Memorial Day remember those lost to suicide and their families

Memorial Day remember those lost to suicide and their families
by Kathie Costos
Wounded Times
May 22, 2013

Memorial Day Weekend is a couple of days away. Most people are planning get-away trips for the official kick off of summer. Some of them are planning events to honor the fallen and remember the sacrifices made in the name of this country. Most of them are veterans and family members. Far too few average citizens care enough to remember the lives lost. For us, it is a matter of a loss we are all too familiar with.

My Dad was only 58 when he passed away. He was a Korean War veteran. My uncles passed away and they served in WWII. Not bad considering I am just second generation American. My husband served in Vietnam and so did his nephew. His nephew took his own life years ago. A loss I have never really gotten over because he is a constant reminder of the fact that we cannot get all of them to want to live more than they want to die. He is always on my mind when I write about suicides tied to military service. My husband's Dad and uncles all served in WWII. One of them was killed in action and another suffered shell shock, the term they used to use for PTSD. My husband is also second generation American.

For us, Memorial Day is a day to honor the lives lost. For me it is also a time to remind people of the lives lost to losing the battles after the risk to their lives should have ended.

We've lost over 8,000 since last Memorial Day to suicide. If you use the limited study done recently of 22 a day, multiply that by 365 it is 8,030 but then you would also have to add in the numbers from the military at 349 plus the Army National Guards and Reservists most reporters forget about.

When I was writing THE WARRIOR SAW, SUICIDES AFTER WAR I thought about the families I talked to and how much they grieve because they didn't just lose someone they loved, they blame themselves. The truth is, we are all to blame because we allowed "because I said so" to be acceptable to us. The military said they were doing something about it, so we said good then moved on. 900 suicide prevention programs with a rise in military suicides and billions spent every year to be followed by more of the same and we were ok without holding anyone accountable. This is where we ended up.

STATEMENT OF JACQUELINE GARRICK LCSW-C
ACTING DIRECTOR OF THE DEFENSE SUICIDE PREVENTION OFFICE

BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON MILITARY PERSONNEL OF THE HOUSE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE CONCERNING UPDATE ON MILITARY SUICIDE PREVENTION ON MARCH 6, 2013

According to the most recently published DoDSER Calendar Year 2011 Annual Report, the Department knows that the majority of military suicides were completed by enlisted Caucasian males, age 29 and below, with a high school education. In some cases, legal or financial issues were present and many had experienced a failed intimate relationship. Service members primarily used firearms to complete a suicide and died at home. The majority of Service members did not communicate their intent for self-harm nor did they have a known history of behavioral health problems. Less than half of those who died by suicide had deployed, and a small number were involved with direct combat.

Service members involved in non-fatal suicide attempts were most often high-school educated, junior enlisted Caucasian males under the age of 25. Slightly more than half had a failed intimate relationship. The majority used drugs in their suicide attempt, which most frequently occurred in their own residence. The majority did not communicate their intent for self-harm, but, in contrast to those who died by suicide, most had at least one documented behavioral health disorder. Less than half of those who attempted suicide had a history of deployment, and a small number had experienced direct combat.

The 2010 Task Force noted that there were nearly 900 suicide prevention activities across the Department and found that while the Department had attempted to evaluate its programs, there were inconsistencies, redundancies, and gaps in its approach. Recognizing that there are challenges with measuring prevention since outcomes of the counterfactual—that which did not happen—are difficult to capture and connecting programs to reduced mortality or morbidity are not easy conclusions to draw, DSPO responded by developing a comprehensive capacity analysis of suicide prevention programs and resources through an automated resource management tool that tracks requirements and funding across the Future Year Defense Plan.

I was searching for the Department of Defense Suicide Event Report for 2012, since it has been delayed. It has all the data broken down by branch, means, age, all the information needed to have a better understanding of what is happening but also has the number of attempted suicides.

This Memorial Day, for those of us planning on honoring the fallen, please hold the families of veterans and service members lost to suicide.