Military Suicides Reach Highest Rate Since Record-Keeping Began After 9/11

While suicide remains a rare event among U.S. troops, 325 active-duty members died by suicide in 2018, the highest number since the Defense Department began collecting the data in 2001 and exceeding a record set in 2012. According to a report released this week by the Defense Suicide Prevention Office, 139 active-duty soldiers, 68 sailors, 60 airmen and 58 Marines died by suicide last year, 40 more service members than the previous year.

The figure is higher than the sum of deaths reported by the individual services in January -- the result of continued death investigations -- and tragically exceeds the previous record of 321 in 2012. For three of the services, the numbers represent an increase over the previous year. The Army in 2017 saw 114 deaths by suicide, the Navy, 65, and the Marine Corps, 43. Only the Air Force saw a decline in suicide from the previous year. In 2017, it had 63.

Earlier this year, Defense Department officials said the rates of suicide, which provide a more accurate understanding of the occurrence among the military population, are "devastating and unacceptable and not going in the desired direction." "My colleagues and I know that every single life lost is a tragedy and each one has a deeply personal story. With each death, we know there are families and often children with shattered lives," Elizabeth Van Winkle, Director of the DoD’s Office of Force Resiliency, told members of Congress during a joint hearing on veterans and military suicide May 21.

The military deaths reflect a national trend. In the U.S. the suicide rate has increased by 33% since 1999, and suicide is the second leading cause of death among people 10 to 34 years old.

The Defense and Veterans Affairs Departments have collaborated on efforts to reduce suicide in the ranks and among veterans, who die by suicide at an average rate of 20 a day. The Defense Department is preparing to issue a comprehensive report on military suicides this summer, and the two departments are gearing up for a joint conference on suicide, scheduled to be held in Nashville this August.

An analysis of Defense Department suicides in 2017 published this year found that roughly half of those who completed suicide that year had a known mental health condition and half had contact with the military health system within 90 days of their deaths. Most were male (95%) and white (81%) and more than half had a history of deployment (57%).

According to the report, the suicide rate in 2017 among active duty troops was 21.9 deaths per 100,000 members, a slight uptick from the 2016 rate of 21.5 per 100,000, but not considered a "statistically significant" increase. The age-adjusted civilian rate, which includes American civilians and service members, is 17.4 deaths per 100,000.

The year-end figures for 2018 showed a drop in suicides in the Reserve component, from 226 in 2017 to 216 in 2018. There were two more deaths among National Guard members in 2018 from the previous year, 135 up from 133. The National Guard continues to have the highest rate of suicide among components, at 29.1 suicides per 100,000 people.

In addition to publishing the data for 2018, the Defense Suicide Prevention Office released information on the number of suicides by military personnel in the first quarter of 2019. From January through March, 90 active duty service members died by suicide, including 30 soldiers, 20 sailors, 26 airmen and 14 Marines. In the same time frame in 2018, 81 service members died by suicide: 36 soldiers, 23 sailors, 9 airmen and 13 Marines.

Van Winkle said each loss “reverberates beyond the unit, beyond the commander and beyond the service” and the Defense Department and services remain committed to the well-being of service members. “We must meet that sacred obligation because we need each and every woman and man who bravely signs up to fight for this nation,” she said.

The Coast Guard, which is in the Department of Homeland Security, does not publish its suicide data and has not provided the information despite multiple requests from Military.com. An unverified list posted online by a Coast Guard veteran who walks to support suicide awareness and prevention said at least four Coast Guard men and women died by suicide in 2018.

Article from Military Times

VA Social Worker’s Emails Mock Veterans’ Woes

The last thing the Veterans Affairs Department — an agency that’s trying to kick its reputation for negligence — needs is a new scandal. Especially one that reveals an extraordinary lack of sensitivity to veterans’ suicides and the epidemic of other mental health issues facing those who have served in the nation’s armed forces.

But that’s what’s brewing at a VA medical center in Indianapolis, where a social worker has been caught emailing her colleagues photos of a toy Christmas elf, dressed as one of the hospital’s patients, begging for Xanax and hanging himself with a set of Christmas lights.

The December 18th email sent by Robin Paul, a manager at the Roudebush VA Medical Center, was obtained by the Indianapolis Star. Now that the email has been made public, the local center and the VA are trying to make clear that behavior like Paul’s will not be tolerated.

A spokeswoman for the Roudebush center told the paper that administrators had known about the email months ago and had taken administrative action, but on Tuesday, Paul was placed on administrative leave, a Fox affiliate in Indianapolis reported.

Tom Mattice, director of the Roudebush Center told the station, “The email message that was sent out by Ms. Paul is completely and totally unacceptable. It in no way reflects the attitudes of our staff toward our patients.”

Already, the outrage has spread to Washington, where Indiana lawmakers and veterans groups are demanding an independent investigation into what happened to make sure it was an isolated event.

Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.), a member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, called for Paul’s firing.

“I hope that leadership within Roudebush grasps the fact that supporting veterans and their families must be their top priority, not saving a disgraced employee,” she told the Star.

A spokesperson for the VA apologized to veterans and their families, and echoed Mattice, calling the behavior “completely unacceptable.”

“This one incident is not reflective of the quality care and services that hundreds of thousands of Veterans receive every day from VA employees across the country,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “We are committed to treating our Veterans with respect and compassion and providing them the quality mental health care they have earned and deserve.”

Suicide remains an urgent problem for those who have served in the armed forces, with as many as 22 veterans committing suicide every day. More than 3,000 veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq have taken their own lives since 9/11.

Article written by Kate Brannen for Foreign Policy.com

Army Captain Battling Cancer Takes On Veteran Suicides

Army Captain Justin Fitch is dying. He has only months left. But before he was even diagnosed with cancer he thought about killing himself. “When I first joined the Army in active duty there was a culture, a very quiet culture, of suffering in silence,” Fitch told WBZ-TV’s Jonathan Elias. “Mission first, never worry about yourself.”

But Justin, like thousands of other soldiers, was suffering. The war took friends from him and broke his spirit. “I felt like there was no way out, better just death before dishonor,” he said. “So I grabbed a gun and almost put 4.5 pounds of pressure on the trigger into my head and ended it.”

But in that moment he says the voice of a lost comrade came to him. When things would get bad, his buddy would say “drive on.” He put the gun down and asked for help. “Seeking help, I believe, made me a stronger person,” Fitch said. “From that point I was able to get rid of ever wanting to kill myself, and be happier, and enjoy life more, and deal with those dark things and face them head on.”

He also realized that while he felt alone, he wasn’t the only one with that feeling.

“When I learned that 22 veterans are killing themselves every day, I was just blown away,” he said. “I knew that was something I wanted to get involved in.” He decided instead of taking his life he would devote it to saving others. Even after six surgeries and 50-plus chemotherapy treatments, Fitch commits himself to the Carry the Fallen group.

The veterans work together to help save each other. Former Air Force Staff Sgt. Chris Loiselle was one of those. “It made me find the right help,” he said. “It saved me.”

Loiselle is one of dozens saved by Fitch. Now they stay close to him during his treatments to assure him what he started will live on. “I call him my hero, he is why I am where I am today,” Loiselle said. “Alive and working on getting healthy, and trying to save my marriage and enjoying life.”

Justin was recently back for another round of chemo but it will only keep him down for a couple hours. “My mission in life is to reduce the amount of 22 veteran suicides a day to zero,” Fitch said.

When he passes, he wants veterans to “remember they are worth it, they’re worth it, veterans don’t need to kill themselves.” Fitch is only 32 years old and is married with no kids. He says until his dying day he will work to help provide comfort to those who are suffering in silence.

For more information about the group, visit carrythefallen.org