Posted on 04/27/2012 5:11:56 AM PDT by tired&retired
Suicides by active-duty soldiers in the U.S. Army reached their highest level in history last year, with 164 confirmed instances of soldiers taking their lives.
“The Army takes this very seriously because our most valuable asset is our soldiers,” said Gen. Chang, commanding general of the 807th Medical Command based in Fort Douglas, Utah. He noted that in 2009, with the Army’s leadership recognizing that the suicide rate had surpassed the rate among civilians, the U.S. Department of Defense launched a suicide prevention task force that, among other goals, has worked to update suicide education and prevention programs. . “It will take continued, concerted effort to begin to see the results we’re expecting from the changes that have been implemented,” said Gen. Chang, who is also a doctor of osteopathic medicine practicing in Alexandria, Va. According to Army data presented by Gen. Chang, the suicide rate among active-duty soldiers stood at 10 episodes per 100,000 in 2004, and then steadily rose to a level of 22 per 100,000 in both 2009 and 2010. The rate seen last year projected to a new high, of 24 per 100,000, he said. Throughout this period, the suicide rate among American civilian adults held steady at about 19 episodes per 100,000. . Army data for the first 3 months of 2012 showed no ebbing of the suicide rate. In a press release on April 18, the Department of Defense reported 45 potential suicides among active-duty Army personnel during the first 3 months of 2012, including 20 confirmed suicides and 25 episodes still under investigation. . At that rate, the 2012 rate could exceed what happened last year: In May 2011, the Department of Defense reported that during the first 3 months of last year it had tallied six confirmed suicides and was investigating an additional 24 possible cases. .
Read the rest of this story: http://www.familypracticenews.com/news/more-top-news/single-view/2011-us-army-suicides-reached-unprecedented-level/220048e30b.html
1. New commander in chief at the same time military suicides double.
2. New rules of engagement for soldiers not allowing them to protect themselves.
3. Soldiers discharged for a few criticisms of O'Bummer on their Facebook.
4. Gays in the military (Gay community has an even higher suicide rate than general population or military.)
5. Longer tours of duty. (Older soldiers who have careers and families at home)
6. Inadequate care for soldiers with PTSD (Give them pills and push them out of the service.)
7. Cut military budget and don't give them the tools to do their job.
8. Have a president that sympathizes with the enemy and back stabs your efforts.
9. Soldiers who have legal problems from mental health issues are treated worse than detainees in Guantanamo.
Please continue this list. It's really sad what is happening. I beg all veterans to take an active part in turning this trend around. It's time to pull together and support our soldiers and our veterans.
And on top of that, if you are dishonorably discharged you can no longer own a gun in this country.
And this is just “Active Duty”. If you add the veterans who have been out less than two years the rate would skyrocket.
I read recently that in the 82nd Airborne, the suicides exceed the combat deaths.
Every day, five U.S. soldiers try to kill themselves. Before the Iraq war began, that figure was less than one suicide attempt a day.
“The really tough area here is stigma. We know that soldiers don’t want to go seek care. They’re tough, they’re strong, they don’t want to go see a behavioral health-care provider. Post-traumatic stress disorder also may be a factor in suicide attempts because it can result in broken relationships and often leads to drug and alcohol abuse.
The “typical” soldier who commits suicide is a member of an infantry unit who uses a firearm to carry out the act, according to the Army.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/02/01/military.suicides/index.html
Attempted suicides and self-injuries have quadrupled over the past six years.
The V.A. says the suicide rate among male veterans it serves under the age of 29 hit an all-time high. Those in that age group are more than twice as likely to commit suicide as people in the general population.
PAUL SULLIVAN, Veterans for Common Sense: The number-one reason why the service members and veterans coming back from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are completing suicides is because of their involvement in the war, because of the horrors that they have seen in the war, and because of the lack of access to prompt and high-quality mental health care when they return home.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health/july-dec08/suicides_11-10.html
What if a soldier dies in Afghanistan, but it’s not reported by the media. Did he really die?
Here is an NBC video of the Diyala Bombing in April 2010. The 82nd Airbourne takes its biggest loss of men since the Vietnam War. Please forgive the NBC biased reporting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDBcbrr2jIA
10. Incompetent admirals and generals.
At this point we are relieved that our Army sons are out of the Army. One wrecked his back and the other missed a deployment. The missed deployment occurred because his wife could not walk after a botched surgery and could not go down because my father was dying. When a war last this long there will be times in any family when they cannot be used for a care plan. The Army has taken the stance the last few years that makes them look like they are waiting for any chance to dump a Solider to save a buck. Sad.
Redeployed 3,4 times. That’s years of witnessing carnage.
Zer0 has the answer, cut manpower. /s
Bingo. You nailed it perfectly.
Sorry to say!!!
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