Sadness in success of Veterans suicide prevention hotline

First read this.

Suicide Hotline Fights To Keep Vets And Troops Alive
by QUIL LAWRENCE
December 28, 2012
At a suicide prevention center in upstate New York, America's troops and veterans are calling in for help.

And that help is needed more than ever. This past year witnessed a terrible death toll from suicide. For the first time in a decade of war, more active-duty troops have taken their own lives this year than have died fighting in Afghanistan.

According to The Military Suicide Report, a blog that follows news on military suicides, 321 active-duty troops killed themselves this year. The U.S. death toll in Afghanistan this year currently stands at 309.

The suicide hotline is just one way to help them. read more here

Now read this.

Mullane says the Veterans Crisis Line has done 30,000 successful interventions across the country since 2007. But they can't save everyone. Sometimes veterans call only to say goodbye or to let the authorities know where to find their bodies, so their family won't have to.

Those are the parts we need to pay attention to. For all the "charities" out there claiming to be taking care of these veterans, all the "mental health professionals" claiming they are helping them, all the money the congress has spent and the DOD spent along with the VA on "programs" that claim to be working, the suicide prevention hotline still had to save 30,000 veterans and they are still committing suicide along with active duty servicemen and women. That has to be the saddest part of all.

Have reporters lost their ability to ask questions? Why isn't anyone being held accountable for any of this?

Yesterday I received an email from a Mom telling me about her son. God must have been watching over him. He's an Iraq veteran and left a suicide note. I cannot go into details but by the time we talked on the phone everything worked the way it was supposed to and he is getting the help he has needed all along. It could have ended much differently and today his Mom could have been planing a funeral instead of how to travel to see her son in the hospital.

I don't know about you but I've been complaining about all of this so long that even a story trying to focus on positive things being done, I read between the lines in total disbelief.

Sen. John Kerry's effort to prevent military suicides hailed by Lucey family

I wish I could have hope about this, but after all this time of reading suicide prevention bills and seeing such appalling results this one misses too much to have hope again.

Sen. John Kerry's effort to prevent military suicides hailed by Lucey family of Belchertown
By Fred Contrada
The Republican
December 12, 2012

NORTHAMPTON – It most likely would not have helped Army Capt. Roselle M. Hoffmaster or Marine veteran Jeffrey Lucey, but an effort by U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry and 33 other members of Congress to stem suicide in the military is being hailed as a step in the right direction.

Kerry and U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., co-authored a letter to the leadership of the Senate and House Armed Services Committee this week requesting an amendment to the National Defense Authorization bill allowing military commanders and mental health professionals to counsel members of the military about their personal firearms.

According to the letter, the bill, which specifically authorizes the acquisition and possession of private firearms by soldiers, has created confusion about whether commanders and counselors can have private conversations with service members who have guns and seem to be a threat to themselves or others.

The letter cites a dramatic increase in the suicide rate in the military, which rose by 18 percent from 2010 to 2011. According to the missive, a member of the military committed suicide nearly every day in 2012, a fatality rate that surpassed the number of troops lost in battle. Nearly three quarters of the military suicides between 2008 and 2010 were committed with a personal weapon, Kerry wrote.
read more here

The means is not as important as the reason they commit suicide. Jeff Lucey hung himself. Others have used guns, but guns wouldn't be a problem if they didn't have a reason to use them. When will they ever address the failures that have produced such heartbreak?

Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention Act

Sgt. Coleman Bean Suicide Prevention Act

Armed Forces Suicide Prevention Act of 2011

Senator Baucus sponsored another military suicide prevention bill

Senate Approves Amendment Forcing New Unified DoD Suicide Prevention Program
House Vote Pending
Posted on December 6, 2012
by The Military Suicide Report

Senate Passes Murray Measure to Reform Defense Suicide Prevention Programs
by Adam Ashton
The News Tribune, Dec. 5, 2012

The Senate this week passed an amendment that would reshape the Defense Department’s behavioral health and suicide prevention programs, compelling each service to adopt common practices.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., submitted the provision to the $631 billion defense authorization bill. Her amendment mirrors a bill she submitted in June.

“This is a major step forward in Congress really focusing on the issue of mental health of our service members, and it has not been done before,” Murray, the chairwoman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, said today.

Her proposal seeks to standardize the Defense Department’s varied suicide prevention programs. Each branch of the armed forces takes its own approach, according to a 2011 RAND Corp. study.

The Army, Navy and Marines lack formal policies to restrict troubled service members from obtaining lethal means, and none of the armed services offer guidelines describing the benefits of reaching out for help, according to the RAND study.

Murray’s amendment also takes steps to streamline the sharing of records between the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs; it encourages both the Pentagon and the VA to hire combat veterans as peer counselors for service members in behavioral health programs; and it expands access to behavioral health programs for the families of service members.

“It really is prevention,” she said. “It helps us by reaching out to the family members who are on the front lines, and the peer-to-peer counseling, which we know is a really important part, but is not part of the services today,” she said.

Lt. General Donald M. Campbell Jr. leaving Fort Hood

Fort Hood’s top general relinquishes command
ABC News
Posted: Nov 28, 2012
By: Chris Cheng

FORT HOOD – Fort Hood and III Corps bid farewell to their commanding general, Wednesday, during a relinquishing of command ceremony on post.

Lt. General Donald M. Campbell Jr. handed over the position to Brigadier General James Richardson.

In his 19 months as leader of III Corps and Fort Hood, Campbell has championed suicide prevention and guided Fort Hood to the 2011 Army Community of Excellence Bronze Award and the 2012 Silver Award.

Richardson is currently serving as III Corps deputy commander and will assume responsibility of III Corps and Fort Hood until Campbell's replacement arrives.

Earlier this month, President Barack Obama nominated Fort Drum Commanding General, Major General Mark Milley, to lead Fort Hood.
read more here

It's a Wonderful Life being used for Fort Belvoir Suicide Prevention?

And they thought this was a good idea? Are they out of their minds?

Classic film provides unique suicide awareness trainin
By: By Brittany Carlson
Special to the Belvoir Eagle
Published: November 08, 2012

Fort Belvoir Soldiers and civilians learned about being resilient last week, with a little help from James Stewart.

Fort Belvoir’s Headquarters Battalion hosted a viewing of the classic holiday film "It’s a Wonderful Life" for Soldiers and garrison employees Friday at Wood Theater, as the battalion’s monthly Suicide Awareness and Resiliency training event for November.

"Resiliency, for those who don’t know, is basically the ability to bounce back from some kind of a difficult situation," said Lt. Col. Brian Zarchin, Headquarters Bn. commander, as he introduced the film. "The whole movie’s about bouncing back from what seems like an impossible problem, and that’s what resiliency is all about. George Bailey – the main character in the movie – has to bounce back from a pretty difficult, or what he sees as an impossible, situation, and he’s got a lot more going for him than he realizes."

In the movie, George Bailey (James Stewart) gives up his dreams to help others, but circumstances cause him to lose hope and consider suicide. Then his "guardian angel" appears and gives him a gift: a glimpse of what the world would be like had he never been born, revealing all of the lives George has touched and giving him a new lease on life.

The film showing was the battalion’s way to boost morale in the unit, and continue to address the issue of suicide.
read more here

Contrary to what was claimed in this article, Resiliency Training has not worked in all these years and won't especially if they keep pulling stunts like this.

Maj. Gen. Rice: 'We're all in this together'

Maj. Gen. Rice: 'We're all in this together'
November 8, 2012
NECN
Michel Cronin
Recognizing the needs of our servicemen and women, the University of Massachusetts medical school, the Massachusetts National Guard and the Mass. Department of Veterans Services are joining forces to help in suicide prevention among National Guard members.

It’s a new partnership aimed at protecting military personnel when they return home from combat.

“All of us. Our whole community is involved in this. We're all in this together,” says Maj. Gen. Scott Rice.

UMass medical school will be training Massachusetts National Guard members in suicide prevention.

Massachusetts secretary of veterans' services Coleman Nee says it's a big step because military suicides rates are on the rise.

“Well essentially it's because we've deployed people back and forth to combat, multiple combat zone for over 11 years now and that takes a stress that takes a toll.”

Nee says, when soldiers return, they can feel isolated because they don't have people who can relate to their experiences.
for more and video go here

Idaho example of mental health crisis and suicides

Suicide hotline returns to Idaho after 5-year absence
By The Associated Press
November 05, 2012

BOISE -- Five years ago, Idaho became the only state without a certified, statewide suicide prevention hotline.

Residents in crisis still had a number to call, but the voice on the other end was 400 miles away in Portland. That meant it wasn't someone familiar with the isolation that comes with living in a rural region where mental health services are few and far-flung, said Idaho Suicide Prevention Hotline Director John Reusser.

Over the next few years, the economy worsened. Soldiers, troubled by the stresses of war, came home. And Idaho's suicide rate -- consistently among the highest in the nation -- climbed.

"We consistently hover between fourth and sixth in the country for rates of completed suicides," said John Reusser, director of the new, soon-to-open Idaho Suicide Prevention Hotline. "I know the national hotline was better than nothing, in terms of a resource for people to call, but I don't think it's as effective as a hotline that's dedicated to the state of Idaho."

The last statewide hotline closed in the spring of 2007 as funding dropped. At the time, Idaho's suicide rate was nearly 15 completed suicides per 100,000 people, compared to the national average of 11 per 100,000 people, according to the Suicide Prevention Action Network of Idaho. By 2009, the number of Idaho suicides had climbed to nearly 20 per 100,000 residents, compared to the national average of 12.

"When the last hotline shut down, there really wasn't the sort of broad-based support and momentum to have one here. We're kind of a frontier state, and we have a big ethic of self-reliance here, encouraging people to rely on their community supports," he said. "Idaho is 49th in the nation for mental health funding. And ironically, a hotline is one of those things that allows people to get more help for themselves."
read more here

Military suicide prevention class included time of prayer

As a Chaplain, I'm all for including spiritual healing when helping veterans with PTSD. Why? Because when it is done right, it works. After 30 years, I've been pretty successful, including in my own marriage that has lasted 28 years. It helps them heal and it helps their families. I've been able to talk veterans "off the ledge" because of sharing my faith with Christian veterans but have to adapt what I say to "non-believers" along with people of other faiths. If I am talking to an atheist, I ask if I can pray for them and say a silent prayer for their healing and comfort. My job is to help them and I can't do that if what I say shuts off their ears or makes them want to leave the room. If they cannot trust that I do no have another motive other than helping them, then they will not believe anything I say.

This story greatly saddens me. The young soldiers felt they had to stay there and listen to a Chaplain's Christian prayer at a time when they were supposed to be hearing about staying alive. Whatever else was said would have forgotten because they would have felt as violated as this 17 year career veteran.

Army Chaplain Holds Christian Prayer During Suicide Prevention Class, Soldiers Say
Huffington Post
Posted: 10/02/2012
Andrea Stone

During an Army-wide stand down for suicide prevention sessions, a Christian chaplain in Texas improperly led rookie soldiers in a candlelight prayer, an Army instructor said in a formal complaint last week.

Staff Sgt. Victoria Gettman, a lab technician instructor at Fort Sam Houston, told The Huffington Post that she was among 800 soldiers from the 264th Medical Battalion undergoing resilience training on Sept. 26. Almost all of the soldiers were fresh out of boot camp and in training for their first job in the Army.

After a 45-minute talk on how to cope with stress, the officer in charge turned the stage over to a chaplain for the sometimes controversial "spiritual fitness" part of the session.

Gettman did not catch the chaplain's name, and he has not been otherwise publicly identified. But as an atheist, she wasn't interested in what he had to say so she stood up and moved to the back of the auditorium. 

The 17-year Army veteran knew -- unlike the young soldiers -- that this part of the program was optional. Still, she could hear most of what the clergyman said from just outside the room.

"The chaplain said we have to have something bigger than ourselves. We need, and he stresses need, to have something divine in our life," she recounted, adding that the soldiers were not informed they were allowed to step out.

Gettman said the chaplain ordered the lights turned off and battery-operated candles passed around as the soldiers were told to bow their heads. "The entire theater was forced into a mass Christian prayer," she said. "I heard him refer to his 'Heavenly Father' and 'Lord.'"
read more here

Suicide Prevention Fund has a surplus?

Suicide Prevention Fund has a surplus?

Sometimes I am at the point where when I read something like this first thing in the morning, I want to shut down the computer and watch the cartoon network to put me in a better mood.

I know I can't do that because of reports like this.

Military has Suicide Prevention Fund Surplus
Shaun Knittel
Online News Editor
20 September 2012


Congressman Jim McDermott (WA-7) and Congressman Leonard Boswell (IA-3) urged leaders of the U.S. House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee this week, to work with them in getting the Pentagon to use all of its unspent suicide prevention funds to reach more service members as soon as possible, and to go even further with higher funding next year.

In July, the McDermott-Boswell amendment that would increase critical funding for suicide prevention for active duty military by $10 million passed with strong support in the House Defense Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2013.

“The Pentagon hasn’t spent the money that it has for suicide prevention for this year – and that money wasn’t nearly enough money to reach all the soldiers who need help. Now we are hearing about bureaucratic technicalities at the Pentagon that are preventing them from acting. This is unconscionable,” said Congressman McDermott. “The Pentagon is funded to help soldiers and needs to do much more on the epidemic of suicides. As we commemorate National Suicide Prevention Week, we are calling on the Pentagon to move much faster.”

Congressman Boswell added, “We lose a soldier to suicide every day, a record pace that is driving the number of military suicides to all-time highs. As I said on the House floor in July, this is a national epidemic that requires immediate Congressional action to provide the necessary resources to prevent these tragedies from happening. With this year’s defense appropriations legislation at a standstill, and only days remaining in the legislative calendar, we urge leaders to act on freeing up the existing funds for soldier suicide prevention and outreach.”
read more here

This is the comment I left.

Wounded Times · Editor, Publisher and Videographer at Wounded Times Blog

If they really want to do something, the first thing they need to do is stop funding programs that have not worked. I track all of this across the country and can tell you, in 5 years, it has been one failure after another. The troops are not hearing what they need to know to fight PTSD and the families don't know what they can to to help them heal. Outreach is great but if the person doing it is not trained to do it, then it is worse than useless. I'm more upset about what has been done than money left over.

If they really wanted to prevent most of the suicides then they need to repeat what has worked and end what has not.

Resiliency Training is the biggest culprit of all. When you tell a young soldier/Marine/Airman/Sailor, they can train their brains to be mentally tough, that translates into telling them they are mentally weak and PTSD is their fault for not training right. Don't believe me? Ask them. I've held enough Marines in my arms as they cry and apologize for not training right. There are some parts of this program that are good but by the time they do get to hear what they should, they have turned of their ears.

They need to know exactly what PTSD is, understand why they ended up being attacked by it, be able to talk to their peers as soon as they need to, have medical care that includes a hell of a lot more than just medication, have support of leaders and above all, be able to return to family members with as much knowledge as they need to help them heal.

Their minds need help just as much as their bodies but the key is spiritual healing or nothing else will work as well as it should.

The poll up on the sidebar of this blog asks if Congress should be held accountable or not. So far, most feel they should be. It will be up until Veterans Day for that reason alone! Army focus on military suicides or more of the same

PFC Joseph Dwyer Peer to Peer Program

New Program To Help Veterans With PTSD
WWNY news
Story Published: Sep 19, 2012
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is often called an invisible wound of war.

All too often it goes untreated.

"PTSD is a part of our community and a lot soldiers end up getting out of the military and staying in our community," said Tim Ruetten, mental health services coordinator for the Jefferson County Office of Community Services.

Thanks to a new program the Jefferson County Office of Community Services is working to launch this fall, veterans in the north country will be getting a new tool to help in healing.

"Other veterans who have experienced those symptoms themselves and resolved them would be there to help other newly discharged veterans or veterans who are experiencing those symptoms too, you know, get through that process," said Roger Ambrose, director of the Jefferson County Office of Community Services.

It's called the PFC Joseph Dwyer Peer to Peer Program.

It's named for a combat medic who struggled for years with the symptoms of PTSD before dying from a drug overdose in 2008.
read more here

PTSD PROGRAM FOR JEFFERSON COUNTY VETS TO LAUNCH IN NOVEMBER
Posted by Patty Ritchie
Tuesday, September 11th, 2012
RELATED ISSUES: Health, Mental Health, Military, Military Affairs, Troops, Veterans

Senator Ritchie Secures Funds for Program Named to Honor “9-11 Vet”

A peer-support program for returning veterans suffering with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), made possible through a grant secured by State Senator Patty Ritchie, is coming to Jefferson County this November.

The PFC Joseph Dwyer Peer Support Program for Veterans is named for an Army soldier from New York who enlisted following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and who took his own life after returning home from Iraq.

Dwyer, an Army medic with the 3rd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, was famously featured in a widely seen photo carrying a 4-year-old Iraqi boy to safety during a raging battle in the early months of the war. While in Iraq, his unit was engaged in nearly daily gun battles for three weeks.

“9-11 reminds us all of the sacrifices that our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines make every day to protect our freedom,” said Senator Ritchie. “That’s why it’s especially important that we make sure that, when they come home, they receive the care they need to cope with the transition.”

The peer support program gives veterans a chance to interact with others who may be experiencing the same emotions and challenges caused by stress from combat and wartime service.

“Soldiers with PTSD are casualties of war, and this program gives suffering veterans someone to lean on, who may have been through the same hardships,” Senator Ritchie said.

Recent studies have shown that between 6 percent and 12.5 percent of returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans suffer from PTSD, and 62 percent have received some level of mental health care after coming home.

Persons suffering from PTSD are six times more likely to commit suicide.

Senator Ritchie, whose district includes the largest US military post east of the Mississippi River; Senator Lee Zeldin, a combat veteran and captain in the US Army Reserves, and Senator Roy McDonald, a Vietnam War veteran, jointly secured funding in this year’s state budget for the program.

Programs in four counties—Jefferson, Rensselaer, Saratoga and Suffolk—are each eligible to receive up to $200,000 in state budget funds.

Locally, the program will be administered by the Jefferson County Community Services, which is seeking proposals from providers who wish to operate the program.

Interested agencies can obtain more information or an application by emailing Roger Ambrose, director of Jefferson County Community Services at rogera@co.jefferson.ny.us. Applications must be submitted by October 15th, as the program is expected to be in operation by November 15th.

Here is his story

Spc. Joseph Patrick Dwyer dies after PTSD struggle

Army focus on military suicides or more of the same

Army Focuses on Reducing Suicides
TIME Battleland
By MARK THOMPSON
September 7, 2012

We’ve just begun the Army’s Suicide Prevention Month – next week marks National Suicide Prevention Week – and the service is cranking up its suicide-prevention efforts:

The Army will expand its observance with events occurring during the entire month of September, focusing efforts on total Army family well-being, resilience, stigma reduction, and positive results achieved by getting involved and reaching out for help. …the service says.

Last month, the Army announced that there were 38 suspected suicides in its ranks, an all-time record, and roughly 50% higher than recent months’ toll.

Next Monday, September 10, Army Secretary John McHugh will join with the nation’s leading suicide fighters to release the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. Nothing suicide-related is slated for the next day – 9/11 – but the Army will hold a health fair in the Pentagon courtyard dedicated to reducing suicides September 12 and 13.

Then there’s the Pentagon’s suicide prevention webpage. If that’s not sufficient, the Army has set up its own.
read more here


This is from October 2008

Army creates suicide prevention board
Story Highlights
Army will examine mental health of recruiters
Recruiters under pressure from job and victims of post-combat deployment
Texas sees four suicides in three years
From Mike Mount
CNN Pentagon Producer


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Army is establishing a suicide prevention board to examine the mental health of its recruiters around the country after the fourth suicide in three years by Houston, Texas-based recruiters, according to Army officials.

The board will look at how to handle the high-stress climate facing recruiters who may be both under pressure from their job and victims of post-combat deployment stress, according to Douglas Smith, a spokesman from the U.S. Army Recruiting command.

"The United States Army Recruiting Command is deeply concerned by the instances of suicide within the Houston Recruiting Battalion," said a statement released by the Recruiting Command. "The board's objective will be to prevent future suicides, increase suicide awareness, analyze trends and highlight additional tools and resources to combat suicide within the Recruiting Command."
read more here

and in the same month there was this

October 30, 2008

Suicide in the military is an "emerging mental health crisis."
Army suicide: Preventable deaths
Florida Times-Union - Jacksonville,FL,USA
Army suicide: Preventable deaths

By The Times-Union
Suicide in the military is an "emerging mental health crisis."
The numbers bear that out, as reported by The Associated Press.

Thousands deployed: Over 1.6 million troops have been deployed in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Persian Gulf since Sept. 11, 2001. Nearly 550,000 of these troops have been deployed more than once.

Mental issues: About 300,000 who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan have anxiety or post-traumatic stress, reported a Rand study released in April.

The Army surgeon general reports a 46 percent increase last year in cases of post-traumatic stress disorder.
read more here

If they are not prepared to do things differently now, expect the same deplorable results.

President Obama looks at Fort Bliss suicide prevention program

Presidential Visit: Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III introduces President Obama Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III introduces President Obama and called him "a great leader" before he walked in to loud screams.

President Obama at Fort Bliss

Soldiers react to President Obama's speech
By Genevieve Curtis

FORT BLISS, Texas — President Barack Obama's trip to Fort Bliss was brief, but he had a big message for troops.

Soldiers told KFOX14 what they really thought about the speech.

Soldiers said the atmosphere on post was electrifying, but beyond all the excitement that comes with a presidential visit, soldiers said they really took the message from the commander in chief to heart.

Soldiers and military families said they were happy to hear Obama promise he's making the mental health of soldiers and veterans a priority.
read more here

It is not the first time Obama has visited an installation to check out a military suicide prevention program. He did it in 2008 while he was still a Senator. He went to the Montana National Guards to see what they were doing.

Spc. Chris Dana's story told to Obama by step brother

Congress has failed because they only held hearings listening to what the failure has been and not listening to anything that has worked or even bothering to hold anyone accountable for the failures. They heard heartbreaking stories from families after they had to arrange a funeral but didn't bother to listen to families when they discovered what helped them live. Would have been nice to be able to provide families with that information before it was too late.

So now, President Obama traveled to Fort Bliss to see what they are doing since they have the lowest suicide rate. Would be nice to see the data on that, how many deployments they have had, how many attempted suicides, how many deaths are still under investigation along with how many veterans of Fort Bliss committed suicide after they were discharged and how many attempted it. There are so many questions that need to be answered but I doubt we'll ever have all the answers.

Obama to sign executive order before visit to Fort Bliss
By Ruben Veloz
El Paso Times

EL PASO, Texas — Experts say the president will use today's visit to Fort Bliss to remind the public that he kept his promise to end the war in Iraq.

It was two years ago to the day that President Barack Obama announced his drawdown of U.S. troops in Iraq at Fort Bliss.

According to our media partners at the El Paso times, Obama is expected to sign an executive order to boost mental health services for troops and veterans.

The president will be meeting with military leaders, troops and their families.

He's expected to discuss the suicide rate of soldiers, an issue Fort Bliss Commanding Gen. Dana Pittard tells KFOX14 Fort Bliss has done well to prevent.

"We have the lowest number of suicides of any major insulation in the Army, so we're really doing some neat things here, and he and his team are coming to find out about that," said Pittard.

So far this year, two Fort Bliss soldiers have committed suicide, but Gen. Pittard adds that's a small number compared to other posts of the same size where they have three to four times as many. Gen. Pittard says nearly a quarter of his troops go through a suicide intervention class called ASSIST.
read more here

Army approves suicide-intervention training for leaders
December 3, 2009
By Army Public Affairs

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Dec. 3, 2009) -- Suicide-intervention training is now available for Army leaders and other key personnel who are on the front lines of suicide prevention across the service.

The Army has approved two-day and five-day workshops on Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, known as ASIST. The workshops are produced by Living Works Education, Inc., at locations across the country.

The five-day ASIST workshop is a "train the trainers" course that will certify key Army personnel, who upon completion will be qualified to conduct the two-day ASIST course throughout the Army.

"We would never deploy Soldiers without first training them to accomplish their anticipated mission -- why should suicide prevention be any different'" asked Brig. Gen. Colleen McGuire, director of the Army Suicide Prevention Task Force.

"When you go to the emergency room with a physical injury, you're right to expect the nurses and doctors are well-trained and can get you the care you need," McGuire said. "The same should be true if you're thinking of harming yourself and you choose to go to your leadership or other Army professionals seeking help."
read more here

Suicide Prevention

Fort Bliss unit to deploy to Afghanistan this winter
By Daniel Borunda and Chris Roberts
El Paso Times
Posted: 08/25/2012


Four thousand soldiers from Fort Bliss will be deployed to Afghanistan this winter, the U.S. Department of Defense announced Friday.

The 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, is one of three units in the announcement.

The others are the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, with about 2,800 soldiers based at Fort Campbell, Ky., and the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, with about 2,870 soldiers based at Fort Drum, N.Y.

Military authorities said the deployment will be as part of a troop rotation in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Last month, more than 900 soldiers returned to Fort Bliss after a 10-month tour of duty in Afghan istan that was among the deadliest deployments for Fort Bliss due to the loss of at least 18 soldiers.
read more here

This is the General that posted about suicide being a "selfish" act and then retracted it. He was tired of going to funerals after a soldier committed suicide.

Major General Dana Pittard blames soldiers for suicides?

Sean Duvall may be getting the help he asked for all along

Hearing scheduled for suicidal veteran charged with federal weapons violations
By Laurence Hammack | The Roanoke Times

Sean Duvall may be getting the help he asked for all along.

Last summer, when the Navy veteran was depressed and on the verge of suicide, he called a toll-free help line — only to be charged later with possessing a homemade gun he was carrying at the time.

After his attorney made an impassioned argument that the charges violate the trust Duvall placed in the confidential help line for veterans, prosecutors appear to be reconsidering the case.

A motion filed today in U.S. District Court in Roanoke asks that the case against Duvall be continued for six months. His trial had been set for March 19.
read more here

Another veteran arrested after calling for help

Minn. head says Guard singled out over suicides

Minn. head says Guard singled out over suicides

Dec 19, 2011 6:00pm

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota National Guard has attracted "unsubstantiated notoriety" for the number of military suicides, the state adjutant general told a joint legislative hearing Monday while urging funding for suicide prevention programs.

Maj. Gen. Rick Nash told lawmakers that suicide is increasing among the entire population, not just the military, Minnesota Public Radio News reported. He noted that since 2007, 24 members of the Minnesota National guard have died by suicide, though two-thirds of them had never deployed.

"That's an important detail because it's a common assumption that suicides are the result of post-traumatic stress disorder. This is not true," Nash said.

The two dozen suicides are more than any other state, but Nash said only two of the deaths occurred among active duty soldiers.

"On the two days per month that the part-time force assembles, I can say with certainty, a soldier or airman at risk of suicide is actively engaged by his or her battle buddy or wingman. Our team is trained and ready to link that service member with the resources he or she needs," Nash said.

So far in 2011, 34 National Guard soldiers have taken advantage of a program to intervene with soldiers who may be at risk of suicide, Nash said. He was briefly overcome when he spoke of one soldier who came forward "after spending the previous evening with a shotgun on his lap."

Nash said suicide is a statewide problem, and he urged lawmakers to fund suicide prevention efforts. But he also said the Minnesota Legislature should be looking at ways to eliminate some of the contributing factors. He noted high unemployment among veterans, and noted that 18 percent of the women in the Minnesota National Guard are unemployed.
read more here



Minn. lawmakers to address military suicides
Dec 18, 2011

Written by
Jay Olstad

MINNEAPOLIS - The war in Iraq may have officially ended, but for so many veterans coming home, the battle within is just beginning.

"It just makes sick to my stomach and anxious," said Greg Roberts, an Iraq War veteran.

Talking about his time in Iraq is difficult for Roberts. The 34-year old, who also served in Bosnia, was in Iraq for more than a year with the National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 136th Infantry.

He and his fellow soldiers were responsible for driving through uncharted roadways, clearing any roadside bombs for other military units.

"(We're) driving, hoping you're not going to have something come through your door and take your legs off," he said.

The constant danger took its toll. He admits to drinking too much and suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder when he arrived home, something many combat veterans go through.

"And all of sudden I'm realizing I'm a very angry person. And I don't know why. I'm completely different, everyone else is the same, but I'm completely different," he said.

With the help of his wife and family, he's been able to move forward. But not everyone in his unit was so lucky.
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Master Sergeant Kevin Carter shares his story of surviving suicide

Written on SEPTEMBER 14, 2011 AT 8:00 AM by JTOZER
Suicide Survival

Master Sergeant Kevin Carter shares his story of surviving suicide. A couple of years ago, he was dealing with personal issues. Over time, the issues built up and he didn’t seek help. On September 14th, 2005, MSgt Carter cut himself to attempt to end his life. He talks about how he overcame his situation and asks other service members to speak out and get help. “There is no shame or dishonor in asking for help,” he said.

Watch his story here:

Parents seek answers for son's concussion, suicide

Posting this and wondering if some of the military suicides should be tied to traumatic brain injury or if they are even looking at this?

Parents seek answers for son's concussion, suicide
By JOSEPH WHITE, AP Sports Writer
NOKESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Austin Trenum's bed remains half-made, the way a typical teenager would leave it. On a shelf is his scarred black helmet, the one he was wearing when he tackled the quarterback near the sidelines during Brentsville High's game against Handley some 11 months ago. Austin's mouthpiece remains tucked neatly in the face mask, ready to be taken out for the next play.
For Austin, there was no next play.
Downstairs in the Trenum home, in the living room to the left of the television, is a memorial in photographs to the 17-year-old college-bound senior who wore No. 43 in football, No. 14 in lacrosse, all sorts of crazy hats when he felt like it, a "fro-hawk" of curly hair, and a pair of women's sunglasses on a lark one day while riding back from the beach.
Austin's final play left him with a concussion. Two days later, with the rest of the family downstairs in the house, he went up to his room and hanged himself.
To the grieving parents, there is no doubt that one caused the other. Shortly after his death, Gil and Michelle Trenum made the difficult decision to donate Austin's brain for research. Seated around their dining table, they told their son's story, hoping his death can leave a legacy for others of lessons learned — that concussions still aren't taken as seriously as they should be; that athletes, parents, coaches, trainers and even emergency room workers are often ill-informed as to how to treat them; that more of a culture change is needed in a sport in which blows to the head are considered badges of honor.
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VA crisis hotline takes record number of calls, no one asks why?

Will anyone else ever ask why so many reach the point they have to call in the first place? With all the programs and money invested in helping them when they come home, the numbers go up instead of down. What is going on here? More calls to the suicide prevention hotline and more deaths. Any reporters bothering to check into why this is all happening?

VA crisis hotline takes record number of calls
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday May 25, 2011 12:01:23 EDT
The Veterans Affairs Department’s Veterans Crisis Line received 14,000 calls in April, the highest monthly volume ever recorded for the four-year-old suicide prevention program.

“Every day last month, more than 400 calls were received,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee chairwoman who disclosed the call volume during a Wednesday hearing. “While it is heartening to know that these calls for help are being answered, it is a sad sign of desperation and difficulties our veterans face that there are so many in need of a lifeline.”

The hotline, established in 2007, is a suicide prevention and crisis counseling program available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The number is 800-273-8255.

Antonette Zeiss, VA’s chief mental health officer, said that since the 2007 launch, the call center has received more than 400,000 calls, referred 55,000 veterans to local suicide prevention coordinators for same-day or next-day help and initiated 15,000 “rescues” of callers near suicide.
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VA crisis hotline takes record number of calls

Suicide-Prevention Program Recommendations don't go far enough

Twenty-nine years ago, I was introduced to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, initiated into the Vietnam War by a 30 year old veteran. It was 11 years after he came back home part way. Aside from living with it, I've spent all these years tracking it. As an expert, I can tell you that we have never seen so many studies and attempts to help the veterans heal as we have today. While this fills me with great hope, it also serves as warnings because with all that is being done, there are still increased numbers of veterans reaching the point where they feel so much hopelessness, they are on the brink of suicide.

The Suicide Prevention Hotline received over 55,000 calls in the first year according to a report from SAMHSA, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services.

As of March 3, 2011 the Suicide Prevention Hotline numbers

To date, more than 379,000 callers have called the Veterans Suicide Prevention Hotline, and more than 200,000 of these callers have identified themselves as Veterans or family members or friends of Veterans. To date, the hotline has led to more than 13,000 rescues of actively suicidal Veterans.

Yet there are still 18 veterans a day committing suicide. What is even more troubling is the fact that until this month, the active duty military did not have access to suicide prevention.

Suicide hotline available for deployed soldiers

Even if it was possible to track all the suicides and attempted suicides, we'd never really know all of them. There are drug overdose deaths that are never really clear if they were accidental or suicide. Accidents are never really clear when they result in death. No one is checking on the incidents involving law enforcement when a veteran with PTSD is involved.

Why, after all these years did over 379,000 calls have to be made in the first place and why were over 200,000 of them from veterans? Why does it still reach that level of pain this keeps happening?

Because the programs they have in place are not working even though they are clearly helping some. What is missing? The families are. Their role in all of this is often overlooked and they are one of the most important resources.


It is troubling something like this is found on the National Suicide Prevention Hotline site.

The Lifeline is featured in Marvel comic
Captain America: A Little Help

"Super heroes fight a lot of battles, but there are few more important than combating suicide," said Tom Brevoort, Senior Vice-President of Publishing. "That’s why we're making Captain America: A Little Help available for free via our digital comics outlets. If even one person calls this number instead of doing something very tragic, we know that means we succeeded."

Suicide Prevention Lifeline.org page tells veterans to press 1 to talk. Yet on the same site, the same page, Captain America is right there at the bottom and he's battling a bunch of guys dressed in green. This is not a good idea no matter who it was intended for to show up on the same page telling veterans to seek help.

Without knowing what to do, families like mine did the best we could without any support or knowledge at all. Most of the mistakes made living with combat PTSD, were all made many years ago and we learned from them. We are yet one more untapped resource in helping the veterans heal because we live with it everyday. Many wives have been married for 30 or 40 years, keeping their veteran alive and raising their families with nothing to lean on other than love. I can tell you first hand, back when all this was new to me, I would have paid any price for the resources available today, especially the online support but too many do not take advantage of it. These are lifelines! They need to reach for them but their excuse is, they have enough to worry about so they discover PTSD when it is too late to avoid a lot of anguish.

Families can make it better when they understand but they are left out of the healing with mental health workers. They need to be included in the therapy as much as they need to be clued in.

These are the key recommendations Rand offered. Families are missing from the action.

Raising awareness and promoting self-care;
Identifying people at high risk, including screening for mental health problems;
Eliminating actual or perceived barriers to quality behavioral health care;
Providing high-quality mental health treatment and specific interventions focused on suicide when needed;
Restricting access to firearms and other lethal means, with attention to how lethal medications are packaged and how door hinges and shower rods are constructed; and
Responding appropriately when suicides occur.

While these are very important, they miss a big one and that is the family. Family can be relatives or it can be very close friends, because facing reality there are many serving without a strong family behind them. We see it when they come home from deployment. They get off the bus without a spouse to greet them, without Mom or Dad showing up to hug them, so they stand with their friends. Their friends are as close to family as there is.



Yet families are not the only problem. There have been suicide reports from across the country when the family knew what PTSD was, got the to go for help and offered all the support in the world, but it was still not enough. This suggests the programs offered to help them heal were not good enough. One more indication changes have to be made to make sure the programs live up to the challenge these veterans come home with.

Study Makes Suicide-Prevention Program Recommendations
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

HAMPTON, Va., March 25, 2011 – A new study commissioned by the Defense Department affirms many of the suicide-prevention efforts being made within DOD and the military services and recommends ways to strengthen them.

In preparing “The War Within: Suicide Prevention in the U.S. Military,” the Rand National Defense Research Institute examined data on military suicides, identified what scientific literature and leaders in the field consider the best prevention strategies and recommended ways to ensure existing programs reflect the state of the art, officials said.

“This is a very thorough effort,” Dr. Mark Barnes, director of the resilience and prevention directorate at the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, said of the report. “Rand interviewed each of the services and went outside the military to look at suicide-prevention practices and identified gaps for the way ahead [and] recommendations for the military suicide-prevention programs.”

The study’s findings track closely with those in the Defense Department’s own DOD Suicide Task Force Report, Barnes told military health care professionals attending the first Armed Forces Public Health Conference held here this week.

“There is no disagreement. They are very complimentary in what they are recommending,” he said. “So we have a nice resource here with quality information that our suicide-prevention folks can refer to as we move forward with the task force recommendations.”

Navy Capt. Paul Hammer, director of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, called the Rand report an important tool in helping the Defense Department better confront an issue it takes “very seriously.”

“The Rand study helps us to identify areas that need improvement so that we can continue to provide the most comprehensive health care for our service members –- from the inside out,” he said.

The study, written for health policy officials and suicide-prevention program managers, recognized critical factors in a comprehensive prevention program. These include:

-- Raising awareness and promoting self-care;
-- Identifying people at high risk, including screening for mental health problems;
-- Eliminating actual or perceived barriers to quality behavioral health care;
-- Providing high-quality mental health treatment and specific interventions focused on suicide when needed;
-- Restricting access to firearms and other lethal means, with attention to how lethal medications are packaged and how door hinges and shower rods are constructed; and
-- Responding appropriately when suicides occur.

Evaluating the Defense Department’s suicide prevention programs, the study cited the potential benefit of a new DOD-wide surveillance program being used to track suicides and suicide attempts. The DOD Suicide Event Report replaced each service’s individual suicide-reporting system, Barnes explained, helping to ensure “apples to apples” comparisons as information is shared across the services.

“This is a data issue,” he said. “We need good data. The data informs us in how to be effective with prevention and health promotion. So we are continually improving our data systems.”

Rand also called for an evaluation of existing suicide prevention programs, along with a requirement that any new initiatives include an evaluation plan. Barnes acknowledged the challenge of assessing programs’ effectiveness, but called closer collaboration and information sharing across the Defense Department and services a positive step toward sharing best practices and determining what works.

The Rand study recognizes most military suicide-prevention programs’ focus on raising awareness, including telling people where to get help and helping them recognize peers in distress.

However, it emphasizes the importance of also teaching military members how to recognize their own problems and refer themselves if needed to a behavioral health professional or chaplain.

“Raising awareness and promoting self-care is something we do and we can do better,” Barnes said, noting the value of resilience campaigns. “The ideas is to give people skills,” and know how to recognize signs of risk in themselves as well as others, and to know what to do.

The report also identified the importance of partnerships between agencies and organizations responsible for mental health and substance use and other known risk factors for suicide.

“We do fairly well in terms of partnerships,” Barnes said. “One area we are looking at is, on an installation, how well do all the different partners work together in the suicide [prevention] mission? Because often times you have … one person who is the suicide prevention person on an installation. They are not going to be able to check in on everybody. It is really the whole installation that needs to be on board to be effective with this.”

The study also cited the need to ensure there’s no gap in services provided during military members’ transitions -- between military bases, between commands or between active and reserve status.

“Ensuring a continuity of services and care is really important,” Barnes said. “One of the times of increased vulnerability is during transitions. … And we need to be covering all the gaps like this proactively for our service members and their families.”

The study called for formal guidance for commanders so they know how to respond to suicide and suicide attempts. It recognized the lack of any direct policy within the services and the risks of handling these situations improperly.

“It is really about our leadership,” Barnes said. “We need to empower our leadership, because they set the example. They set the tone. So we have to give them the tools. We need to give them the information, the data, so they know what is going on, where we think is the right direction to go, and then get behind them.”

One more important factor in all of this is who was behind all of these programs starting in the first place. Vietnam veterans and their families pushed for help in the beginning. Still we wouldn't know as much as we do now about how huge the problem is had it not been for groups like Veterans For Common Sense and Paul Sullivan making sure they got the right information. They have been filing Freedom of Information Act requests for years to find out what the truth is and it has been pretty dark for the veterans behind the idyllic image of veterans joyous homecomings.

The VA and the DOD can come out with programs without providing any proof these programs work and the general public would take it at face value. The truth would be hidden behind the claims, as it had been until VCS fought to make sure the truth was told. The same truth hundreds of thousands of families live with year after year when the rest of the country has forgotten all about the battles they were sent to fight.

There is hope in all of this as long as the American people refuse to allow more to die when they come home from war than during it.
Demand answers from the media.

Why are so many still committing suicide when so many have been calling suicide prevention?
With all the programs millions of tax payer dollars fund, why aren't they working?
Why do veterans still feel on the brink of suicide they need to call for help?
With all the attempts to address the stigma, why are so many still afraid to ask for help?
Why are so many getting help still committing suicide?

There are very serious questions needing to be asked, but the media doesn't seem interested enough in asking or they lack a clear understanding to even know how serious all of this is. Make sure they discover what the reality is for too many when they come home before it is too late for too many more.

Suicide hotline just now available for deployed soldiers?

What? What did they have before this if they couldn't call in the crisis line already?

Suicide hotline available for deployed soldiers
Staff report
Posted : Saturday Mar 19, 2011 8:26:34 EDT
Access to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline has been extended to soldiers and Army civilians serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait.

The Lifeline, operated by the Health and Human Services Department, is a toll-free, 24-hour, confidential crisis intervention hotline.

Credentialed consultants offer support and solutions to anyone in crisis or emotional distress, including soldiers and family members in overseas locations.
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Suicide hotline available for deployed soldiers

PSA on Suicide Prevention for Veterans

VA Launches New PSA on Suicide Prevention for Veterans

Confidential Crisis Line Provides 24/7 Access to Help

WASHINGTON (March 15, 2011)- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is
reaching out to Veterans in crisis and their families in a new public
service announcement to raise awareness about suicide prevention
resources, such as the Veterans Crisis Line at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

"As more Veterans return from Iraq and Afghanistan, the critical need
for mental health care is rising," said Sonja V. Batten, assistant
deputy chief patient care services officer for mental health. "VA is
increasing its efforts to reach out to Veterans in need and their
families, to inform them about available services and programs."

The new television spot encourages Veterans in crisis to call the crisis
hotline number at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) and then push 1 on their
telephone keypad to reach a trained VA mental health professional who
can assist the Veteran 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"Suicide is preventable," said Batten. "Every Veteran suicide is tragic
and regardless of the numbers or rates, one Veteran suicide is too many.
We feel the responsibility to continue to spread the word throughout the
nation that suicide prevention is everyone's business."

So far, more than 379,000 people have called the hotline, and more than
200,000 of these callers have identified themselves as Veterans, family
members or friends of Veterans. The hotline has led to more than 13,000
rescues of actively suicidal Veterans.

The hotline also operates an online Veterans Chat program, which
provides Veterans, their families and friends with the ability to
communicate anonymously online in real-time with a trained VA mental
health professional. Veterans Chat can be accessed through the National
Suicide Prevention Lifeline


Through the hotline and Veterans Chat, VA can connect Veterans and their
families with important services, including suicide prevention
coordinators, as well as general inpatient and outpatient psychiatric
services at VA medical centers and community-based outpatient clinics.

The hotline, which is part of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline,
was started in 2007 as a partnership between VA and the Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

The PSA can be viewed at PSA on Suicide Prevention for Veterans

Solution for an Army epidemic at Fort Gordon

Solution for an Army epidemic Feedback...
Why is it important to give to Combined Federal Campaign?
Staff Sgt. E. Douglas Blair III
Special to The Signal
By Bonnie Heater Feedback...


When I started studying journalism in college I asked my professor what was in a great journalistic piece. He said that the trick was to take a subject and try to answer the questions that the normal person might have by the end of the article. This is no easy task with a subject like suicides in the Army and how to prevent them. The suicide rate has become an epidemic and if that word isn’t scary enough, then numbers like one Soldier every three days commits suicide should mortify you. In fact, according to the Department of Defense, the rate of suicides has increased from a record high of 128 in 2008 to a whopping 147 reported suicides in 2009 and over 170 this fiscal year. Nearly everyone has been touched in some form or fashion by suicide. Soldiers, like myself, are required to attend a class every six months or so and told how to deal with a fellow Soldier that is feeling depressed. Ask, Care and Escort have been the mantra of recent years and each Soldier is required to have an ACE card with them at all times. But what do we ask and how do we care and what if there is no one readily available to deal with a Soldier, friend, loved one, co-worker, etc. that has real feelings of suicide? The ACE card is like putting a bandage on a sucking chest wound (by the way, all chest wounds suck).

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Solution for an Army epidemic