Army Suicide Rate Growing

by: Kayla Williams

Fri Jun 12, 2009 at 10:15:20 AM EDT

According to this USA Today article, Army suicides topped combat deaths again in May, and despite Army efforts to address the problem, "twice as many active-duty soldiers committed suicide in May than in April." The 82 confirmed or suspected Army suicides this year is significantly more than the 51 in the same period in 2008 - a record year of Army suicides.

It is vital that more action be taken to stem this growing tide. Sufficient providers should be available in the DoD and VA systems, and ways to seek help should be prominently displayed (at this point, shouldn't a suicide prevention hotline number be front and center on the AKO page?). The Army should quickly work to urge people to seek help if they feel desperate, and reduce the shame that still surrounds admitting what is still seen as emotional weakness in the military.

When I started volunteering at our local fire and rescue department, we were all told from day one: "You will see things that will mess you up. That's totally normal - just call Critical Incident Stress Management, and they'll help you get through the problem. It happens to everyone, and that's ok. Just ask for help, and you can get better." Contrast this to the Army, where the philosophy was "suck it up and drive on," and reaching out for help was seen as a career-killing weakness. It is possible to normalize seeking help, even in physically demanding, male-dominated fields. We must address this problem before more lives are lost.

Kayla Williams :: Army Suicide Rate Growing

Tags: Army, suicide, Soldiers, (All Tags)

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Army Suicide Rate Growing | 2 comments

Agreed, but that is not enough... (4.00 / 1)

The help has to be not only available, but it needs to be therapeutic. Seriously. We hear stories of handing out pills that are 'black boxed', suicide watch by making a soldier sleep in the hall, making a suicide risk wear an 'orange' vest...

Dumb ass commanders "ordering" the end of suicides, continued up-tempo-extended deployments, promotions of unqualifieds to leadership positions to fill the slots...

And to top it off the VA [part of the loop] now has almost one million claims waiting to be processed.

http://www.pubrecord.org/natio...

Welcome to the Suck and it just keeps getting worse, 'cause you can add the pressure of the economy both in providing the professionals to provide the care and the pressure to stay in since jobs in the real world are more than scarce.

And as a footnote, just looking at the pics of the 'container' that my kid called home were enough to make me friggin' nutz.

by: deMeme @ Fri Jun 12, 2009 at 11:20:17 AM CDT

Kayla Williams and Suicide (0.00 / 0)

First, Ms. Williams I welcome the opportunity to congratulate you on your degree. I have used your book extensively in discussing the role of womyn and the effects of future PTSD on the female warrior returning.
I am part of a Veterans Resource Center on Whidbey Island WA, and yours is one of the books I constantly refer to, in speaking with counselors and therapists ,in trying to get an understanding of the effects (or as I say, The Shit Storm) that is comming from both female and male warriors.
An aspect I believe in dealing with suicide, that eludes the majority of care givers is their own fear of their inner protection against suicide.
My belief is that after the intensity of serving, comming back into civilian life is almost deadening in it's humdrum life. If we have been living the life of "The Gods", having the power to grant or take life, comming back is a desent into medeocrity, which for the most part is boring.
A friend of mine, James Hillman wrote a book " The Terrible Love of War" which was not well received.I heard James say in a lecture to a group of Jungians," I can't talk about anyones suicide but my own", which was shocking to the ensemble. I know I have had to address my own issues after comming back into civilian life, and I could not stay in College because it was so boring. I congratulate you in overcomming all your difficulties and achieving your goal after service, and thank you for continuing to serve the troops in a most effective writing of the sensitive aspects of returning from the world of the Gods.
WADR
chuck mcintyre

by: chuck mcintyre @ Sat Jun 13, 2009 at 18:55:14 PM CDT

Army Suicide Rate Growing | 2 comments

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