38 military suicides suspected for the month of July

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
8/20/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Suspected suicides suspected among active-duty and reserve soldiers

According to latest U.S. Army statistics, at least 38 service people are suspected of committing suicide in the month of July. This newest figure outpaces the 24 active-duty and reserve suicides reported for the month of June and is the highest monthly number of suicides since record-keeping began a few years ago.

The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, or TAPS, a non-profit organization that provides counselling resources to suicide survivors, says that single suicide personally impacts at least 10 people.

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - "I do believe suicide is preventable," Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, vice chief of staff of the Army said in a press release. "To combat it effectively will require sophisticated solutions aimed at helping individuals to build resiliency and strengthen their life coping skills."

The Department of Defence has not given an official explanation for the surge in suicides among enlisted men.

According to Bruce Shahbaz, a medical analyst on the Army's Suicide Prevention Task Force, non-commissioned officers outnumbered those of junior enlisted members for the first time since 2001. Officers are far more likely to be older, married and at home between deployments, a period of time that can be turbulent and exacerbate stress.

"Issues like minor depression, anxiety and sleep disturbances -- those things that are kind of related to post-traumatic stress -- begin to surface after a service member has been home for more than a year, and start to reintegrate with their family . I liken it to a pot that's on simmer -- having that person stay back home and reintegrate with their family sometimes allows that pot to boil over," Shahbaz says.

The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, or TAPS, a non-profit organization that provides counselling resources to suicide survivors, says that single suicide personally impacts at least 10 people.

"We are deeply saddened by these numbers, and renew our commitment to support the families left behind who are grieving the death of soldiers by suicide," the organization said in a statement.

So far in 2012, the Army has confirmed 66 active-duty suicides this year and is investigating 50 more, for a total of 116 cases. There were 165 confirmed active-duty suicides in 2011.

� 2012, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

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Keywords: Military, suicides, investigation, impact, enlisted men

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1 - 9 of 9 Comments

KarlVDH
8 months ago
TK inTX... I ,think you're pretty wrong. I'm an Iraq vet... the fact that we enlist and serve voluntarily doesn't mean for a split second that it makes the things that happen in war "ok." It comes across as if you're saying, "Well, they volunteer, so, they can deal, because no one's 'making' them do anything." While it's true we all step up on our own, it's also true that combat, seperation, constant fear, stress and horror all take the exact same mental and emotional toll oon volunteers that they do on draftees. And the truth we ifgnore through the waving flags and yellow ribbon magnets is that not everyone can handle it, and not everyone reaches out for help. We're talking about serious, deep hurt that can't just be glossed over because they chose to enlist.
I'm still having a hard time, and I've been home since '06. I know 'Nam vets who still haven't quite come home from the war yet, mentally and emotionally. Seeing and doing things that happen, and the simple, unending stress and fear involved with just BEING there most definitely come with a price. For many, it's more than they can bear.
Robert Burford
8 months ago
To Tk in TX .My dad had a huge laugh in 1966 when he received a letter for me from the selective service to report for induction. He called them up and said that the laugh was on them because I was already one month in basic training. It is a misnomer that these young men and women are volunteers because they did not have to face the draft like I did.They stepped up to the plate to serve their country. It may have been for economic reasons or patriotism, but whatever the reason many had no choice. They saw the military as a road to advance themselves. It is ignorant to say or think that they should not be treated with less or more respect because they asked to lay their lives on the line. The fact is they did and do. These are vets who do deserve our respect and admoration. I will never judge their actions unless they are illegal but pray for all vets and families who have made the sacrifice.All Revolutionary war veterans were volunteers. and if they did not volunteer we would not be a nation today.
Rob
8 months ago
Hi TK, I don't think I said we were forcing anyone to do anything. I understand we have a volunteer military. I think this is one of the reasons it's the best the world. The eight years I wore the uniform were some of the proudest in my life.

I just think we need to take a step back and take a look at the toll mulitiple deployments are having on our men and women in the uniform and their families. I think we need more direct involvement from the public (more troops) so that a few don't have to carry the burden for so many. Psychologically this just isn't healthy for the men and women serving. I can't speak to the support that is available for them when they return. I am hopeful that they are more than adequate? Any thoughts about that?
DENISE M. SHARAR
8 months ago
WHEN I GOT OUT OF THE MILITARY MY FIRST JOB WAS IN THE MEDICAL FIELD. I HAD TO DEAL WITH CIVILIANS WHO WERE LATE FOR WORK AND DIDN'T DO THERE JOB EFFECTIVELY. I WAS IRRITATED. I FINALLY CAME HOME AND GOT A JOB AND HAD TO DEAL WITH PEOPLE ON DRUGS AND LATE FOR WORK OR NEVER SHOWED UP. I LOST MY TEMPER AND WAS FIRED. THEN I GOT A BETTER PAYING JOB. THE OWNER IS A VIETNAM WAR VETERAN. EVERYONE SHOWS UP TO WORK ON TIME AND NOONE DOES DRUGS. THE CIVILIANS WHO DON'T SHOW UP FOR WORK ON TIME, DO DRUGS AND DO NOT DO THERE JOB EFFECTIVELY SURE AS HELL BETTER NOT KEEP UP WITH ME!!!! I SAY A ROSARY EVERY LUNCH HOUR!
Hillary
8 months ago
Tell the enemy when you are leaving.
Start drawing down troops.
Real moral booster?
Depression!
TK in TX
8 months ago
Rob,

I appreciate your concern, but as a military wife of almost 20 years, I have to correct you. Nobody "makes" these men and women go any place. As Ray pointed out, it's an all-volunteer military. They stay in because they money is good and it's a relatively good-paying job with good benefits that people can get with virtually no education or resume'. Most of the people in uniform that I know also love serving their country.

Getting out is a major transition. I've known plenty of people who hate the war, but look at a civilian job as a pay cut and a series of interviews to score the new position. It's much easier just to re-enlist. It's hard, yes. Our veterans deserve our consideration, but we need to deal with real circumstances in order to find real solutions.
TONI COLE
9 months ago
I know first hand how much spiritual help can help our service members. My son was in Iraq for two months when he received a call from his wife informing him that she is in love with another man. My husband and son kept this information from me due to my medical condition but then my son called me from Iraq because he needed to talk to me, the Mom. I asked him if he was seeing the Chaplin and he said he had. My son also informed me that he was attending Mass every week and speaking to the Chaplin whenever he got to that very low point.

So I have to give my sincere gratitude to the Chaplin for helping my son deal with this horrifying situation while he was in a war zone. He may have kept my son from doing harm to himself, knowing that his marriage was over courtesy of his wife.

My son was married for ten years and has three children. And right now, his children are the world to him and I pray every day that he continues to seek counseling with the base Chaplin. He has tried to mend his marriage but his wife won't have any part of it.

I don't know if is me and how I was raised. But it seems now a days, people just don't take being married seriously. They think it's a joke, lets get married and if it doesn't work, then we can always get a divorce. Ever since my son was a young man, he always wanted to be in the military, get married and have lots of children and live happy forever, even through all the good and bad times. All that has changed for him.

My son comes from a good Catholic family, was raised to know right from wrong and to always be helpful to those less fortunate then he.

With God's help and the support of his entire family and friends, I believe we will get him through this whole ordeal.
Rob
9 months ago
You cannot keep sending these guys back to these horrible war zones tour after tour and not expect some kind of blowback. For all our talk about American exceptionalism, I find that most of it is just talk as we sit back and allow less than 2% of the population to fight these wars. I thank God for these men and women that do so of their free will. But at some point we need to start seeing all of this for what it is.
Ray Marshall
9 months ago
I would imagine that the research into the causes of these suicides will involve lots of autopsies and lots of review of psychological warnings that might have indicated that the victim was having problems.

I wonder if they are looking into the spirituality of the victims. Many people don't believe in a god these days. Nor om heaven or hell, either. Thus there are thought to be no personal consequences arising from committing suicide.

Another factor is the fact that in an all-volunteer military, the education, economic, social and demographic (most coming from small towns and rural areas) backgrounds of the servicemen are quite different than those from servicemen in the days of the draft.

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