I’d say on the order of half of ALL problems I ever encountered as a chaplain were alcohol related. And that includes suicidal behavior (ideation, gesture, attempt, completion).
But, that doesn’t explain why Campbell and not Bragg or not Riley or not Hood, etc. Deployment doesn’t answer it, because they’ve all deployed.
If alcohol’s more an issue in one than the other, then that’s definitely a leadership issue.
One of my major missions the last 6 years of my military career was suicide innoculation briefings. I sympathize with anyone having to listen to them once or twice a year, every year.
Yes, but is alcohol the symptom or the cause? I've seen E6's who started abusing drugs well into their career. What sparks that?
But, that doesn’t explain why Campbell and not Bragg or not Riley or not Hood, etc. Deployment doesn’t answer it, because they’ve all deployed.
True. When you see non-deployed personnel committing suicide too, that says that the deployment is not the sole cause, if indeed it is even a cause, of the epidemic.
It all goes back, in my opinion, to isolation. A person who feels like he has the support of his comrades, his family, and his chain of command is not as likely to turn to drugs, alcohol, or criminal activity and is not as likely to harm himself by suicide. Whenever that support system breaks down in any area, that's when we have to worry.