Sad stuff,

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Bring them home where they should have been the whole time, instead of fighting in un-winnable "wars".




The U.S. Army on Thursday reported a record number of suicides in a single month among active duty, Guard and Reserve troops, despite an aggressive program of counseling, training and education aimed at suicide prevention.

Suicides for the first half of the year are up 12 percent over 2009. In June, 32 soldiers are believed to have committed suicide, including 21 on active duty.

The June report came as the Army also released a 20-minute training video on suicide prevention titled, "Shoulder to Shoulder ? I will never quit on life."

Army officials have been grappling in recent years with how to prevent suicides among soldiers dealing with the stress of multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Last year, suicide claimed the lives of 163 soldiers on active duty and 82 Guard and Reserve soldiers not on active duty.

The problem is not isolated to the Army. In 2009, 52 Marines and 48 Sailors took their own lives in 2009, according to a report by the American Forces Press Service. Air Force officials reported 41 active-duty suicides, a 12.5 per 100,000 ratio, in 2009.

The biggest challenge in prevention, military officials say, is identifying those National Guard and Reserve forces at risk but aren't currently on active duty, where they can be more closely observed for mental health problems and suicidal tendencies.

"There will never be a substitute for a noncommissioned officer, first-line supervisor or friend who knows when a person is suffering and has the moral courage to act and get that individual the help they need," Col. Chris Philbrick, director of the Army Suicide Prevention Task Force, said in a statement. "That ability to make a positive difference is the best method to render effective suicide prevention in the Army."


Officials say it's going to require more aggressive education for the off-duty soldiers and their families. Already, the Army has been trying to break down the barriers keeping active-duty soldiers from getting help for mental health problems.

At Fort Campbell, for example, the Army over the past year has been trying to change the military mindset against showing any weakness and completing the mission. The number of suicides among Fort Campbell soldiers prompted the army last year to declare a "state of emergency" at the Kentucky base and hire a suicide prevention manager.

Brig. Gen. Richard Thomas said the Army is piloting a project to provide counseling time to entire battalions and brigades immediately after completing deployments. A similar approach is being applied to detecting mild traumatic brain injuries, which can lead to increased risk for mental health problems, said Thomas, now an assistant surgeon general.

"What we are doing is focusing on the early symptoms of traumatic brain injury and post traumatic stress disorder so we can get treatment earlier, rather than waiting for these guys to have chronic, long-term problems," he said.

Some soldiers will never step foot inside a behavioral health clinic; they fear the stigma, and they fear also that a diagnosis could lead to a medical discharge, said Dr. Tangeneare Singh, a combat veteran herself and chief of the department of behavioral health at Fort Campbell.

So any soldier who walks into one of the several medical clinics at Fort Campbell, whether it's for a twisted ankle or trouble sleeping, is screened for depression and PTSD symptoms.

Among the Army suicides reported for June, 11 were Guard or Reserve members who were not activated at the time, but included seven who had been previously deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan.

Of the 32 cases, only four have been confirmed suicides, while official rulings are still pending on the remaining 28. In the past, nearly all of those reported suicides were eventually confirmed.

Record number of Army suicides in June - U.S. news - Life - Military - msnbc.com

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Washington (CNN) -- A "permissive" environment is one of the factors leading to a spike in Army suicides, according to a new report released Thursday.

The 15-month-long Army study on suicide prevention concludes there is a need to promote and encourage healthy behavior among troops as one of the key means of reducing suicide levels. Moreover, the report called on commanders to reinforce efforts to discipline soldiers for substance abuse, criminal behavior and disciplinary problems.

Many of today's commanders are so focused on getting ready for deployments to war zones, some of these issues have slipped through the cracks, according to Army officials who briefed CNN ahead of the release of the study.

"Now more than ever, our soldiers need firm, fair and consistent leadership," said Gen. Peter Chiarelli, Army vice chief of staff, in the report's introduction.

Chiarelli led the review team. "What we witnessed firsthand were real indicators of stress on the force and an increasing propensity for soldiers to engage in high-risk behavior," he wrote.

In fiscal year 2009, 239 soldiers commited suicide in both the active duty and reserve force, the report noted. In addition, 146 soldiers died due to "high risk" behavior, including 74 drug overdoses. During the same time frame there were 1,713 suicide attempts, the report said.

The Army found some form of "high-risk" behavior such as self-harm, illicit drug use, binge drinking or criminal activity was a factor in most of the deaths.

"For some, the rigors of service, repeated deployments, injuries and separations from family resulted in (a) sense of isolation, hopelessness and life fatigue," Chiarelli said. He also noted sometimes there has been a "permissive unit environment" which in some commanders "failed to hold soldiers accountable for their actions and allowed for risk taking behavior -- sometimes with fatal consequences."

Chiarelli was not singling out any particular unit, Army officials said, but rather underscoring the need for commanders to focus on soldiers' behavior even as they prepare for overseas deployments.

The Army has long worried that some commanders are so focused on taking their entire unit on deployment, they may not realize or acknowledge that some troops with substance abuse or behavior problems should stay behind for treatment and not deploy. Officials plan to improve record-keeping so a commander will be more aware of soldiers' records of problematic behavior.


Report: 'High-risk behavior' contributes to rising Army suicide rate - CNN.com