Stop Being Comfortably Numbed by Numbers on Veteran Suicides

Suicide Awareness Shouldn't Be Easy For You
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
September 17, 2016


The headline on USA Today from the editorial board was chosen as "Every 72 minutes a veteran commits suicide" and it has been repeated all across the web. The question is, why?

The editorial pointed out this, "A veteran is choosing death every 72 minutes, and the VA could be doing more to keep that person alive." 

Later on there was this, "Of 20 veteran suicides daily, just six were enrolled in VA health care. The others either chose against going to the VA or were ineligible for its care." That pretty much summed up the simple fact that they are in fact getting help to live from the VA.

So why put a number on our veterans seeking to end their suffering with suicide instead of healing without putting in the facts?

Here are some basic facts they forgot to mention.

2012 VA Suicide Report page 18

In 1999, according to the VA chart, there were 20 veterans committing suicide a day. At least the ones they could find. When you look at those numbers it is important to know the backstory. According to the US Census Veterans Day report of 2015 there were 21,369,602 veterans. For the 2000 Veterans Census there were 26.4 million veterans which translates into the stunning fact that we are down by over 5 million veterans. 

Why didn't the editorial board wonder why the same reported number of veterans committing suicide has remained the same even though we're down that many veterans? You're probably thinking that would be important since veterans have been the subject of research for the last 4 decades topped off with "awareness" and a surge in spending attempts to change the end of their story.

There is an interactive map on the link and you can find the number of veterans in your state.  I looked up Florida and we have 1,569,406 veterans living here and most of them are Vietnam veterans along with the other fact that most are over the age of 50. That is another omitted fact within the reports from the VA.

Within those numbers reported are families left behind. Within those numbers is the fact that those older veterans managed to survive combat, all the following years starting those families, working toward a future, but then surrendered their lives. Within those numbers there is the other fact that all generations came home with the war being fought within themselves, yet it was Vietnam veterans pushing for all the research 4 decades ago.  They are last on the list of the new charities popping up focusing on Iraq and Afghanistan veterans leaving Vietnam veterans without any attention at all.

So why is it that after all these years, there is an equal number of suicides committed by less veterans after all that has been "done for them" or is a matter of what was "done to them?"

If you're like me, you've paid attention to all of this since our husbands and wives came home. It is a safe bet that you're just as angry over all of this as I am. When will we matter enough that these reporters actually figure out that these veterans are not just numbers to us? They are our family members.

Las Vegas Iraq Veteran With PTSD Filed Discrimination Lawsuit

Lawsuit accuses Wynn of discriminating against worker with PTSD
Associated Press
September 16, 2016

Wynn Las Vegas is accused of discriminating against a U.S. Army veteran who was working for them as a security guard and had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

An exterior view of the Wynn and Encore Tuesday, November 15, 2011.

Steve Marcus

The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit Friday in Las Vegas, alleging the company refused to accommodate the veteran and aggravated his condition by suspending him.

The lawsuit says the employee served in Iraq and started working in 2007 as an unarmed security officer on bike patrol.
read more here

UPDATE 

Wynn Las Vegas denies it discriminated against disabled employee
Las Vegas Review Journal
Jeff German
September 17, 2016

A Wynn Las Vegas spokesman Saturday denied allegations the Strip resort discriminated against a disabled employee diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The allegations were leveled in a federal lawsuit filed Friday by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

“We did not discriminate against the employee on the basis of an alleged disability,” Wynn spokesman Michael Weaver said in a statement. “Wynn Resorts profoundly resents the false accusations of the EEOC in taking this action and intends to prove that in court.”

Weaver said the lawsuit is an example of the EEOC’s “frequent irresponsible and ill-conceived actions that often ignore the obvious facts, and in this case, the truth.”

“We are deeply disappointed that the EEOC decided to file a lawsuit three years after our last communication on this matter, rather than contact us and engage in the real work necessary to help an employee ensnared in medical and government bureaucracy. “

The company makes work accommodations under the Americans With Disabilities Act and was prepared to do that for the employee, a security bike officer and U.S. Army veteran, Weaver said.

“Unfortunately, the employee was unable to obtain the certification required by government regulation which would allow us to fairly make an accommodation for him,” Weaver said. “The company worked with the employee for months to help him obtain the necessary medical certification. Eventually, the employee resigned; he was not terminated.”
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Fort Hood Rescue Efforts Delayed After Black Hawk Crash

Report: Black Hawk crash rescue efforts stalled nearly 3 hours 
Killeen Daily Herald
By David A. Bryant
Herald staff writer
September 15, 2016

FORT HOOD — Search and rescue operations were not launched for nearly three hours after a fatal Black Hawk helicopter crash on Fort Hood in November due to a series of delays in communication.

Sgt. 1st Class Toby Childers

The UH-60 Black Hawk carrying four soldiers crashed at approximately 5:30 p.m. Nov. 23, 2015, in a training area on Fort Hood. The aircraft was reported missing about 20 minutes later when the crew failed to report over the radio on schedule and was classified as overdue, according to a report on the crash.

Search and rescue missions should begin after officials are unable to make contact. However, an attempt to locate the aircraft was made before notifying the authorities responsible for initiating a search.

There was a nearly three-hour delay in launching those rescue efforts, according to the facts, findings and recommendations section of the internal investigation released Wednesday by First Army.

Regulations state the Installation Operations Center (IOC) on Fort Hood is responsible for initiating search and rescue. However, officials at the IOC seemed “unaware of their role in the overdue aircraft battle drill,” according to the internal investigation.

The report further stated the cause of the crash that killed Sgt. 1st Class Toby Childers, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Stephen B. Cooley, Sgt. 1st Class Jason M. Smith and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Michael F. Tharp was due to pilot error while attempting a combat maneuvering flight technique called a break turn.
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Fort Hood Police Officer Inspires After Amputation

Fort Hood Police Officer Dedicates Life to Serving Others Despite Disability
KCEN
September 15, 2016

FORT HOOD- Retired Sergeant William Fisher is new to the Fort Hood Police Department, and he is already turning heads. In fact, as far as Fisher knows, he is the only officer of his kind in the entire Department of Defense.

“To be honest with you, yes I was surprised. He wants to be treated like one of the guys, and so far there has been nothing put in front of him that he cannot do,” said Fort Hood Police Captain Rex Spicer.

It is not Fisher’s 16 years of military service or his dedication to serving others that sets him apart. It’s something entirely different that makes him special.

“Wearing pants all the time you really can’t tell that I’m an amputee,” said Fisher. “It is what it is. You can’t change it. You learn to live with it and adapt to it.”

In August of 2009, Fisher was deployed in Iraq when he fell 40-feet from an overlook. As he landed standing up, he crushed his right ankle and broke his back.

“After four years and six surgeries on my ankle of trying to revive it, fix it, and fuse it together, my life vs. the pain wasn’t worth it,” he said. “Amputation was probably the best decision I ever had to make concerning my injury.”

After amputating his right leg in 2013 and medically retiring from the Army, Fisher began his journey of public service as a civilian. After a recommendation to join law enforcement, he started a nine-week course to become a military police officer.
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Ghost Riders Reunite In Pensacola

Famed Navy fighter squadron reunites in Pensacola
Pensacola News Journal
Melissa Nelson Gabriel
September 14, 2016

The squadron honored Perry and Beck by painting "Lady Jessie" on the side of its commander's jet.

An aircraft painted by VA-164 to honor Navy Lt. Cmdr. Dick Perry.

(Photo: National Naval Aviation Museum)

A famed Vietnam-era Navy fighter squadron will reunite in Pensacola on Saturday to share a unique story about their tribute to a fallen colleague and the woman who helped boost their morale during their long combat deployments.

The pilots of VA-164 flew A-4 Skyhawks off the USS Oriskany in 1966 and 1967, during an intense period of combat that included the deaths of 44 sailors in a hangar bay fire.

The men from the squadron, known as the Ghost Riders, will share their story on Saturday at the National Naval Aviation Museum.

"It is a unique story in the history of naval aviation," said Hill Goodspeed, historian for museum.

Squadron pilot Dick Perry worked at a Reno, Nevada, casino with Jessie Beck before he joined the Navy. Beck owned a keno concession at a casino. Beck and Perry became close friends and continued their friendship after Perry joined the Navy.
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