Attempted military suicides should alarm us more

When we focus on the suicides of members of the military, we miss what is happening telling a darker story of the lack of help they have actually been getting. Given the fact that we have been told that "resilience training works" well enough to spend billions a year, we should all be asking "Where is the proof?"

Take a look at the numbers released last year for 2011 since we do not have the data from their report for 2012.

The AFMES indicates that 301 Service Members died by suicide in 2011

Air Force = 50
Army = 167
Marine Corps = 32
Navy = 52

This number includes deaths strongly suspected to be suicides that are pending final determination. DoDSER Points of Contact (POCs) submitted reports for 100% of AFMES confirmed 2011 suicides
Air Force = 46
Army = 159
Marine Corps = 31
Navy = 51 as of the data extraction date (26 April 2012).

A total of 915 Service Members attempted suicide in 2011
Air Force = 241
Army = 432
Marine Corps = 156
Navy = 86


DoDSERs were submitted for 935 suicide attempts
Air Force = 251
Army = 440
Marine Corps = 157
Navy = 87

Of the 915 Service Members who attempted suicide, 896 had one attempt, 18 had two attempts, and 1 had three attempts.

Most Service Members were not known to have communicated their potential for self-harm with others prior to dying by suicide (n = 212, 73.87%) or attempting suicide (n = 709, 75.83%). Those who did disclose their potential for self-harm most frequently communicated with spouses, friends, and other family members. These communications were most frequently verbal (n = 46, 16.03% of suicides; n = 129, 13.80% of attempted suicides). Other modes of communication included text messages (n = 11, 3.83% of suicides; n = 20, 2.14% of attempted suicides) and via Facebook (n = 4, 1.39% of suicides, n = 8, 0.86% of attempted suicides).

Landing gear of plane that hit Twin Tower found

NY police: Landing gear part found, is tied to 9/11
By Chelsea J. Carter and Rob Frehse
CNN
updated 6:52 PM EDT, Fri April 26, 2013

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Authorities will decide after an inspection whether to sift the soil for remains
The part was discovered behind the site of a planned Islamic community center
Surveyors called police on Wednesday, saying they found "damaged machinery"
Police believe the piece is part of a landing gear from one of the 9/11 airliners

New York (CNN) -- A piece of one of the airliners that hit the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001, has been found behind the planned site of an Islamic community center near ground zero, the New York Police Department said Friday.

Part of a landing gear was discovered wedged between 51 Park Place -- the site of the controversial community center -- and another building just blocks from ground zero and "includes a clearly visible Boeing identification number," police said in a written statement.

The part was discovered Wednesday by surveyors hired by a property owner. They called 911 to report that they'd found "apparently damaged machinery," the police said.

Part of a landing gear was discovered wedged between 51 Park Place and another building. "The NYPD is securing the location as it would a crime scene, documenting it photographically ," the statement said.
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Two Army pilots killed in Afghanistan

Two Army helicopter pilots killed in Afghanistan identified
The Associated Press
Published: April 26, 2013

FAIRFAX, Va. -- An Army helicopter pilot from northern Virginia is one of two soldiers killed in Afghanistan by enemy fire.

The Pentagon said Friday that 26-year-old 1st Lt. Robert J. Hess of Fairfax died Tuesday in the Pul-E-Alam district of Logar province in eastern Afghanistan, from wounds suffered as a result of indirect fire.

Also killed was 32-year-old Capt. Aaron R. Blanchard of Selah, Wash.
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Senior VA executives won't get bonus money after all!

No performance bonuses for Veterans Benefits Administration senior executives
By Leo Shane III
Stars and Stripes
Published: April 26, 2013
27 minutes ago

WASHINGTON — Senior executives from the Veterans Benefits Administration will not receive any performance bonus awards for fiscal 2012 because of lingering problems with the veterans claims backlog, department officials confirmed Friday.

A VA spokesperson said department leaders remain confident that those senior executives are “dedicated to our nation’s veterans,” but the money set aside for those awards would be reinvested in efforts to fix the backlog.

Department leaders reiterated their goal of zeroing out the backlog over the next two years.
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Hyundai thinks suicide is something to joke about in new ad?

The headlines read "22 veterans commit suicide a day" along with the headlines of military suicides at an all time high. As bad as this is there are about 35,000 suicides a year in the US. (Never mind Hyundai is sold in other countries as well.) I don't think an apology will really undo the damage they did to their reputation. Thinking something like this would be funny involved a lot of people thinking the same way.

Hyundai’s shocking ad: You can’t kill yourself in our car
The car maker apologizes for a horribly tasteless ad -- but no one wants to take responsibility for it
Salon.com
BY MARY ELIZABETH WILLIAMS
APR 26, 2013

The good news is that Ford is no longer the front-runner for the most tasteless, boneheaded ad campaign of the year. Sorry, America! South Korea’s largest automaker, Hyundai, and its advertising agency Innocean Worldwide Europe, has utterly stolen your glory.

In the spot, hilariously titled “Pipe Job,” a grim, middle-aged man is seen in his garage, methodically taping and running a pipe into his car. He then sits inside stoically, breathing deeply, his face a mask of weary woe. Cut to nightfall, and the man emerging from the garage very much alive. The tag line? “The new iX35 has 100 percent water emissions.” Apparently someone thinks Hyundai’s target demographic is the depressed, unsuccessfully suicidal car-buyer market. Way to own it!

After the spot came to light on AdLand recently — and a few people gently pointed out that it was the worst idea in the universe — the car company issued its inevitable apology. The first statement was a classic soft-pedal, a message from the company’s North American branch that “We understand that some people may have found the iX35 video offensive. We are very sorry if we have offended anyone.” Some. If. Whatever.

A later statement, however, was more strongly worded. “Hyundai Motor deeply and sincerely apologizes for the offensive viral ad,” it reads. “The ad was created by an affiliate advertising agency, Innocean Europe, without Hyundai’s request or approval.” But as Forbes points out, Innocean is “an in-house ad agency,” a status abundantly clear on its website.
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