Military Suicides Increased In Hawaii Despite Mandatory Training

Hawaii sees rise in military suicides 
KITV News
By Paul Drewes
Jul 15, 2015

Those numbers don't take into account veterans, reservists, or members of the National Guard, which means the military suicide rate is even higher.

HONOLULU —An average of 180 people kill themselves in the islands each year. That comes out to nearly one every other day.

A suicide on an Oahu hiking trail over the weekend brings to light that tragic statistic and also the high number of military suicides happening in Hawaii.

Along with drills to prepare for dangerous missions in war zones around the world, Hawaii's Army soldiers go through training to help spot another potential killer.

"All soldiers are required to go through an hour and a half of annual training gearing up for suicide prevention," said Brent Oto, who heads the Army's suicide prevention program.

"When it comes to something like suicide it can affect anyone at any time. Whether you're a soldier or a civilian...anyone," Oto said.

The latest military suicide happened over on Kuliouou Trail. The medical examiner determined the 35-year-old Mililani man shot himself in the head. He was confirmed to be a U.S. Army soldier.
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Four Marines Killed in Chattanooga Attack

Shooter identified

A U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity identified the gunman as 24-year-old Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez of Hixton, Tennessee, and said he was believed to have been born in Kuwait, though it was unclear whether he was a U.S. or Kuwaiti citizen.

LIVE UPDATES: Four soldiers killed in Chattanooga attacks
Two military centers attacked by unknown gunmen
Times Free Press
by Staff Report
July 16th, 2015

Reports: Four Marines killed in Chattanooga attacks 
Clarion Ledger
Therese Apel
1:30 p.m. CDT July 16, 2015
UPDATE 1:15 p.m.

Chattanooga Times Free Press is reporting four Marines killed in the Chattanooga attacks.

UPDATE 12:59 p.m.

NBC has confirmed the shooter is dead, according to WBIR in Chattanooga. Press conference should start shortly.

Lockdown has been lifted at Erlanger Hospital.

UPDATE 12:52 p.m.

WBIR's Josh Rhoden spoke with a woman who was on her way into a hair salon next to one of the shooting sites and saw the gunman. She said the man got out of his car and started firing shots at the recruiting office.

The injured police officer is undergoing surgery now.

The police officer was shot at the U.S. Marine Reserve Center near the Tennessee River Park. There has also been a shooting on Lee Highway, which is the Armed Forces Career Center, according to WRCB-3 in Chattanooga. It appears the incidents may have started there, they said. Another person has been shot in the leg, and at least two more may be injured, reports say.

The FBI and the ATF are on the scene at Amnicola Highway, as well as a bomb squad, according to radio traffic.
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Army and National Guard Suicides Increased First Quarter 2015

The hidden number in all of this is the number of servicemembers decreased at the same time the number of suicides went up.

With a peak force of 570,000 troops following the 9/11 attacks, the resulting 450,000 troops will represent a drop of 120,000 troops since 2012 or 21 percent of the force.
Army announces force reduction of 40,000 troops, CNN

This has been missing from all the reports on suicides within the military. No one is talking about the very simple fact that with the increase in the number of suicides there were less serving. You'd think that would have been a very important fact to report however, no one brings that up. Why is that missing?

Then again, there is also another part missing from all the reporting on these tragic outcomes after these men and women stepped up saying they'd risk their lives for us. We spent years and billions to save them.

Missing are billions of dollars spent on "prevention" and raising "awareness" with programs that never worked. Proof of that simple fact is that the number of suicides for 2012 were historically high yet that was also a year after the war in Iraq ended and military force size began to be cut. All branches have felt the impact and all branches saw the number of suicides rise after the number of repeated failures were increased.

While active/reserve suicides increased, the number of veteran suicides also increased. The fact remains that far too many have made money for claiming to know how to reduce suicides.

Anyone ask for their money back?

Department of Defense Releases First Quarter 2015 Suicide Information
Release No: NR-270-15
July 10, 2015

Today, the Department of Defense released the Quarterly Suicide Report (QSR) for the first quarter of calendar year 2015.

The report summarizes confirmed suicide counts for all services and components during the months of January there were 57 suicides among service members in the active component, 15 suicides among service members in the reserve component and 27 suicides among service members in the National Guard.

A closer review of the data for Q1 2014 and Q1 2015 reveals that while there were decreases in the number of suicides in the Marine Corps, the Navy, and the Air Force, there was an increase in the number of suicides in the Army.

Army Gave Pink Slip Soldiers Last Year, Offers Sabbaticals This Year?

This makes absolutely no sense at all when you consider what went on last year!

The notifications, part of an effort to rapidly shrink the size of the ground forces, have drawn heavy criticism from lawmakers. In June, more than 1,100 Army captains were notified that their military careers would soon end. It was later revealed that 48 were serving in Afghanistan when they were informed that they were getting the ax.

“The men and women deployed overseas have left their homes and families to fight for our country,” Rep. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said in a written statement in July. “It’s deplorable the Obama administration would treat them this way.”

More separation notifications went out to 550 Army majors last month, and early retirement boards for lieutenant colonels and colonels are scheduled next year.

Army Offers 3-Year Career Sabbaticals to Keep Top Soldiers
Military.com
Matthew Cox
June 12, 2015

The U.S. Army is now allowing a small numbers of soldiers, both officer and enlisted, to take up to a three-year sabbatical from service to pursue educational or other personal challenges to avoid losing top soldiers to the civilian world.

The Career Intermission Pilot Program began as a U.S. Navy effort that Congress authorized as part of the Fiscal 2009 National Defense Authorization Act.

It's open to all Regular Army and the United States Army Reserve Active Guard/Reserve personnel and allows 20 officers -- commissioned or warrants -- and 20 enlisted soldiers per calendar year to transition to Inactive Ready Reserve status for up to three years.

"We are not opening this to just anyone; this is a retention program," said Albert Eggerton, deputy chief of the Officer Division for Army G-1.

"What we are looking for in this program this is to incentivize people who are able, well qualified, show potential for increased responsibility. ... We are trying to get those folks -- who also have challenges in personal life and professional development that can't be met by the Army -- to take a step back, go and achieve these things and come back to us."

For Staff Sgt. Jessica Cotton, the CIPP was an opportunity to go to law school and secure her Army career.
read more here

Senators Not Giving Up FIght For Air Force Reservists Agent Orange Battle

VA Nomination On Hold in Senate Over Agent Orange Dispute 
Associated Press
by Hope Yen
Jun 11, 2015

"These veterans have waited too long to receive the health care and disability benefits they deserve," Brown told The Associated Press. "Dr. Shulkin is extremely qualified, but we can't move forward to confirm an undersecretary for health at the VA until this pressing veterans' health issue is addressed."

WASHINGTON — Three Democratic senators are holding up a confirmation vote on President Barack Obama's nominee for Veterans Affairs' top health post, citing the department's delay in extending disability benefits to Air Force reservists possibly exposed to Agent Orange.

Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Oregon's two senators, Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, said Thursday they will block a vote on Dr. David Shulkin's nomination in the full Senate until the Department of Veterans Affairs provides a fuller update on its efforts to help roughly 1,500 to 2,100 reservists who served from 1972 to 1982 at military bases in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.

The senators had requested such feedback in a letter to the VA in April, with no adequate response to date, they said.
read more here

Judge Shows Displeasure With Prosecutor After Veteran Charged Instead of Helped

UPDATE
Army veteran given probation for communicating threats against Fayetteville VA Hospital

Army vet who made threatening call will learn his fate Thursday
News Observer
BY MANDY LOCKE AND MARTHA QUILLIN
June 3, 2014

RALEIGH
Ryan Broderick, an Army war veteran, on Thursday will seek mercy from a federal judge who has the power to set him free.

Broderick, 31 of Fayetteville, has been in jail since January after making a threatening call to the VA for help managing his persistent Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Sleep-deprived and frustrated with the lack of care the VA had offered, Broderick threatened to shoot doctors and nurses at the VA medical center in Fayetteville if he didn’t get help.

“I was just trying to get help,” Broderick said in an interview last month. “I had no intentions of hurting anyone.”

Broderick was prepared to take his case to a jury this week. Instead, the U.S. Attorney’s office invited him to plead guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge. The deal spared Broderick the uncertainty of a possible felony conviction that would have jeopardized his service in the Army Reserves and marred his military record.
read more here

Military Suicides Up Again for 2014

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Release No: NR-106-15
March 31, 2015

Department of Defense Releases Fourth Quarter 2014 Suicide Information

Today, the Department of Defense released the Quarterly Suicide Report (QSR) for the fourth quarter of calendar year 2014.

The report summarizes confirmed suicide counts for all services and components during the months of October through December of 2014, and also includes total suicide counts for 2014, 2013 and 2012.

In the fourth quarter of 2014, there were 69 suicides among service members in the active component, 21 suicides among service members in the reserves, and 18 suicides among service members in the National Guard.

In calendar year 2014, there were 268 confirmed suicides in the active component, up slightly from 254 in 2013; 79 in the reserve, down from 86 in 2013; and 87 in the National Guard, down from 134.

The QSR is available here. Additional information is available on the Defense Suicide Prevention Office website at www.suicideoutreach.org.

Service members and their families who need support can reach out to the Military Crisis Line, which offers free and confidential support for those in crisis. The Military Crisis Line is staffed by caring, qualified responders from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, many who have served in the military themselves. Support is available through the crisis line phone number, online chat, and text-messaging services for all service members (active, National Guard and reserves) and veterans 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year by visiting the Military Crisis Line website 

Florida Veterans Hall of Fame Names 5 New Veterans

Five Inducted into 2014 Class of the Florida Veterans’ Hall of Fame
MARCH 24, 2015

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet today inducted five individuals into the Florida Veterans’ Hall of Fame. The unanimous vote for the Class of 2014 came during the March 24 Cabinet Meeting at the Capitol.

Inductees are:

1. Rear Adm. LeRoy Collins Jr., U.S. Navy Reserve (deceased)
2. Maj. Gen. James L. Dozier, U.S. Army (retired)
3. Col. Frank Farmer, U.S. Army, Florida Army National Guard, U.S. Air Force Reserve (retired)
4. Chief Master Sgt. Eugene Cecil Johnson, U.S. Air Force (retired)
5. Lt. Gen. Lawrence F. Snowden, U.S. Marine Corps (retired)

The Florida Veterans’ Hall of Fame recognizes and honors those military veterans who, through their works and lives during or after military service, have made a significant contribution to the state of Florida through civic, business, public service or other pursuits. It is not a traditional military hall of fame, as it focuses on post-military contributions to the State of Florida.

A link to the Hall of Fame updated site will be added at a later date.

When Will There Be Justice For Matthew Ladd?

How many years will Matthew Ladd wait for justice? Matthew Ladd left a message on Facebook to update what has been happening to him since a jury tried to provide him with the justice he should have received years ago.

West Palm claims ex-cop lied in court about PTSD
Palm Beach Post
March 11, 2015

WEST PALM BEACH — In what labor lawyer Sid Garcia calls the most vicious act he’s ever seen by an employer, the city of West Palm Beach is suing a former city police officer, claiming the Iraqi vet lied to convince a jury to award him $880,000 in a discrimination case.

The complex, multi-pronged litigation involves Matthew Ladd, who was fired by West Palm Beach in 2010 while he was still on probation. His termination came days after a psychiatrist hired by the city rejected police claims that Ladd, who served two years in Iraq and Afghanistan, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Dr. Norman Silversmith found that Ladd was fit to return to duty.
read more here

Matthew Ladd won lawsuit for PTSD still waiting for justice
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
January 6, 2014

Matthew Ladd has still not received a dime of the money the jury awarded him in August. He has not been given his job back and has not been able to find another one working as a police officer. Why? For heaven's sake this man risked his life in combat then was ready to continue risking his life in West Palm Beach. What he was not willing to do was give up. He still isn't even though he lost everything he owned.

Can you imagine what it has been like for him? I only know because he contacted me to update me on what is going on and with his permission I have posted this update because no matter what he's been thru, he isn't ready to give up on justice.

He still believes there is right and wrong in this world. That belief compelled him to enter into military service and what has compelled him to want to do whatever it takes to protect citizens. He still believes that he can be of service no matter how many have betrayed him in the past. Why? Because he has seen the worst people can do to each other along with the magnificence of what they can do for each other. His life has always been about doing for so he doesn't want revenge, he wants what the court said was justice for what was done to him.

If you want to contact Matthew, here is his email address matthewladd85@gmail.com. He needs our prayers and he needs support but right now he needs to be able to get past this darkness hanging over his head so that he can do what he was created to do, serve others.

Some want to think that PTSD is some kind of thing to be ashamed of but they ignore the fact that many police officers are also veterans and many have PTSD. That police work is dangerous enough to cause PTSD even without military service. They want to ignore that the vast majority of these men and women have earned awards for their service but then again, they seem all too willing to ignore the fact that many of the Medal of Honor Heroes have not only been heroes, they did with with PTSD.
read more here

On January 16, 2014 Judge refused to give Matthew Ladd back his job

You may remember Matthew Ladd providing an update to what has been happening after he won the lawsuit for being fired. Ten days later he sent me this from the Palm Beach Post. the judge refused to force the police to give him back his job and he still doesn't have the money the jury awarded him. None of this is fair. He served his country in the military and then began to pay the price with grace but what makes him even more remarkable is the fact he still wants to serve the people as a police officer.

Is this how Florida treats Police Officers after service in combat?
The story of Matthew Ladd didn't start when he was fired from the West Palm Beach Police Department. It started the day he joined the Army Reserves. We just didn't know what was happening to him until New Year's Eve 2011.
Ex-West Palm cop fights firing over PTSD allegations

Air Force Reserve Captain Found Dead in Tampa

Air Force Reserve captain whose family believe she was sexually assaulted in Afghanistan 'killed herself with her handgun' 
Air Force Reserve Capt. Jamie Brunette was found dead on February 9 by Tampa police in the back of her locked car near her apartment in Florida
Police say it appears she killed herself with her handgun
Sister believes something traumatic happened to her in Afghanistan
Her family do not have any evidence of a sexual assault
Daily Mail
By JILL REILLY FOR MAILONLINE
22 February 2015

Air Force Reserve Capt. Jamie Brunette was found dead on February 9 by Tampa police in the back of her locked Chrysler 200 sedan near her apartment

An Air Force Reserve captain whose family believe she was sexually assaulted in Afghanistan killed herself using her handgun. Jamie Brunette, from Tampa, Florida, was found dead on February 9 by Tampa police in the back of her locked sedan near her apartment. It appears the 30-year-old killed herself with her Smith and Wesson .380 handgun, which she purchased about six months earlier according to police, reports the Tampa Tribune. read more here

Detroit Army Ranger Killed in Ambush

Highland Park Reserve Officer shot and killed in Detroit
5 people in custody related to shooting
Click On Detroit News
Author: Alison Darany, Assignment Editor
Published On: Feb 07 2015

DETROIT
Five people were in custody Saturday morning after Roderick Jones, a Highland Park Reserve Officer and Army Ranger veteran, was shot and killed overnight in Detroit.

Sources said Jones, 33, was gunned down as he was walking into the parking lot at the Opyum Lounge Nightclub at 8 Mile and Telegraph. He was taken to the hospital, where he died.

Police said Jones went outside to secure the parking lot for club goers and employees when he was ambushed and shot three times in the chest.
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Military Suicides Up Again, Enlisted Down

42 minutes ago
Military suicides up slightly in 2014 
The Associated Press
By LOLITA C. BALDOR

WASHINGTON — Suicides among members of the active-duty military personnel rose slightly in 2014, led by increases in the number of sailors and airmen who took their own lives, new Defense Department figures show. There were fewer suicides by Army soldiers and Marines, the two services that have seen the most combat in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last decade.

According to preliminary Pentagon data, there were 288 confirmed and suspected suicides by active-duty personnel in 2014, compared with 286 in 2013. Both totals, however, represent a sharp drop from the 2012 number of 352. The data was obtained by The Associated Press. Over time the numbers may change, particularly if deaths that were initially believed to be suicides are found to be otherwise. The number of suicides by members of the active-duty National Guard and Reserve decreased a bit last year, after going up slightly in 2013. Those totals are included in the overall 2014 numbers.

According to the data, the number of Navy suicides increased from 43 in 2013 to 58 in 2014; Air Force suicides increased from 52 to 60. Marine suicides declined from 45 in 2013 to 35 in 2014, and Army suicides decreased from 146 in 1013 to 135 in 2014.

According to the latest numbers available, the military suicide rate is sharply higher than the civilian rate. The civilian rate for 2012 was almost 13 suicides per 100,000 people.

The military suicide rate for 2012 was 21.8 per 100,000. Military suicides hit a record high in 2012, at 352, but had begun a somewhat steady rise in 2006. read more here

Air Force Reservists "were exposed" to Agent Orange

Agent Orange-Contaminated Planes Could Have Sickened Vets After The War: Federal Report
Huffington Post
Lynne Peeples
Posted: 01/09/2015

Retired Maj. Wes Carter, who served aboard C-123s after Vietnam, has been leading the effort on behalf of this group of post-war veterans for the past few years. He said there were "hugs all around" with the release of the findings on Friday.

"This is a big deal," he said. "This is a giant step closer to justice."

U.S. Air Force Reserve Fairchild C-123K Provider crew members stand in front of their aircraft during opening ceremonies for exercise "Volant Rodeo '79" at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina, on June 3, 1979.
(Sgt. Rozalyn Dorsey, USAF) | Sgt. Rozalyn Dorsey, USAF

Lingering amounts of the herbicide Agent Orange aboard repurposed airplanes after the Vietnam War could have sickened military veterans, according to a new federal report.

In findings released Friday, an Institute of Medicine committee "emphatically" refutes a recurrent argument made by the U.S. Air Force and Department of Veteran Affairs that any carcinogenic dioxin or other components of Agent Orange contaminating its fleet of C-123 cargo planes would have been "dried residues" and therefore unlikely to pose any meaningful exposure risks to the 1,500 to 2,100 Air Force Reserve personnel who served aboard the planes between 1972 and 1982.

That contention has been the basis for the VA's denial of benefits to sick veterans, and remains reflected on the agency's website today. But in the new report, the committee states "with confidence" that these dried residues in fact could have posed dangers: the Air Force Reservists "were exposed," write the Institute of Medicine authors.

"That website should be taken down immediately," said Jeanne Stellman, an Agent Orange expert at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, who was not involved in the new report.

"I can't imagine a harder slap in the face to the VA than what this committee delivered," she added.

"This is justice, delayed. The VA Secretary will have to change the policy now. The veterans have won."
read more here

Police officer-in-training arrested

Waters served 3 tours and has PTSD. The woman he is in a relationship with went to court to try to get the charges dropped. The video on this article has a lot more information than the print report.

Police officer-in-training arrested for strangling woman
WCTI 12 News
Kyle Horan
Jan 02 2015
JACKSONVILLE, ONSLOW COUNTY -

NewsChannel12 talked with the victim in this case on Friday. She says she's not seriously injured and that Waters suffers from PTSD. Warrants state Waters does own a PTSD dog. The victim indicated she wanted the charges dropped. There's no word yet if that has happened.

A police officer-in-training, who is also a Marine Reservist, is arrested for allegedly strangling a woman in Jacksonville.

According to warrants, Cody Lloyd Waters, 26, is accused of strangling a woman with both of his hands, hitting the woman in her head and face, and then pushing her to the ground. It happened at an apartment on Western Boulevard in Jacksonville.

Waters is a Lance Corporal in Marine Corps Reserves and was training to be a police officer for Kinston Public Safety. According to Kinston Public Safety Director Bill Johnson, Waters had worked for the police department just one day before being arrested for felony assault.
read more here

Fort Bragg Reservist Gives Christmas Miracle to Vietnam Veteran

Facebook plea brings strangers to aid of Vietnam veteran near Fort Bragg
Fay Observer
By Amanda Dolasinski Staff writer
December 23, 2014

Staff photos by Abbi O'Leary

More than 50 soldiers and other volunteers turned out Sunday to help clear land and build a home for Vietnam War veteran Donald Lee, who had been living in an old camper without heat. 

CAMERON - Vietnam War veteran Donald Lee wobbled around with a cane as the sound of axes chopping wood and chain saws taking down trees echoed throughout his 5-acre property.

He occasionally stopped to pet one of his many rescue dogs or to hug one of the soldiers who arrived to join the others already at work.

"This is a Christmas miracle," he said, taking it all in. "In 40 some years, one thing about the military that hasn't changed, brothers and sisters take care of each other."

By 10 a.m. Sunday, more than 50 volunteers - mostly soldiers and strangers who had never met Lee - were sprawled across his property clearing trees and debris to build him a new home.

Lee left the Army in 1975. But the experiences he endured stuck with him and drove him to alcohol.

He shut the world out and found tranquility alone in the camper on his property.

He started to clean up his life in 1999 and has been sober since, he said.

He continued to struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder until friend Amanda Pavone came into his life.

"She kicked me in the butt till I was ready to live again," he said. "I needed it."

Lee met Pavone, a soldier with a Reserve unit, a few months ago through a group that pairs soldiers dealing with PTSD. At first, Pavone was running to get groceries and dog food for Lee and his 12 rescue dogs.

She soon realized that he was living in a small camper off Page Store Road in Cameron that had no running water, heat or even a front door.
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Troop suicide rates declined and so did the number of enlisted

Troop suicide rates decline in second quarter 
Fort Campbell Courier
by Amaani Lyle, Defense Media Activity
December 18, 2014

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Defense Department released the quarterly suicide report for April through June of 2014, and the numbers, officials said, indicate a drop from first-quarter statistics for all services and components.

The second-quarter report showed 70 suicides among active duty service members, 14 suicides among Reserve component service members and 20 suicides among National Guardsmen.

In an off-camera briefing, Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren reported comparison first quarter statistics of 74 active duty members, 24 Reservists and 22 National Guardsmen.
read more here

Have you ever noticed they don't seem too willing to mention the fact there are also less serving when they talk about the number of suicides?

Well in this case, they actually did.

"Garrick noted that DOD and VA recognize the need to help transitioning service members, as some 250,000 separate or medically retire from the military each year."

This is why we are not impressed by suicides going down by a few all too slowly.

Military Suicide: Son and Mom Used Same Gun 4 Years Apart

A mother struggles to move on from veteran's suicide
St. Cloud Times
Kirsti Marohn
November 16, 2014

Gavic was a decorated canine handler in the Air Force.
He killed himself in 2009.

Rory Gavic and Allan. (Photo: Connecticut Police Work Dog Association)

Debbie Larsen walks past the graves of her sister Linda Sawatzke and nephew Rory Gavic at the St. Francis Catholic Cemetery near Buffalo on Nov. 7.

His mother, Linda Sawatzke, killed herself almost exactly four years later with the same handgun.

(Photo: Dave Schwarz St. Cloud Times)

Rory Gavic was a young, decorated military member who served his country overseas twice, who had earned praise and the respect of his peers, who had volunteered as a Big Brother.

His suicide in 2009 devastated his family, especially his mother. His death was the beginning of hers.

Rory had joined the U.S. Air Force Reserve after graduating from Eagan High School in 2002. A few years later, he enlisted as active duty in the Air Force and rose to the rank of staff sergeant.

As a military canine handler, Rory served in Iraq in 2007 and Pakistan in 2009. He earned more than a dozen commendations, including Airman of the Year in 2008.

Rory earned a reputation as a skilled dog handler and a committed soldier who was well liked by his fellow troops. He loved animals, especially his military working dog, Allan. In photos, he's seen crouched down next to the burly tan and black German shepherd. Rory is lean and muscular, dark eyes gazing straight ahead.

But the deployments changed Rory. He struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Left behind were two brothers and a stepsister, his stepfather and his heartbroken mother. The program for the memorial service included a quote from Linda.

"Rory, I love you more with every beat of my heart. I miss you so much my son and you have only been gone for a short while. My life and my heart have a missing piece that will not fill until I see you again."
read more here

Senator Charles Schumer pushing military suicide bill he doesn't understand

When will members of Congress stop writing Bills to prevent suicides tied to military service until they actually understand the issue? It is like writing a bill for clean water ignoring what is causing the problem while blaming the water itself.

Military suicides are not new. Just because the press has finally paid some attention to the wound generations of others fought doesn't mean this all just happened.

The worst part of all of this is the simple fact, it has gotten worse with Congress doing more!

Most of what is in this Bill has all been done before and it didn't work.

Schumer pushes to reduce military suicides
Oneida Dispatch
November 11, 2014

Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan, from left to right, Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, and Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy take part in a news conference Monday at the Sheehy Palmer American Legion Post in Albany. New York’s senior senator was in town to push approval of a bill that would help stem the military suicide rate. Photo provided

ALBANY U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., is pushing a bill that would help stem the growing military suicide rate by expanding mental health screening for service members.

At a news conference Monday at the Sheehy Palmer VFW Post, Schumer said the military provides the most-effective mental health screening only for those preparing for or returning from deployment, despite research that shows suicides occur just as often among those who have never deployed.

The senator is pushing a bill, called the Jacob Sexton Military Suicide Prevention Act, that would set uniform standard across all military services, for the active, Guard and Reserve components, to ensure that every service member receives a quality mental health assessment every year regardless of deployment status. The legislation is included in the National Defense Authorization Act, which will be considered by Congress before year’s end.
read more here

New York Lost 2,000 Servicemembers to Suicide Last Ten Years

Schumer: NY needs to fill gaps in screening military for suicide risk
CNY Centeral
by Laura Hand
Posted: 1 hr, 40 mins ago

For New York military alone, 1,500 members of the military have committed suicide in the last ten years, with 500 more guard and reserves.

SYRACUSE -- On Monday, you may have seen something you don’t normally see, a military vehicle on the streets of Syracuse.

This particular vehicle belongs to the Marine reserve unit in Syracuse, and the Marines were at Syracuse City Hall Monday morning to raise the Corps flag, as they celebrate the Marine's 239th birthday.

It’s an annual event at City Hall, but Monday the Marines were joined by Senator Chuck Schumer, who was in town talking about a growing concern for our military and veterans.

“The suicide rate among veterans and the military is going up,” he says.
read more here

VA Canceled Appointment for Mental Illness Awareness Week?

Update to the original story

Local veteran finds 'twisted humor' in VA's ironic decision -- but she's not laughing
Counseling session a victim of 'Mental Health Week'
By Kevin Leininger of The News-Sentinel
November 4, 2014

Leslie Haines figures it could have been worse.

"I'm just glad it wasn't "suicide prevention day," she said, remembering how her Oct. 9 counseling session for post-traumatic stress disorder had been canceled -- without warning, she says -- so 47 staff members at Fort Wayne's VA Medical Center could attend a Mental Health Awareness week training session.

But if the Army Reserve major and executive director of Lutheran Military Veterans and Families Ministry was able to appreciate the irony in her aggravation -- and she was -- Haines also believes the incident illustrates a potential danger for people already struggling with serious issues that may have been exacerbated by the very bureaucracy that is supposed to be helping them.

"I can generally find twisted humor in things," said Haines, who served as a military police officer at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and injured while serving in Iraq -- duty that also produced emotional scars she is reluctant to discuss but remain years later. "With PTSD you're already dealing with trust issues, and is somebody breaks that trust, it only erodes further. I'm glad (Lutheran Military Veterans) is a not-for-profit organization where we don't look at the clock, with no bureaucratic issues to deal with."
read more here

Veteran's canceled appointment drips with irony
Army Times
By Patricia Kime
Staff writer
October 27, 2014

In October, Army Reserve Maj. Leslie Haines walked into the Fort Wayne campus of the Northern Indiana VA Health Care System for her regularly scheduled appointment at the PTSD clinic.

The session had been on the books for months; Haines says she attends appointments like clockwork to treat her “high-level PTSD, that’s often exacerbated” by her civilian job — counseling troops and veterans.

But on Oct. 9, the clinic receptionist told Haines her appointment that day had been canceled.

The reason?

Mental Illness Awareness Week.

The staff, it seems, was attending a guest lecture on resiliency from an inspirational speaker.

“Do they see the irony in that?” Haines said. “I was thinking, I’m glad it wasn’t National Suicide Prevention Day.”
read more here