Military Suicide: Help for Families Worried About Their Service Member
By ALEXANDRA SIFFERLIN
July 12, 2012
In this week’s TIME cover story, “One a Day” (available to subscribers here), journalists Mark Thompson and Nancy Gibbs explore why suicides among the U.S. military have reached crisis levels. Every day, one active-duty service member dies by his own hand, the authors note: “The U.S. military seldom meets an enemy it cannot target, cannot crush, cannot put a fence around or drive a tank across. But it has not been ale to defeat or contain the epidemic of suicides among its troops.”
The specific triggers for suicide are unique to each soldier. Each person deals differently with the stresses of war, frequent deployments, separation from family, death of comrades. Many contend with depression and post-traumatic stress upon returning home. There are several programs and support lines for these soldiers, but it also helps for their immediate families to remain vigilant and to monitor their behavior. Even still, many service members fall through the cracks.
Below is what we hope is helpful advice for military spouses, who want to know what warning signs to look for in their service member and how best to handle severe situations. One immediate sign, say experts, is a pervasive sense of uselessness, a feeling that they no longer belong. “What we learn from our families [who lost service family members to suicide] and what they saw in their loved ones, is behavior [in which they] pulled back and felt they were not able to be a useful part of unit that relied on them,” says Bonnie Carroll, founder and chairman of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, or TAPS, a non-profit that supports those who have lost a loved one in the military. “These men and women need to know they are still a part of a unit at home and overseas.”
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Linked from Stars and Stripes
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Mental disorders among troops up 65% since 2000
Mental disorders among troops up 65% since 2000
By Patricia Kime
Staff writer
Army Times
Posted : Wednesday Jul 11, 2012
Diagnoses for mental disorders among active-duty troops have risen 65 percent in the past 12 years, with adjustment disorders the most common condition, according to a new Defense Department report.
Since 2000, adjustment disorders — a short-term emotional or physical response to an external stressor, such as sadness, acute anxiety, worry or trouble sleeping — have been the top mental health diagnoses among troops seen at military treatment facilities.
Since 2005, “other mental health disorders,” a catch-all category covering diagnoses that didn’t fall into the nine defined categories examined by DoD analysts, has ranked second, with depression third, according to the report.
While cases of post-traumatic stress disorder have increased steadily, rising six-fold between 2003 and 2008, incident rates of this widely publicized disorder placed sixth among the 10 major diagnostic categories examined in 2011, say epidemiologists with the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center.
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By Patricia Kime
Staff writer
Army Times
Posted : Wednesday Jul 11, 2012
Diagnoses for mental disorders among active-duty troops have risen 65 percent in the past 12 years, with adjustment disorders the most common condition, according to a new Defense Department report.
Since 2000, adjustment disorders — a short-term emotional or physical response to an external stressor, such as sadness, acute anxiety, worry or trouble sleeping — have been the top mental health diagnoses among troops seen at military treatment facilities.
Since 2005, “other mental health disorders,” a catch-all category covering diagnoses that didn’t fall into the nine defined categories examined by DoD analysts, has ranked second, with depression third, according to the report.
While cases of post-traumatic stress disorder have increased steadily, rising six-fold between 2003 and 2008, incident rates of this widely publicized disorder placed sixth among the 10 major diagnostic categories examined in 2011, say epidemiologists with the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center.
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Staff Sgt. Robert Bales will face an Article 32 hearing in Sept
Bales to face Article 32 hearing in September
By Gene Johnson
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jul 11, 2012 19:34:24 EDT
SEATTLE — The Army has scheduled a preliminary court hearing in September for the soldier accused of slaughtering 16 civilians during a pre-dawn rampage on two Afghan villages in March.
Staff Sgt. Robert Bales will face an Article 32 hearing on Sept. 17, Army spokesman Lt. Col. Gary Dangerfield said Wednesday. The location of the hearing has not been confirmed, but one of Bales’ lawyers, Emma Scanlan, said it is expected to be held at Joint Base Lewis-McChord south of Seattle.
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Military Scrambles To Limit Malaria Drug Just After Afghanistan Massacre
By Gene Johnson
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jul 11, 2012 19:34:24 EDT
SEATTLE — The Army has scheduled a preliminary court hearing in September for the soldier accused of slaughtering 16 civilians during a pre-dawn rampage on two Afghan villages in March.
Staff Sgt. Robert Bales will face an Article 32 hearing on Sept. 17, Army spokesman Lt. Col. Gary Dangerfield said Wednesday. The location of the hearing has not been confirmed, but one of Bales’ lawyers, Emma Scanlan, said it is expected to be held at Joint Base Lewis-McChord south of Seattle.
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Military Scrambles To Limit Malaria Drug Just After Afghanistan Massacre
Death of soldier on 5th deployment "not determined"
On his fifth deployment, Union City soldier is non-combat fatality on Afghanistan base
Published: Tuesday, July 10, 2012
By Matthew McNab
The Jersey Journal
A U.S. Army soldier and Union City resident died on July 4 in Afghanistan while on his fifth deployment as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Raul M. Guerra, 37, died Wednesday in Spin Boldak, Afghanistan, the Department of Defense announced yesterday.
The cause of his death has not yet been determined, but the Department of Defense said it was a non-combat death that occurred on base.
Guerra was assigned to the 502nd Military Intelligence Battalion, 201st Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
At the time of his death, Guerra was in the midst of his fifth deployment, which started in May.
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Published: Tuesday, July 10, 2012
By Matthew McNab
The Jersey Journal
A U.S. Army soldier and Union City resident died on July 4 in Afghanistan while on his fifth deployment as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Raul M. Guerra, 37, died Wednesday in Spin Boldak, Afghanistan, the Department of Defense announced yesterday.
The cause of his death has not yet been determined, but the Department of Defense said it was a non-combat death that occurred on base.
Guerra was assigned to the 502nd Military Intelligence Battalion, 201st Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
At the time of his death, Guerra was in the midst of his fifth deployment, which started in May.
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Documentary uncovers scars of Vietnam
Documentary uncovers scars of Vietnam
By Elena Brown
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
It's well after midnight by the time Oscar Soliz clicks off his lamps and shuts down his computer. His brown eyes are strained, his neck and back are stiff, his hands tingle. He rubs his salt-and-pepper beard; it's time for bed.
He's just finished another 13-hour day producing a documentary about four local Vietnam vets and how their powerful memories have barely diminished with the passage of time.
The hour-long documentary, titled "Deep Scars," features retired Staff Sgt. Edward Brown Jr., retired Sgt. Trini Cruz, retired 1st Sgt. William J. Johnson and retired Sgt. 1st Class Dion Soliz III. The veterans, all Purple Heart recipients, recount their struggles on the battlefield and off.
"I'm showing the feelings and fears of being in combat as well as its affect on their lives after returning home," says Soliz, a self-taught videographer and owner of Ozman Visual Media Productions. "There are so many stories. So much had happened to them."
The documentary opens with images and narration explaining the politics of the Vietnam War, the lives lost and the toll it took on men such as Brown.
"Hmm, lemme see, I've been recovering from my injuries for 44 years and counting," Brown, 63, says with a chuckle. "Physically, I spent 32 months in various hospitals."
Brown was injured on May 14, 1968, in Binh Duong Province, Vietnam. In the uncut version of the film, Brown recounted how his fellow soldier Ron E. Clark fell into him after being hit by a grenade from a rocket-propelled launcher. "I looked into his eyes as he died," Brown said. "His death was fast, and his survivors should know he didn't suffer (alone)."
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By Elena Brown
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Oscar Soliz has produced a documentary called "Deep Scars" that recounts the struggles of four Vietnam veterans on the battlefield and off.
Photo: Helen L. Montoya, San Antonio Express-News / ©SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
It's well after midnight by the time Oscar Soliz clicks off his lamps and shuts down his computer. His brown eyes are strained, his neck and back are stiff, his hands tingle. He rubs his salt-and-pepper beard; it's time for bed.
He's just finished another 13-hour day producing a documentary about four local Vietnam vets and how their powerful memories have barely diminished with the passage of time.
The hour-long documentary, titled "Deep Scars," features retired Staff Sgt. Edward Brown Jr., retired Sgt. Trini Cruz, retired 1st Sgt. William J. Johnson and retired Sgt. 1st Class Dion Soliz III. The veterans, all Purple Heart recipients, recount their struggles on the battlefield and off.
"I'm showing the feelings and fears of being in combat as well as its affect on their lives after returning home," says Soliz, a self-taught videographer and owner of Ozman Visual Media Productions. "There are so many stories. So much had happened to them."
The documentary opens with images and narration explaining the politics of the Vietnam War, the lives lost and the toll it took on men such as Brown.
"Hmm, lemme see, I've been recovering from my injuries for 44 years and counting," Brown, 63, says with a chuckle. "Physically, I spent 32 months in various hospitals."
Brown was injured on May 14, 1968, in Binh Duong Province, Vietnam. In the uncut version of the film, Brown recounted how his fellow soldier Ron E. Clark fell into him after being hit by a grenade from a rocket-propelled launcher. "I looked into his eyes as he died," Brown said. "His death was fast, and his survivors should know he didn't suffer (alone)."
read more here
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