[QUOTE]Just when you're thinking the Army may have turned the corner on its troops' killing themselves, a new number has surfaced that dashes those hopes. On Friday, the Army said it suffered a record 32 suspected suicides in July, the most since it began releasing monthly data two years ago.
The Army is waging war on suicide just as seriously as it has been fighting for nearly a decade in Afghanistan and Iraq. Commanders are immensely frustrated by their inability to drive down the rate, which is demoralizing and depressing to the troops, their families and the nation. President Obama has even gotten involved, deciding last month that he would send condolence letters to the families of those service personnel who killed themselves in combat zones.
Last month's total — averaging more than one suicide a day — included 22 active-duty troops and 10 reservists. It eclipsed the prior record of 31 that was set in June 2010. "While the high number of potential suicides in July is discouraging," said General Peter Chiarelli, vice chief of staff of the Army, "we are confident our efforts aimed at increasing individuals' resiliency, while reducing incidence of at-risk and high-risk behavior across the force, are having a positive impact."
Chiarelli, the service's top suicide fighter, recently discussed the challenge over breakfast with reporters. "The hardest part about this is breaking down the stigma. I'm not going to kid myself. As hard as I try, and I brief every brigade combat team going out, both in the National Guard and in the active component. I brief the leadership in an hour-long VTC [video-teleconference], and I explain to them what is traumatic brain injury, what is posttraumatic stress," he said of the key contributors to suicide. "As hard as I try and as much as sometimes from about 20% of the audience I get the drinking duck, and I see the head going up and down, but I know it's exactly that. It's the drinking duck. In their mind, they really don't believe these injuries are as serious as the injuries that they can see."
[/QUOTE]
Source: [url]http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2011/08/12/army-suicide-rate-hits-new-high/?hpt=hp_t2[/url]
:suicide:
Kinda sucks to hear about this when you plan on joining in 10 months...
[QUOTE=Glitch360;31748243]Kinda sucks to hear about this when you plan on joining in 10 months...[/QUOTE]Don't join the army.
Join the Air Force.
What do you expect though, these people witness and go though very traumatic events. There is a lot of stress that comes with going in to war - worry about death of your friends or yourself, being away from home so long, degrading relationships due to long distance, etc.
Then they come back which people expect them to be normal and act like nothing happened. So now they face this unreal expectation, some of these people don't know what to do or who to go to for help. Then you got the stigmas that come with being depressed, mentally ill or even PTSD. A lot of these people don't have access to resources to help them despite being in the military.
This war... it's just too much... can't resist... [img]http://sae.tweek.us/static/images/emoticons/emot-smithicide.gif[/img]
Ok now, on a more serious note, these numbers are nothing compared to the Russian army suicide rates... go ahead, look 'em up.
How depressing
[QUOTE=ExplodingGuy;31748379]Don't join the army.
Join the Air Force.[/QUOTE]I'm actually joining the Marines :v: I assume their suicide rate isn't better than the Army's
Pretty terrible, but all these wars aren't helping.
[QUOTE=ExplodingGuy;31748379]Don't join the army.
Join the Air Force.[/QUOTE]
chairforce, ever done chairforce push ups? just lay down, you're doing 'em.
This war has gone on for far too long. Disgusting. What a sad loss of valuable life.
The psychiatric care at military hospitals are top notch, if you can get a doc that is. The problem, however, is the ratio of patients to providers.
It's extremely hard to get an appointment at Walter Reed (it's shutting down soon, so that's a moot point) or Bethesda Naval. They are trying to network out as many patients as possible, and many times the network providers are unreliable and just bad.
[QUOTE=ExplodingGuy;31748379]Don't join the army.
Join the Air Force.[/QUOTE]
I've got a good bit of friends who served in the Chair Force.
[QUOTE=Glitch360;31748525]I'm actually joining the Marines :v: I assume their suicide rate isn't better than the Army's[/QUOTE]
Have fun getting the shit knocked out of you. But, in your defense the Marines have treated my family very well. My cousin is in China guarding a figure that is more important then Hillary Clinton.
And yet we continue to keep pushing in because we simply don't care about the lives of others in America.
the US military is to blame for many of these suicides
they're starting to do something about it now, but only because it has become such an issue. they can't sweep it under the rug anymore like they used to.
Bring the troops home, where they can defend America.
[QUOTE=JDK721;31748958]the US military is to blame for many of these suicides
they're starting to do something about it now, but only because it has become such an issue. they can't sweep it under the rug anymore like they used to.[/QUOTE]
To say the US military is to blame for many of the suicides is a bit harsh. The trauma soldiers experience is terrible but unavoidable, and is something nobody should have to experience. While there should be more venues for receiving necessary help and counseling within the military, sometimes it is just not possible.
this makes my job sound a whole lot more fun.
I wouldn't be surprised however. Some of the people I met have some fucked up pasts.
[QUOTE=HolyCrusade;31749145]To say the US military is to blame for many of the suicides is a bit harsh. The trauma soldiers experience is terrible but unavoidable, and is something nobody should have to experience. While there should be more venues for receiving necessary help and counseling within the military, sometimes it is just not possible.[/QUOTE]
they are to blame. many of the soldiers who committed suicide served MULTIPLE tours in iraq and or afghanistan. tours could range anywhere from 6-15 months at a time. there were warning signs with many of them, and the military failed to get them adequate help. instead they turned a blind eye and eventually the person's mental health issues spiraled out of control, and they ultimately committed suicide.
once again you're being an apologist for the US military
[QUOTE=JDK721;31749285]they are to blame. many of the soldiers who committed suicide served MULTIPLE tours in iraq and or afghanistan. tours could range anywhere from 6-15 months at a time. there were warning signs with many of them, and the military failed to get them adequate help. instead they turned a blind eye and eventually the person's mental health issues spiraled out of control, and they ultimately committed suicide.
once again you're being an apologist for the US military[/QUOTE]
A lot of people who join the military just don't know what they're getting into and aren't as prepared for it as they thought. Hell, some people barely get through basic training.
[QUOTE=HolyCrusade;31749145]To say the US military is to blame for many of the suicides is a bit harsh. The trauma soldiers experience is terrible but unavoidable, and is something nobody should have to experience. While there should be more venues for receiving necessary help and counseling within the military, sometimes it is just not possible.[/QUOTE]
There is. There's quite a few benefits for soldiers with PTSD and ever since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan kicked off, USO and many other organizations have been working to have soldiers be treated when they return after rotation. Not to mention that the discriminatory DADT and the homophobia of a number of soldiers here could be one of those factors that led to a few of the past suicides.
China's training death rate is worse than this
[QUOTE=garychencool;31749421]China's training death rate is worse than this[/QUOTE]
while that may be true, it still isn't good that we have suicides at all, especially in the armed forces.
Reminds me of the suicide from Full Metal Jacket for some reason.
You can't really stop people from committing suicide though, it's terrible.
[QUOTE=MeMassiveFag;31748564]chairforce, ever done chairforce push ups? just lay down, you're doing 'em.[/QUOTE]
I'd rather live on an air force base then waste away in 110F heat every day
[QUOTE=Meller Yeller;31749359]A lot of people who join the military just don't know what they're getting into and aren't as prepared for it as they thought. Hell, some people barely get through basic training.[/QUOTE]
you can't really prepare for seeing people blown into pieces, etc.
even if you're 100% mentally stable and have never had any mental health issues in your life, there's still quite a good chance you could develop PTSD or something else after being in a war zone for years
[editline]15th August 2011[/editline]
[QUOTE=The Pretender;31749542]You can't really stop people from committing suicide though, it's terrible.[/QUOTE]
this is a terrible mindset
you CAN treat mental illness and lower the suicide rate
There should be more money put into troop care and less into arms procurement. Germany in WW2 and the US in Vietnam are perfect examples that being better armed isn't going to win a war if your soldiers aren't committed or mentally and physically well.
[QUOTE=SwissArmyKnife;31750029]There should be more money put into troop care and less into arms procurement. Germany in WW2 and the US in Vietnam are perfect examples that being better armed isn't going to win a war if your soldiers aren't committed or mentally and physically well.[/QUOTE]
I would attribute Germany losing in WW II more to command than the soldiering. Their leadership did something really stupid - try to take on Russia.
As a pacifist I won't be joining any army any time soon.
Hi, Joker.
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