If this surprises you, you have not been paying attention.
Here are some things to consider from All Things Considered KUNC by Michael De Yoanna that came out today.
Each day about 20 veterans and active-duty service members take their own lives. It's a stubborn number that hasn't changed much since 2005. If the trend continues, 100,000 veterans and troops will have been lost to suicide by the end of this year.
(Actually the VA had to retract that part with the current military in the number)
They should have added the word "known" to that because we have tracked the ones who apparently, did not count.
The 20-a-day rate has been relatively consistent since 2008. By that estimate, more than 58,000 veterans and troops have taken their own lives since 2008.
Add roughly 20,000 more suicides for the three years prior to that, when the daily suicide rate was 19 a day (in 2007) and about 18 (in 2005 and 2006). Numbers for 2016, 2017 and 2018 are yet to be tallied. If they hold to 20 a day, by the end of this year the total number of suicides among veterans and troops will be more than 100,000 since 2005.
In one snapshot of the of the issue, Congress’ investigative arm, the Government Accountability Office, found that 57,000 Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines troops discharged between 2011 and 2015 for misconduct had post-traumatic stress disorder, brain injuries and other conditions, like adjustment, anxiety and depressive disorders. Of these troops, more than 20 percent, or about 13,000 of them, received “other than honorable” discharges, which made them potentially ineligible for veterans benefits, including access to health care for their conditions.
Actually that total is a lot higher too. Plus add in about 200,000 Vietnam veterans and you get the idea.
Only 22 states with the inclusion of California in 2017 track veteran suicides but when the first suicide report came out, the limited data came from just 21 states. No clue what the other states are doing with their veterans.
So what about all the others who did not count? The veterans who moved out of the country? Veterans who faced off with law enforcement and lost their lives. That happened on a weekly basis last year.
And now for what the headline was,
Some 78,000 Veterans And Troops Lost To Suicide Since 2005
Keep in mind that while the DOD puts out quarterly reports, about 90 days after the end of the quarter, the average is 500 a year, and has not gotten better either. That screams of the need to stop what does not work all the way through. But then again, as there seems to be more and more folks screaming about numbers, the number of living veterans continues to drop.
All that plus the calls into suicide prevention keep going up!
Still no answer from the DOD on what will be the one too many to change. No answer on how many veterans committing suicide is acceptable to them either!
He collected nearly $200K posing as a Vietnam vet with 2 Purple Hearts — but he never served
The News and Observer (Tribune News Service)
By AARON MOODY
Published: June 27, 2018
A Charleston, S.C. man collected nearly $200,000 in VA benefits over the past few years while listed as a Navy medic who received two Purple Hearts for his service in Vietnam.
Keith R. Hudson Charleston County Sheriff's Office
But Keith R. Hudson, 70, was never in the military, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina said Wednesday.
“This is a particularly awful type of white collar crime,” U.S. Attorney Sherri Lydon said in a news release. “Veteran health benefits are for those who served our nation in the military. The VA has limited numbers of physicians and resources. There is not much to spare.”
Hudson pleaded guilty in federal court to defrauding the VA of $197,237. He faces up to 10 years in prison.
read more here
Lancaster police officer's death ruled a suicide; first responders urged to get help
York Daily Record
Geoff Morrow
Published June 27, 2018
Lancaster City Police on Wednesday announced that the recent death of Patrol Officer Mark Gehron, 43, was a suicide.
Gehron, a 19-year veteran of the police bureau, died Saturday, June 23.
He was previously a volunteer firefighter and, as a police officer, received several awards and commendations.
Gehron was also the father to sons Chris and Carter, both of Lancaster.
In its release, the Lancaster Police Department said the law enforcement community experiences an average of 130 deaths a year related to officers in crisis.
read more here
UPDATE
CBSNews
5 dead and several wounded.
Report: Multiple people shot at Maryland newspaper office
Thomson Reuters
Jun 28th 2018
June 28 (Reuters) - Several people were fatally shot at a newspaper office in the Maryland capital of Annapolis on Thursday and a suspect was apprehended, the local sheriff told Fox News.
Anne Arundel Sheriff Ron Bateman told Fox News the incident took place outside the Capital Gazette office.
Phil Davis, a Gazette reporter, said that multiple people had been shot, according to a report from the Baltimore Sun, which owns the paper.
Agents from the Baltimore office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were responding to the incident, the bureau tweeted.
read more here
Veteran, dog kicked off city bus highlights service animal policy
KRQE News
By: Jackie Kent
Posted: Jun 26, 2018
ALBUQUERQUE, NM (KRQE) - ABQ Ride says one of its drivers did not follow its policy when he kicked a veteran and his service dog off a city bus.
"They treat you different because you have a service animal and I don't think that's fair," said Jesse Gordon about his latest ABQ Ride experience.
The Vietnam veteran said he tried to hop on a city bus on June 18, with his service animal, Jackson, to get to a doctor's appointment. Yet, bus surveillance video shows he never got past the bus stop at Eubank and Central.
"The driver of the bus looked at the animal and says, 'That's not a service animal.'" Gordon said.
He said the bus driver claimed Gordon's PTSD was not a recognized disability that would allow him to have the vested dog.
read more here
