US military suicides in charts: how they overtook combat deaths - Polidicks

[quote] exceeded the Pentagon's own internal projection of 325. US government began closely tracking suicides in 2001 through the Department of Defense Suicide Event Report (DoDSER). It exceeds the 311 Americans who died in war zones last year. [img]http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/2/1/1359733652634/US-Marine-Afghanistan-008.jpg[/img][/quote] [url]http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2013/feb/01/us-military-suicides-trend-charts[/url] The link contains the charts.

How many people will have to suicide before people realize that mental health is an actual issue in the US, especially considering veterans with PTSD?

[QUOTE=Murkrow;39527252]How many people will have to suicide before people realize that mental health is an actual issue...[/QUOTE] Or what's causing it.

It'd be funny if the soldiers would now be sent onto an extremely dangerous mission just to fix the statistics.

[QUOTE=Adbor;39527589]It'd be funny if the soldiers would now be sent onto an extremely dangerous mission just to fix the statistics.[/QUOTE] Actually, that would be horrifying. What the fuck is wrong with you?

The government and military should know that they are bad at recognising mental health issues when they do more damage to their soldiers than the enemy does. [IMG]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/70157616/SoldierSuicide%20Location.png[/IMG] I guess when they are at war, they don't have a lot of time to think of all the bad things, like a separate world. It seems to hit home when they are back in "reality".

[QUOTE=Ricool06;39527996]The government and military should know that they are bad at recognising mental health issues when they do more damage to their soldiers than the enemy does.[/QUOTE] Truth be told, a lot of people give no signs that they are about to kill themselves. They just joke around with you one day like normal, then the next day they shoot themselves in the head. It is really hard to detect it, and the armed services are doing their best to combat this problem.

[QUOTE=SKEEA;39528016]Truth be told, a lot of people give no signs that they are about to kill themselves. They just joke around with you one day like normal, then the next day they shoot themselves in the head. It is really hard to detect it, and the armed services are doing their best to combat this problem.[/QUOTE] I guess depression and the like can be asymptomatic in social situations. I can imagine soldiers would want, more than anyone, to appear strong.

[QUOTE=Ricool06;39527996] [IMG]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/70157616/SoldierSuicide%20Location.png[/IMG] I guess when they are at war, they don't have a lot of time to think of all the bad things, like a separate world. It seems to hit home when they are back in "reality".[/QUOTE] The thing is, that they usually happen when military personnel get home and find that their wife cheated on them, or took everything and left, or some other bad things happened while they were away, and it just hits them all at once. It really sucks, but it happens. War related stress is not really a big cause of suicide, it is stuff that is going on at the "homefront" that gets to them.

Even in Tech School we had 5 people threaten suicide, 2 of them were attempted. I'm not even sure if the barren location of the base made them feel that way, or the stress of passing the course with the knowledge of getting kicked out due to failing grades. They were a mix of Army, Air Force, and Navy guys within a 6 month span. All of which are currently undergoing therapy. One of them is my friend. He was quiet the last week before he attempted. He seems much better now, and the instructors are letting pick up were he left off in school, rather than sending him back to block 1.

[QUOTE=Ricool06;39528039]I guess depression and the like can be asymptomatic in social situations. I can imagine soldiers would want, more than anyone, to appear strong.[/QUOTE] That is one of the stigmas that we are trying to combat, the stigma behind asking for help. It is indeed a problem, and a lot of servicemembers think that it would negatively impact their career if they go and ask for help, which is not true. However, sometimes their mind is absolutely made up and they just off themselves randomly so no one will stop them. It is a very sad state of affairs.

The whole 'suicides overtaking combat deaths' is not a case of suicides going up as much as it is combat deaths taking a steep dive. Which is a good thing. Don't get me wrong, suicides is a [I]massive[/I] problem and clearly is on the rise, having increased with over 25% over five years, but them overtaking combat deaths is not the issue, it's just suicide that's the issue.

At least it's not Vietnam-war bad. 58,000+ Americans died in the Vietnam War. Over 150,000 Vietnam vets have committed suicide since the war ended.

[QUOTE=mac338;39528246]At least it's not Vietnam-war bad. 58,000+ Americans died in the Vietnam War. Over 150,000 Vietnam vets have committed suicide since the war ended.[/QUOTE] Actually, that's a long-running myth: [url]http://www.uswings.com/vietnamfacts.asp[/url] [url]http://www.ndqsa.com/suicide.html[/url]

Those year-long deployments take a toll

How about we quit fighting pointless, stupid wars? Kinda hard to get PTSD when you don't get subjected to mental and emotional trauma.

[QUOTE=SKEEA;39528054]The thing is, that they usually happen when military personnel get home and find that their wife cheated on them, or took everything and left, or some other bad things happened while they were away, and it just hits them all at once. It really sucks, but it happens. War related stress is not really a big cause of suicide, it is stuff that is going on at the "homefront" that gets to them.[/QUOTE] Yeah it's not like it has anything to do with people in combat being shot at or having traumatic war memories flash before them when they're triggered at home or losing body parts or being horribly disfigured after coming home it's the girlfriend that cheated on you. You're a fucking moron. [highlight](User was banned for this post ("Flaming" - Swebonny))[/highlight]

[QUOTE=SKEEA;39528054]The thing is, that they usually happen when military personnel get home and find that their wife cheated on them, or took everything and left, or some other bad things happened while they were away, and it just hits them all at once. It really sucks, but it happens. War related stress is not really a big cause of suicide, it is stuff that is going on at the "homefront" that gets to them.[/QUOTE] lmfao

[QUOTE=s3xt0y;39534864]Yeah it's not like it has anything to do with people in combat being shot at or having traumatic war memories flash before them when they're triggered at home or losing body parts or being horribly disfigured after coming home it's the girlfriend that cheated on you. You're a fucking moron.[/QUOTE] I would imagine those who come home to a stable, 'as they left it' family and environment, are better off and would bet it is shown in statistics. IIRC, he is military and would know a bit more about PTSD and the military environment more than the average person.

[QUOTE=SKEEA;39528016]Truth be told, a lot of people give no signs that they are about to kill themselves. They just joke around with you one day like normal, then the next day they shoot themselves in the head. It is really hard to detect it, and the armed services are doing their best to combat this problem.[/QUOTE] A big part of the problem is definitely the heavy stigma associated with being suicidal. Remember Amanda Todd and how her suicide basically got turned into a running joke that spread around on facepunch? We live in a society that treats suicidal people like garbage which definitely does nothing to solve the problem.

They are committing suicide because they know that they are the bad guys. They were the aggressors. Also, why the fuck do you have a facepunch account just to hand out ratings medicman

[QUOTE=s3xt0y;39534864]Yeah it's not like it has anything to do with people in combat being shot at or having traumatic war memories flash before them when they're triggered at home or losing body parts or being horribly disfigured after coming home it's the girlfriend that cheated on you. You're a fucking moron.[/QUOTE] I didn't say that it wasn't at all part of the problem, but I am being serious when I say that most military personnel that commit suicide do it because of domestic issues. For one, why does everyone assume that returning personnel always have PTSD? Second, early in the deployment, I was standing outside of the dining facility when I heard a gunshot very close by. After a moment of investigation, turns out it came from a porta-john a few meters away. Let's just say that I will probably never forget what I saw in there. After the investigation happened, turns out this Soldier had been feeling overwhelmed and depressed because his significant other was causing problems back home, and he was facing tremendous financial difficulty. I also had a good buddy that got stationed in Korea. He had never even deployed before, but spiraled down into depression because his family was facing incredible hardship and eventually were rendered homeless, even after everything that he tried to do to help them still have a roof over their head. He was on the brink, and does not trust chaplains or mental healthcare providers. Well I managed to talk him out of it and alert his chain of command, and he is still here with us today. Before you go assuming things, you should probably take a step back and consider what experiences that the person that made the statement has potentially gone through.

[QUOTE=Adbor;39527589]It'd be funny if the soldiers would now be sent onto an extremely dangerous mission just to fix the statistics.[/QUOTE] That would be fucking tragic mate, that would actually be a complete betrayal of the armed forces and it wouldn't be even slightly entertaining.

[QUOTE=s3xt0y;39534864]Yeah it's not like it has anything to do with people in combat being shot at or having traumatic war memories flash before them when they're triggered at home or losing body parts or being horribly disfigured after coming home it's the girlfriend that cheated on you. You're a fucking moron.[/QUOTE] Yep, you take your unsubstantiated guess work and treat it as better evidence than someone who is actually in the forces, and might know what he's talking about.

[QUOTE=s3xt0y;39534864]Yeah it's not like it has anything to do with people in combat being shot at or having traumatic war memories flash before them when they're triggered at home or losing body parts or being horribly disfigured after coming home it's the girlfriend that cheated on you. You're a fucking moron.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Ponder;39535244]lmfao[/QUOTE] You guys know Skeea is an actual soldier in the armed forces, right? I would say he would know more about the Military than you would.

At least death from combat is lower than the suicide rate. Really, it's amazing that only a few hundred people are dying in wars compared to the millions of the past.

It's funny, people complained that SKEEA wouldn't shut up about the military, and now that he does, people tell him he doesn't know what he's talking about. :v:

[QUOTE=Sobotnik;39537226]At least death from combat is lower than the suicide rate. Really, it's amazing that only a few hundred people are dying in wars compared to the millions of the past.[/QUOTE] To be fair we've became a lot more efficient at killing each other these days and we try and minimise casualties by taking out their power structure, and it's not like we're deploying in the millions any more like in the world wars.

[QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;39537244]It's funny, people complained that SKEEA wouldn't shut up about the military, and now that he does, people tell him he doesn't know what he's talking about. :v:[/QUOTE] Personally I think the people who complained about it were more annoying than SKEEA (who wasn't annoying at all for me)

[QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;39537244]It's funny, people complained that SKEEA wouldn't shut up about the military, and now that he does, people tell him he doesn't know what he's talking about. :v:[/QUOTE] Well he's also a brony so he kinda is terrible anyways.