what failed as well as what worked. Ignorance failed but knowledge heals.

Kathie Costos DiCesare
Published on Oct 21, 2012
There are many things that keep getting missed when we talk about Combat and PTSD. This is to clear up the biggest one of all. What is courage and how does it link to being "mentally tough" so that you can push past what you were told about "resiliency" training. Chaplain Kathie "Costos" DiCesare of Wounded Times Blog tries to explain this in interview done by Union Squared Studios. woundedtimes.blogspot.com

So we were told over and over again, that everyone in charge was paying attention at the same time they tried to come up with excuses. Then they asked for more money, to keep doing the same thing that already failed, and we were no longer able to count the number of the dead. Well, at least not in the veterans community, but because Congress mandated the DOD to track suicides within the military, we have a more up to date report with data that proves none of the "awareness" they actually needed to become aware of was able to get to them. All the crap got in the way.

So, here are the latest headlines on military suicides. 

Suicides among active-duty soldiers are up about 20 percent

Army Times
By: Meghann Myers
February 4, 2019

“We must continue to ensure commanders have the policies and resources they need to prevent suicides, that all leaders have the tools to identify soldiers who are suffering and to positively intervene, and that all soldiers view seeking mental health care as a sign of strength.” Col. Kathleen Turner

The Army reported an uptick in active-duty suicides in 2018, according to service statistics, though deaths by suicide were slightly down in the total force.

Out of 303 total reports, 138 came from the active-duty side ― 22 more than in 2017, Defense Department statistics show.

“Like the rest of America, the Army continues to grapple with the loss of too many of our people to suicide," Army spokeswoman Col. Kathleen Turner told Army Times in a statement Friday. “The loss of any soldier or Army family member to suicide is a tragedy.”

The most recent DoD quarterly suicide report goes back to 2012, showing a six-year high of 325 total suicides in the Army. That number dropped to 300 in 2013 and then to a low of 245 in 2014, before ramping back up to 279 in both 2015 and 2016, then jumping again to 303 in 2017.

During that time, active-duty numbers also fluctuated. The Army reported 165 active-duty suicides in 2012, which dropped to 121 in 2013, then 126 in 2014 and 120 in 2015. The past three years, the numbers have swelled and dipped from 120 in 2016 to 116 in 2017, then back up to 138.

“While the Army has made progress, more work needs to be done,” Turner said.
read more here

US Special Ops suicides triple in 2018, as military confronts the issue

CNN
Barbara Starr
February 2, 2019

Washington (CNN)Suicides among active duty military personnel assigned to US Special Operations Command tripled in 2018, in a disturbing and as yet unexplained spike, CNN has learned.

Special Operations units saw 22 deaths by suicide in 2018, almost triple the eight cases seen in 2017, according to figures provided to CNN by the command. SOCOM, as it's known, is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various Special Operations component of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force that take on counterterrorism and other specialized missions. read more here

Active-Duty Military Suicides at Record Highs in 2018

Military.com
Patricia Kime
January 30, 2019

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include Army year-end totals.

The U.S. military finished 2018 with a troubling, sad statistic: It experienced the highest number of suicides among active-duty personnel in at least six years.

Lt. Cmdr. Karen Downer writes a name on a Suicide Awareness Memorial Canvas in honor of Suicide Awareness Month at Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Sept. 10, 2018. (U.S. Navy/Jacob Sippel, Naval Hospital Jacksonville).

Active duty Military members could save more with GEICO. Get a quote today! A total of 321 active-duty members took their lives during the year, including 57 Marines, 68 sailors, 58 airmen, and 138 soldiers.

The deaths equal the total number of active-duty personnel who died by suicide in 2012, the record since the services began closely tracking the issue in 2001. read more here

Don't you love the slogan? One too many or too few actually paying attention?

The question is, if we knew what had to be done over 4 decades ago, when serious research started, then why haven't they figured it out yet? Do not spend so much time thinking about taking your own life when you can think about how to #TakeYourLifeBack and heal! The road ahead is in your control!