U.S. Army Teams with Mental Health Experts to Address Rising Suicide Rates
The U.S. Army said the number of soldiers who completed suicide last year has increased for a fourth straight year. Officials said that in spite of an increase in funding for programs to help soldiers, they are having a hard time fighting the stigma attached to seeking professional help.
At least 128 soldiers completed suicide in 2008, an increase from 2007 when a total of 115 suicides were recorded among active duty soldiers and those in the Army Reserve and National Guard. This marks the first time since the Vietnam War that the rate of suicide in the Army, (about 20 deaths per 100,000 soldiers), has surpassed the civilian suicide rate.
"Why do the numbers keep going up? We cannot tell you, but we can tell you that across the Army, we're committed to doing everything we can to address the problem," promised Secretary of the Army Pete Geren. The triggers for suicide among soldiers have tended to be marital or other relationship issues, as well as financial or legal problems, but officials acknowledged that the high rates also were a sign of an army under stress.
"Certainly the army at large having been the primary force in the global war on terrorism since 2001 is under a lot of stress," said Brigadier General Rhonda Cornum, assistant surgeon general of the army. "The things that are stressors in the army are things that are stressors anywhere - new children, marriages, divorces, deaths, moving," she said. She added, however, that the high pace of operations and deployments and other personnel movements meant there was "the perception and the reality sometimes that there just isn't time" to deal with these problems.
Cornum said the army has added more mental health providers, suicide prevention training programs at all levels of the army, and "resilience training" for newly inducted soldiers. She added that suicide prevention programs had trained soldiers to recognize when another soldier was in crisis, but had not been effective in showing them what to do about it.
"There is no one in the world that has the solution to preventing suicides. There is no empirical evidence that shows that any of these things work," said Colonel Carl Castro, a director of military medicine operations. "It's going to really require a cultural change in which our focus is on mental strength and fitness," he said.
Geren and other Army officials announced a handful of prevention programs that will be introduced. One such initiative will be a day-long "stand-down" in which all active duty soldiers will receive suicide prevention education, with an emphasis on escorting someone in trouble to seek help.
The Army is also entering into a five-year, $50 million partnership with the National Institute of Mental Health in an effort to better understand what causes soldiers to complete suicide.
Timothy Schulz has served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and knew two fellow soldiers who took their lives. He said the strain is particularly difficult on younger recruits. He said one soldier he worked with shot himself soon after his unit arrived in Afghanistan.
The Army found that 35 percent of suicides came after soldiers returned home from deployment, while another 35 percent occurred among soldiers with no history of deployment. 30 percent occurred while soldiers were in the field.
One of the key issues the Army has been trying to address is the feeling among many soldiers that seeking psychological help is a sign of weakness and could be harmful to their careers. General John Hawkins, deputy chief of staff for personnel, said the Army is committed to overcoming the stigma attached to seeking professional help.
The Columbiana County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board participates on the Columbiana County Suicide Prevention Coalition whose goal is to increase awareness and provide information and education to reduce stigma. For more information, call the MHRS Board at 330-424-0195.