Washington Post did not notice research should be about facts, not just what they see?

Washington Post got military suicide research wrong

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
January 19, 2020

One would think that an article on something as serious as military suicides would require diligent research, before presenting it as such. So, why did Washington Post not notice research should be about facts, not just what they see?

The Houston Chronicle posted from The Washington Post, Can historical analysis help reduce military deaths by suicide? by Jeffrey Allen Smith, Michael Doidge, Ryan Hanoa and B. Christopher Frueh, January 17, 2020,

"At the dawn of a new decade, it is time to broaden the scope of research and use history to inform our problem-solving and the policies we develop as result. Incorporating historical data can help scientific researchers recognize and separate chronic forces from acute factors affecting suicide rates. Instead of analyzing military suicide over the past 20, 50 or 70 years, what if we examined available records and documents from the past 200? We did just this in a recently published study."

but the problem is, others have been looking at historical facts for a lot longer. While these are great questions,

"Examining historical patterns can assist policymakers and the military in addressing the factors causing it. For example, we must now ask ourselves what is different and unique about the war on terrorism? Why do the best efforts of the Defense Department, modern psychiatry and dramatically expanded mental health programs not result in lower suicide rates, instead of higher ones? What is different about today's force than yesterday's?"

the rest of the article did little to answer them, especially when so much was wrong with the article itself.

"Following World War II, to maintain commitments abroad, the United States drafted a standing army larger than ever before. To enhance retention and keep the U.S. military competitive with the private sector, President Dwight Eisenhower championed expanded access to housing and health care for service members and their families in his 1954 State of the Union address. Improvements to both followed in the years ahead."

Well, they had the draft in other wars all the way up to Vietnam. It omitted why the rate went down, and that is because during WWII, when a service member showed signs of mental health stress, they were sent back home. During the Korean War, they were treated by clinicians embedded with the troops. If they could return to duty after therapy, they did, otherwise, they were sent back home.

As for Vietnam, the DEROS deployments took care of that because when their year was up, they were on their way back home, before they could understand something was clearly wrong. When asked about any problems before discharge, they denied they had any problems so they could go home.

They also did not notice this article from U.S. Army Medial Department

Incidence of Mental Disorders
Rates of hospitalization for mental disorders in Army personnel during the postwar period (1920-30) ranged from 11 to 12 per 1,000 men per year.19 These rates included admissions for "mental alienation" (dementia praecox, manic depressive psychosis, general paresis, alcoholic and other organic psychoses, mental deficiency, constitutional psychopathic states, hypochondriasis) and various neurotic disorders (hysteria, neurasthenia, psychasthenia, psychoneurosis, neurocirculatory asthenia). The incidence of psychotic disorders during this period was from 2 to 3 per 1,000 per annum. Excluded from the preceding mental disease categories were admissions for neurological diseases, drug addiction, and acute and chronic alcoholism. Admissions for alcoholism alone during this 10-year period were from 7 to 8 per 1,000 per annum, a marked decrease from rates of approximately 16 per 1,000 per annum for alcohol admissions in the decade prior to World War I (1907-16) before the establishment of the National Prohibition Act. That mental disorders constituted a major medical problem in the postwar era is indicated by the following data:

1. Suicide was the leading cause of death in military personnel in this decade (over 0.5 per 1,000 strength per annum).

2. Mental disorders as a class were the largest cause for medical discharge with a rate of 6 to 7 per 1,000 strength per annum, which indicated that more than one-half of the admissions eventuated in discharge.

3. Dementia praecox was the leading single disease cause for medical discharge (2 to 3 per 1,000 strength per annum).

4. In general, mental disorders, excluding alcoholism and drug addiction, were first as a cause for discharge, fifth or sixth as a cause for hospital admissions, and third or fourth in producing loss of duty time for medical reasons.

5. Mental disorders were the leading cause for medical evacuation from oversea stations.

As for OEF and OIF, the increase in suicides was predicted by Wounded Times back in 2009, following the release of Comprehensive Soldier Fitness.

If you promote this program the way Battlemind was promoted, count on the numbers of suicides and attempted suicides to go up instead of down. It's just one more deadly mistake after another and just as dangerous as sending them into Iraq without the armor needed to protect them.

And this was part of that article on Wounded Times

Ever notice the vast majority of the men and women you command end up carrying out the mission they are given, fighting fiercely and showing great courage even though they are already carrying the wound inside of them? They fulfill their duty despite flashbacks and nightmares draining them because their duty comes first to them. Do you understand how much that takes for them to do that? Yet you think telling them their minds are not tough enough will solve the problem? What kind of a tough mind do you think they needed to have to fight on despite this killing pain inside of them?

As with everything else, facts are still facts, no matter if they are acknowledged or not.

"This relatively stable paradigm lasted until the beginning the 21st century and the dawn of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, when the suicide rate increased once more, eventually spiking at 29.7 per 100,000 in 2012. By February 2007, medical cost-cutting and rising numbers of traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder diagnoses had overwhelmed the military."

They left out how Vietnam veterans came home and fought for all the research and funding going toward understanding PTSD. They left out how many "efforts" produced billions in increased funding, along with "awareness" at the same time suicides did in fact increase. Not just within the military, but among those in the veteran community.

And they got this wrong too!

While the Army's active duty suicide rate has dropped from the 2012 peak, it has remained around 20 to 30 per 100,000. While in the past, periods of war seem to have lowered suicide rates, that correlation became inverted first during the decades-long conflict in Vietnam and the almost-two-decade wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Correlation is not causation, but the current elevated rates appear to be indicative of a bedeviling new paradigm.

Naturally they omitted that in 2012 there were less serving because the size of the military was cut due to sequestration and the end of the War in Iraq. This is from PolitiFact in 2015.

In 2012, the Army had about 570,000 soldiers. Reductions over several years have taken it down to its current size of about 490,000. Rubio was referring to the Army’s announcement in July that it plans to cut the regular Army from 490,000 to 450,000 by fiscal year 2018, or a total of 40,000 positions.‎

They keep getting Vietnam wrong too, considering it was claiming lives of US service members since the 50's and the last to be killed came in 1975.

This is from the DOD yearly report on military suicides.

Add Active Duty with Reserve Components. It has averaged 500 a year since 2012. Nothing will ever change until reporters get serious about what they put out as facts!

We never seem to focus on those who do not commit suicide

The truth will change the grim ending of suicides

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
January 17, 2020

Why have we shut our eyes to veterans suffering greater harm because of our acceptance of their misery?

That is what has been achieved after 4 decades of research on PTSD. It is what they face even though it was written about throughout centuries of authors telling stories about the affliction of those who dare to face death.

The survivors have only forgotten they stopped being victims when they survived, because we allowed it to happen. We sat back and let others decide what they should know instead of what discovering what they needed to know to heal. They paid the price for our laziness and our inability to see what has been glowing in the darkness they have been trapped by.

Isn't it time you joined the fight for their sake?

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that 830,000 Vietnam War veterans suffered symptoms of PTSD. The National Vietnam Veterans' Readjustment Study (NVVRS) found 15% of male and 9% of female Vietnam veterans had PTSD at the time of the study. Life-time prevalence of PTSD was 31% for males and 27% for females. In a reanalysis of the NVVRS data, along with analysis of the data from the Matsunaga Vietnam Veterans Project, Schnurr, Lunney, Sengupta, and Waelde found that, contrary to the initial analysis of the NVVRS data, a large majority of Vietnam veterans suffered from PTSD symptoms (but not the disorder itself). Four out of five reported recent symptoms when interviewed 20–25 years after Vietnam.

Now that you know how long research has been going on, as well as the fact that decades after Vietnam veterans came home, they awakened to the fact the war did follow them home, just as this newer generation will face if we do not make serious changes now.

What makes all this worse is what has been happening to female veterans.

KOAA News article The factors behind alarming suicide rate among women veterans but did little to answer what the factors were.

"The United States Department of Veterans Affairs says the suicide rate among women veterans is double that of women who don't serve."

Then why would they point out something that happens to female veterans as well as civilians?

"According to the U.S. Office of Veterans Affairs, the suicide rate is higher among women who report military sexual assault, domestic violence, sexual discrimination and harassment-- all factors that can contribute to PTSD."

When "factors behind alarming suicide rate among women veterans" leaves out combat...that is part of the problem!

David McFadden, a social work professor at CSU Pueblo said,"I think [suicide] is a subject that's becoming more open," McFadden said. "We hear a lot about stars and celebrities committing suicide in the media, so I think it's a subject that we are definitely taking seriously and opening a dialogue helps." But apparently did not notice that he said that right after he said "it's harder for women to serve because an old stereotype that the idea women are weaker than men still prevails."

If it "prevails" it is because too many have just accepted it instead of fighting against what people think. Plus, while the "subject is becoming more open" about suicides, there seems to be a lack of curiosity as to why that happened...and even less about the ramifications of doing more talking about them happening instead of why they would not happen.

Isn't that what all of us should be talking about? We won't be able to as long as researchers avoid what is right in front of them.

Suicides tied to military service are too high, yet we never seem to focus on those who do not commit suicide. Why do they choose to live and fight to heal?

According to the US Census these are the numbers we should be talking about.

Over 16 million male veterans and 1,628,110 female veterans. While less than 10 million veterans use the VA services for anything  no one is talking about how the vast majority did not commit suicide, today, or any other day. The chances of even understanding the simple fact we will never know exactly how many committed suicide on any day of the week have grown dimmer, because we close our eyes to those who were not counted in research put together. Knowing we will never know the exact number, the number everyone knows, oddly, gets more attention than the fact most do not.

We have more women in this country than males, yet it seems women are reluctant to fight for the female veterans, who are committing suicide double the rate of civilian women...as far as we know.

Do we demand anything from anyone to change any of this?

Do we do whatever we can to make sure that veterans know there are more of them healing than dying by their own hands today?

Do we tell them how to become one of them instead of one of the ones forcing their family to plan a funeral for?

If the subject of suicide has caused you to advocate "suicide awareness" then you have been fighting the wrong battle. Isn't it time to join the winning side that will actually save the lives you keep talking about deciding to leave?

UPDATE
Marine Plants American Flag Every Mile for Veterans With PTSD

“I wanted to bring awareness to the stigma around mental health and PTSD,” Hernandez told Runner’s World. “We need to understand and treat the condition better, whether that’s hearing about the veterans who are thriving with PTSD or those suffering more or have lost their lives to it.”

Our government has a lot of explaining to do about the rise in suicides

Pay attention if you are not freaked out and you will be

Our government has a lot of explaining to do about the rise in suicides, but they do not seem to care about answering to us at all. Why would they since we are not demanding it?

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
January 6, 2020

When reports came out about what opioids were doing, they did something.

A lawyer for more than 2,000 cities and counties suing opioid makers says a $48 billion deal touted by four state AGs still isn't big enough.

So why not do something when we have seen a rise in suicides? At the same time more was being spent to prevent them, and researchers have been screaming about drugs being given to fight Post Traumatic Stress Disorder evidence proves it got worse than ever!

While we have been reading about medication reports since the beginning of Wounded Times, apparently, reporters drop the subject instead of connecting the dots. In 2012, I posted Military suicide studies must include drugs after reading a report from Counter Punch discussing the side effects of most of the medications given to veterans, as well as those who currently serve.

This is from part of the report "Boom in suicides" by Martha Rosenberg.

The US’s suicide rate has risen to 38,000 a year, says USA Today, after falling in the 1990s. The rise correlates with the debut of direct-to-consumer drug advertising in the late 1990s, the approval of many drugs with suicide links and more people taking psychoactive drugs for lifestyle problems.

Dr. Benjamin announced that federal grants totaling $55 million will save 20,000 lives in the next five years through suicide hotlines, more mental health workers in the VA, better depression screening and Facebook tracking of suicidal messages. Nowhere, including in the suicide-racked military, does she suggest looking at the overmedication which has gone hand-in-hand with the deaths. And on which the government is spending a lot more than $55 million.

Guess what the number of suicides is now?

10. Suicide
Deaths in 2017: 47,173
When a person dies by suicide, they may have lived with a mental health condition — such as depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder — for a long time.

However, not all people who attempt suicide or die by it have these conditions.

Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among people aged 10-34 years.

Establishing a strong support network, taking appropriate medications, and seeking therapy may help reduce the risk of suicide.

The reports from the DOD and the VA should have caused us to contact every member of congress, since they have been spending our money to achieve such miserable results.

Freaked out yet? Then start paying attention and you will be! Then maybe we can actually save lives instead of just raising awareness they are giving up,

We did nothing meaningful. We just went with whatever was popular on social media. You know, like the stunts raising awareness it was happening...while no one explained what the point of doing any of it was.

Reports kept flooding my email box on how the government was increasing spending fighting PTSD and reducing the suicide rate...almost as often as the rise in suicides were coming in. What I was not seeing was outrage! I was not seeing anyone even questioning why it has gotten worse, while they just posted the same BS reports as if they were supposed to mean a damn thing. The only people it meant anything to were the ones making money off of all of it!

Well BOHICA because while Wounded Times warned about the nasal spray everyone else seemed to think was a good thing President Trump pushed...the report from STATNEWS confirms it was just one more stunt to push on veterans.

In August, President Trump proudly proclaimed that he had directed the Department of Veterans Affairs to buy “a lot” of a drug known as esketamine, the first new major depression treatment with a novel mechanism to hit the U.S. market in decades.

“Its results are incredible,” Trump said at a veterans convention in Kentucky. “I’ve instructed the top officials to go out and get as much of it as you can.”

As of mid-December, the VA had treated just 15 veterans across the country with the drug. The nasal spray, which was developed by Janssen and named Spravato, was only available at seven of the agency’s facilities — out of more than 1,200. The VA treated its first patient with Spravato in June.

And just so you know "Who’s behind the new publication? STAT is produced by Boston Globe Media. Our headquarters is located in Boston but we have bureaus in Washington, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Cleveland. It was started by John Henry, the owner of Boston Globe Media and the principal owner of the Boston Red Sox. Rick Berke is executive editor."


UPDATE Pharmalittle: Few vets were treated with antidepressant Trump touted;

Is “Support for Suicide Prevention Coordinators Act” more of the same? Probably.

Do reporters read the bills the president signs?

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
January 4, 2020

If your email box is like mine, it was full of the latest "plan" to prevent veterans from committing suicide, “Support for Suicide Prevention Coordinators Act” but none of them seem to have thought about all the other "plans" or as they put it "efforts" to actually do what they claim the bill will do.

Start with this executive order going back to 2018

January 9, 2018
Trump expands mental health benefits to decrease suicide rates among new veterans
USA TODAY
Donovan Slack

WASHINGTON — President Trump signed an executive order Tuesday to provide more benefits to service members transitioning from the military to civilian life in an effort to decrease veteran suicides.

Veterans who have recently left the military are between two and three times more likely to commit suicide than active duty service members, and nearly 20% of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or depression.

The order directs the departments of Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs to submit a plan within 60 days to provide “seamless access to mental health treatment and suicide prevention resources.” read it here

That one did about as much good as this suicide prevention bill for police officers in 2019.

A bill sponsored by Sen. Josh Hawley to prevent police officer suicides with expanded mental health services will head to President Donald Trump’s desk.

The bipartisan bill authorizes $7.5 million annually over the next five years for suicide prevention programs and other treatment to assist officers and their families.

Hawley, R-Missouri, introduced the legislation following a Kansas City police officer’s suicide in February. It passed the House by unanimous consent Wednesday afternoon after clearing the Senate without opposition in May.

And yet, President Trump followed the other executive order with another one in March of 2019

The president made the announcement during a signing ceremony for an executive order aimed to address veteran suicides. Roughly 20 veterans per day take their own lives, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In 2016, the suicide rate among veterans was 1.5 times higher than non-veterans, according to the VA. The order creates a new Cabinet-level task force, run by Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie, but that also includes the defense, health and human services and homeland security secretaries. The task force's job is to create a "public health roadmap" to improve veterans' quality of life and end veteran suicides. It's unclear what that will look like yet.

In that video you'll hear this

Supporting veterans in distress is a critical priority for our entire administration - everybody in the administration. Last year, I signed into law the largest funding bill for the VA in its history, which included $8.6 billion for veterans in mental health services. I also signed an executive order directing the Department of Defense, Veteran Affairs, and Homeland Security to ensure our veterans have seamless access to mental health care and suicide prevention resources. These efforts focus on veterans the first year after they separate from military service when they are at the heightened-risk area.

There are more but you get the idea. You will also hear a lot more on money and other things they were claiming they would do.

I wonder if anyone bothered to actually read the bill?
President Trump signs Brindisi-authored veteran suicide prevention act

The bill requires the Comptroller General of the United States to “conduct an assessment of the responsibilities, workload, and vacancy rates of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs’ Prevention Coordinators.” The job of a Suicide Prevention Coordinator is to identify veterans that are high-risk and make sure they receive appropriate care.

Judging by the news reports, no one did, but you can. Support for Suicide Prevention Coordinators Act

AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday, the third day of January, two thousand and nineteen

To direct the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct an assessment of the responsibilities, workload, and vacancy rates of Department of Veterans Affairs suicide prevention coordinators, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “Support for Suicide Prevention Coordinators Act”.

SEC. 2. COMPTROLLER GENERAL ASSESSMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES, WORKLOAD, AND VACANCY RATES OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS SUICIDE PREVENTION COORDINATORS.

(a) Assessment Required.—The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct an assessment of the responsibilities, workload, training, and vacancy rates of Department of Veterans Affairs suicide prevention coordinators. Such assessment shall include a determination of—

(1) the extent to which the use and staffing of suicide prevention coordinators varies between Department facilities; and

(2) the extent to which the Secretary provides oversight of suicide prevention coordinators.

(b) Report To Congress.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a report containing the findings of the assessment required by subsection (a).

In other words, more of the same we have seen in the last decade.

This one may actually make a difference.

H. R. 5516 To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to enter into contracts with States or to award grants to States to promote health and wellness, prevent suicide, and improve outreach to veterans, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 19, 2019
Mr. Levin of California introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to enter into contracts with States or to award grants to States to promote health and wellness, prevent suicide, and improve outreach to veterans, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “Commitment to Veteran Support and Outreach Act”.

SEC. 2. AUTHORITY FOR SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO AWARD CONTRACTS AND GRANTS TO STATES TO PROMOTE HEALTH AND WELLNESS, PREVENT SUICIDE, AND IMPROVE OUTREACH TO VETERANS.
(a) In General.—Chapter 63 of title 38, United States Code, is amended—
(1) by redesignating sections 6307 and 6308 and sections 6308 and 6309, respectively; and
(2) by inserting after section 6306 the following new section 6307:
Ҥ 6307. Contracts and grants to promote health and wellness, prevent suicide, and improve outreach to veterans

“(a) Purpose.—It is the purpose of this section to provide for assistance by the Secretary to States to carry out programs that promote health and wellness, strengthen the coordination, implementation, and evaluation of comprehensive veteran suicide prevention programs, and offer a high probability of improving outreach and assistance to veterans and the spouses, children, and parents of veterans, to ensure that such individuals are fully informed about, and assisted in applying for, any veterans and veterans-related benefits and programs (including State veterans programs) for which they may be eligible.

“(b) Contracts.— (1) The Secretary may enter into a contract with a State in order to carry out, coordinate, improve, or otherwise enhance health and wellness programs, comprehensive veteran suicide prevention programs, and outreach by the Department and the State (including outreach with respect to a State, county, or other local veterans program).

“(2) As a condition of entering into a contract with a State under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall require the State to submit to the Secretary a detailed plan for the use of any funds provided to the State pursuant to the contract and to meet the outcome measures developed by the Secretary under subsection (c)(4).

“(3) Each contract entered into with a State under this subsection to carry out an activity shall include a requirement that the State carry out the activity through—
“(A) the county veterans service officers of the State; or
“(B) if a county veterans service officer does not exist in the State or exists only in portions of the State, an appropriate State, local, or tribal entity as determined by the Secretary.
“(c) Grants.— (1) The Secretary may award a grant to a State to be used—
“(A) to carry out, coordinate, improve, or otherwise enhance—
“(i) health and wellness programs;
“(ii) comprehensive veteran suicide prevention programs;
“(iii) outreach activities; or
“(iv) activities to assist in the development and submittal of claims for veterans and veterans-related benefits; or
“(B) to increase the number of county veterans service officers serving in the State by hiring new, additional county veterans service officers.
“(2) A State that receives a grant under this subsection to carry out an activity described in paragraph (1)(A) shall carry out the activity through—
“(A) a county veterans service officer of the State; or
“(B) if a county veterans service officer does not exist in the State or exists only in portions of the State, an appropriate State, local, or tribal entity as determined by the Secretary.
“(3) (A) To be eligible for a grant under this subsection, a State shall submit to the Secretary an application therefor at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require.
“(B) Each application submitted under subparagraph (A) shall include the following:
“(i) A detailed plan for the use of the grant.
“(ii) A description of the programs through which the State will meet the outcome measures developed by the Secretary under paragraph (4).
“(4) (A) The Secretary shall develop and provide to the recipient of a grant under this subsection written guidance on outcome measures, policies of the Department, and procedures for applying for grants under this section.
“(B) The Secretary shall review the performance of each State that receives a grant under this section and shall make information regarding such performance publicly available.
“(C) In the case of a State that is a recipient of a grant under this subsection that does not meet the outcome measures developed by the Secretary, the Secretary shall require the State to submit a remediation plan under which the State shall describe how and when it plans to meet such outcome measures. The Secretary must approve such plan before the Secretary may award a subsequent grant to that State under this subsection.
“(5) A grant under this subsection—
“(A) shall be used—
“(i) to expand existing programs, activities, and services;
“(ii) to hire new, additional county veterans service officers; or
“(iii) for travel and transportation to facilitate carrying out clause (i) or (ii); and
“(B) shall be used to supplement and not supplant State and local funding that is otherwise available.
“(6) A grant under this subsection may be used to provide education and training, including on-the-job training, for State, county, local, and tribal government employees who provide (or when trained will provide) veterans outreach services in order for those employees to obtain accreditation in accordance with procedures approved by the Secretary and, for employees so accredited, for purposes of continuing education.
“(7) A grant awarded under paragraph (1)(A) may be used to carry out, coordinate, improve, or otherwise enhance an activity carried out pursuant to a contract entered into under subsection (b).
“(d) County Veterans Service Officer Defined.—In this section, the term ‘county veterans service officer’ includes—
“(1) a local equivalent veterans service officer; and
“(2) a tribal veterans service officer or tribal veteran representative.
“(e) Funding.— (1) Amounts for the activities of the Department under this section shall be budgeted and appropriated through a separate appropriation account.
“(2) In the budget justification materials submitted to Congress in support of the Department budget for any fiscal year (as submitted with the budget of the President under section 1105(a) of title 31), the Secretary shall include a separate statement of the amount requested to be appropriated for that fiscal year for the account specified in paragraph (1).
“(f) Authorization Of Appropriations.—There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024, $50,000,000 to carry out this section.”.
(b) Clerical Amendment.—The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 63 of such title is amended by striking the items relating to sections 6307 and 6308 and inserting the following new items:
“6307. Contracts and grants to promote health and wellness, prevent suicide, and improve outreach to veterans.
“6308. Outreach for eligible dependents.
“6309. Biennial report to Congress.”

President Trump is no different than other presidents on this one since we have heard over and over again what they said mattered, but the end result, showed they really didn't bother to change anything other than the name that was going on a repeat bill.

Get rid of the reason they are suffering instead of healing

Veterans already led the way on preventing suicides

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 31, 2019


Today Martin Kuz asked a question on the Christian Science Monitor "Can veterans lead the way on preventing suicide?" but apparently, much was missed. The premise of the article seems to have been focusing on guns instead of acknowledging the fact that given the rate of suicides in the veteran community, the known numbers anyway, has gone up, this is an odd place to start.

"Guns rank as the most lethal method of suicide, with 9 in 10 attempts proving fatal. Almost 70% of veterans who take their own lives use a firearm – compared with about half of civilians who die by suicide – and one-third of former service members store guns loaded and unlocked in their homes."

Kuz began the subheading with this.

"WHY WE WROTE THIS Highly regarded in society, veterans hold the potential to help bridge America’s divide over firearms by recasting the debate as a public health issue."

Yet it seems he missed the point.

"Suicide rates for veterans and the overall population have climbed over the past 20 years, and more than 6,100 former service members died by their own hand in 2017. Mental health researchers suggest that, given the public’s esteem for veterans, the VA campaign holds potential to influence civilian attitudes about lethal means safety as a deterrent to suicide. “Veterans are venerated in our society,” says Dr. Joseph Simonetti, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine who has studied gun storage habits among veterans and civilians. “To the extent that they make changes in their approach to gun safety, that could have an effect on the rest of the country.”"

How can veterans with a higher suicide rate, mostly committed by the use of guns, lead the way on preventing them in the civilian world?

Actually they not only can, but they should. The thing is, they cannot do it from where they are right now.

"In response, the VA has sought to promote firearm safety as part of its campaign to reduce suicide risk, urging veterans to consider precautions that include gun locks, removing a gun’s firing pin, or storing firearms outside the home."

There was a bill passed by Congress and signed by President Bush in 2007 addressing suicides and linking guns to it. The Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention Act was supposed to "prevent suicides" but as we have witnessed, higher number of suicides happened within the military community as well as the veteran community, just as they also went up in the civilian population.

Taking away guns does not prevent suicides. They just choose another way to do it. It would make a lot more sense to get rid of the reason they are suffering instead of healing.

The thing that most people miss is that when someone joins the military, they train to do whatever is necessary to save the lives of those they are with. Civilians do not do that, for the most part, but we have seen many times when they also put the lives of others ahead of their own.

If we cannot get those individuals to recognize that fact, then how can we get the average person to see that there is nothing wrong with asking for help. It is only wrong when the help they need is replaced by what has already failed.

We know that addressing PTSD needs to begin as soon as possible after "it" happened. The sooner, the more healing can happen but even after decades, there is recovery happening. It has to include mental health help, taking care of the physical reactions and above all else, the spiritual needs of the survivors.

As for the rest, Kuz also must have missed the point that the civilian world already received lessons from veterans. It came in the form of all the research done on what trauma does and that was provided by Vietnam veterans coming home and making all that possible way back in the 70's.

Those who serve this country now...those who served it before, and all those who will come afterwards are screwed!

Dereliction of the duty they provided

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 28, 2019

A report on Military Times should have sent shockwaves to every military family. Considering what we have seen with the rise in suicides among those currently serving, it is an indication that things are about to get even worse.

Since 2012, the average number of suicides reported by the Department of Defense remains at about 500 per year but considering that most reporters really do not give a crap, most people do not know that.

Considering we cannot even get that through to the public, who has the time to talk about their family members committing suicide? After all, we cannot even manage to talk about what the troops are still going through after billions have been spent to prevent them from committing suicide.

Bet you didn't know a Captain in the Kansas National Guard quit in protest because of the lack of actual suicide prevention!

The rest of the report should have sent shockwaves into the veterans community as well. As more and more seem fine with the fact that the VA budget has ballooned to cover private practices picking up the healthcare of our veterans, we also need to think about the ramifications because it is not good in the real world.

"The report noted that the D.C. area is one of the most challenging in the country to hire mental health providers; more than 80 percent of psychiatrists, psychologists and license clinical social workers do not take insurance, operating on a cash-only basis."

Yes you read that right...cash only! How many others are operating the same way? How many veterans are also paying cash so that no one knows they are being treated for PTSD to avoid the threat of losing their guns, or jobs? Any idea how many are still working on jobs that require them to be able to carry weapons?

It is too easy to just assume that all veterans with PTSD are too dangerous to have a gun! Top that off with the providers taking cash only, will not be inclined to see patients sent from the VA, especially when their track record of paying is abysmal!

But is actually even worse than that. Back to the report on Military Times.

"The demand for mental health services has risen across the United States in the past decade as the number of providers is has not kept pace and is barely holding steady. The Health Resources and Services Administration projects a shortfall of 250,000 providers by 2025."

And even more damning...

"And some geographic regions are harder hit by the mental health provider shortage. In these areas, the Defense Department faces even more difficult challenges hiring and retaining an adequate number of personnel."

Take a look at what some want to subject veterans across the country to because if there are not enough providers for civilians, we just sent veterans to the back of the that line!

WWMT News reported in Michigan there is a shortage of mental health providers.

Studies show in Michigan about 330,000 people live with a serious mental illness, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and nearly 60% don't receive treatment because help can be hard to find.

Like most of the country, Michigan is in desperate need of more psychiatrists - especially for children.

According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists, the state had just 239 psychiatrists trained to treat children in 2017, which is 11 psychiatrists for every 100,000 children across the state.

KFDA News reported that Texas Panhandle sees shortage of Mental Health Providers

The recent data shows that across the state there is an average of one mental health provider to 957 individuals, but in the Texas Panhandle there is one mental health provider to 4,400 individuals, which makes it hard for those with behavioral issues to get the help they need. Like the rest of the United States, the Panhandle is seeing an increase in patients seeking mental health treatment, but they can’t find enough doctors, nurses, and therapists to treat them.

KCUR NPR reported Kansas Sees Shortage Of Psychiatrists And Other Mental Health Providers

For years, the center has used remote appointments with local psychiatrists to reach patients in far-flung corners of its coverage area, which spans 20 largely rural counties. But recently, Hill said, it’s been almost impossible to find psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses to do even that. He’s had to turn to providers who conference in from Kansas City, Texas and Tennessee.

There are 431 psychiatrists actively licensed to practice in Kansas, according to the state’s Board of Healing Arts. One calculation by the Kaiser Family Foundation estimates the state needs 53 more to meet its needs.

So do you think that you have been told the truth about any of this? Or are you now aware as to why it has gotten steadily worse for those who serve this country now...those who served it before, and all those who will come afterwards? They are screwed unless we demand a hell of a lot better out of Washington!

All they hear about is that other veterans lost their battles

Operation Snowflake helps gold star family heal following suicide

KIVI News
By: Steve Dent
Dec 22, 2019

GREENLEAF, Idaho — In 2013 Tanner Volkers died by suicide while serving in the United States Air Force, it's a loss the Volkers family continues to mourn.

"He always knew from 12-years-old that he wanted to be in the military," Tanner's mother Melissa Volkers said. “He was the happiest kid ever, and why he’s not here right now, we will never know.”

Volkers now channels her energy into helping other military families honor the lives of their loved ones lost to suicide.

"I was having a really hard time during the holidays, so I sent out for snowflakes," said Volkers. "It was very small in the beginning and I never dreamed it would turn into this.”

Operation Snowflake is a memorial that now raises awareness to the fact that every day in our country, 22 veterans and active duty service members die by suicide.
read it here

This is not the story I thought it would be.

While I feel terrible for the family, it is happening way too often. A grieving family wants to turn their pain into something positive, and that is good. What is bad is when they are passing on information that is not true. The number is not now, nor has it ever been "22 a day" and that is according to the VA and was within the report everyone seems fixated on repeating.

Further, this report contains information from the first 21 states to contribute data for this project and does not include some states, such as California and Texas, with larger Veteran populations. Information from these states has been received and will be included in future reports.

Estimates that the number of suicides among Veterans each day has increased, are based on information provided by 21 states and may not be generalizable to the larger Veteran population.

I do not blame the families but I do blame everyone, from politicians to the media for sharing a lie. To pretend to care is what made all this worse for our veterans after over a decade of people doing what they want to instead of what is needed to change the outcome.

Raising awareness veterans are killing themselves makes no sense at all. They already know that. What they do not know is how to heal because all they hear about is that other veterans lost their battles.

We have to hold all of them accountable for veterans suffering

Holding people accountable for veterans in misery!

Wounded Times
Kathis Costos
December 18, 2019

Another case of someone reporting somethings that are wrong. There is no mention of the "contributor" who wrote ‘Parking lot suicides’ at VA hospitals prompt calls for better training, prevention efforts All it has is "Denton Staff Contributor" with a mention of "The Washington Post’s Julie Tate contributed to this report."

The article starts off with this.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Alissa Harrington took an audible breath as she slid open a closet door deep in her home office. This is where she displays what’s too painful, too raw to keep out in the open.

Framed photos of her younger brother, Justin Miller, a 33-year-old Marine Corps trumpet player and Iraq veteran. Blood-spattered safety glasses recovered from the snow-covered Nissan Frontier truck where his body was found. A phone filled with the last text messages from his father: “We love you. We miss you. Come home.”

Miller was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal thoughts when he checked into the Minneapolis Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in February 2018. After spending four days in the mental-health unit, Miller walked to his truck in VA‘s parking lot and shot himself in the very place he went to find help.

“The fact that my brother, Justin, never left the VA parking lot – it‘s infuriating,” said Harrington, 37. “He did the right thing; he went in for help. I just can‘t get my head around it.”

At this point, one would assume it would be an important enough report to have been well researched, however it apparently did not deserve careful research.

The most recent parking lot suicide occurred weeks before Christmas in St. Petersburg, Florida. Marine Col. Jim Turner, 55, dressed in his uniform blues and medals, sat on top of his military and VA records and killed himself with a rifle outside the Bay Pines Department of Veterans Affairs.

“I bet if you look at the 22 suicides a day you will see VA screwed up in 90%,” Turner wrote in a note investigators found near his body.

Yet this was not the "most recent" suicide at the VA.

March 14, 2019, again in Florida, Brieux Dash committed suicide at West Palm Beach VA. He hung himself on the grounds.

In April of 2019, two veterans committed suicide in Georgia in two days.

In August of 2019, it happened in North Carolina when a veteran committed suicide in the parking lot.

There were more, but it depends on who is doing the counting because veterans cannot count on anyone to get this right for them. You would think that with all the news reports focusing on this topic, things would change, but no one is ever held accountable for their broken promises.

With more than 50,000 community organizations nationwide also committed to preventing veteran suicide, bill sponsors said their proposed legislation also would allow the VA to work more closely with those groups to reach more veterans and to make sure veterans know about all available resources.

The "contributor to Denton" also got this wrong.

Sixty-two percent of veterans, or 9 million people, depend on VA‘s vast hospital system, but accessing it can require navigating a frustrating bureaucracy. Veterans sometimes must prove that their injuries are connected to their service, which can require a lot of paperwork and appeals.

While it is true that there are around 9 million veterans in the VA system, they are not depending on VA hospitals for their healthcare. The VA released a data sheet for all the veterans collecting disability compensation by states and counties. This chart released in 2017 gives you a better idea of how the 9 million veterans are using their benefits but also a good time to remind people that there are about 20 million veterans in this country, so less than half use the VA.

We no longer have the luxury of trusting what reporters tell us. We should no longer have the patience to wait for someone to be held accountable for all of this.

The last 4 presidents, including the current one, need to be held accountable.  The 100 Senators serving right now need to be held accountable, along with all the others who have been voted out of office. The over 400 in the House of Representatives need to be held accountable, along with all the ones voted out of office. The State representatives, also passing bills and using tax payer funds to pay for services on the local level, need to be held accountable. The 50,000 groups need to be held accountable for all the money they have been getting from Americans pockets. None of that will happen until we hold the media accountable for deceiving the public!

Find something that was reported and is wrong, call the out on it! Nothing will ever change until we demand it!

Military suicide research shows suicides increased during Wars in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan

Historic data on military suicide shows no clear link with combat operations

Military Times
Leo Shane
December 13, 2019

The results show an increase in suicide rates among soldiers during the Vietnam War and the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but decreases during the U.S. Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II and the Korean War.

Contrary to public assumptions, increased combat operations do not lead to more military suicides and may actually result in fewer troops engaging in self-harm, according to a new analysis of historic Defense Department data released Friday.

Study authors say their findings provide both a reminder that the motivations behind suicide aren’t singular, simple factors, and an alert to other researchers that more data on the problem is available than they may know about.

The study tracks Army suicide data from the 1840s to today. Dr. Christopher Frueh, a professor of psychology at the University of Hawaii and one of the study’s authors, said researchers spent the last four years combing through Army medical records to find the information.

“Before we started, we didn’t know if the data would be there,” he said.

What they found was a trove of reports, including from the Army Surgeon General as far back as 1843 that included accounting of “self-inflicted” deaths in the ranks. By the early 1900s, those suicides were clearly delineated in official service figures, allowing researchers to analyze the death totals across different eras of military operations.
read it here

Female veterans it is no longer acceptable to be forgotten warriors!

Female veterans it is no longer acceptable to be forgotten warriors! Isn't it time that your service mattered as much as the male veterans? Isn't it time that you received the same attention to your needs and wounds?

Hell, it isn't as if women did not fight since the Revolutionary War! Considering that women have earned ever medal for service, including the Medal of Honor after the Civil War, you deserve a lot more than you have been getting.

Point Man International Ministries is coming to the New Hampshire-Maine border just for you! My husband and I moved from Florida to Rochester New Hampshire. Point Man has asked me to open the first Out Post for female veterans. While I am not a veteran, the need is so great that we can no longer wait to find a female veteran to take the lead on this.

The goal is to begin to train women veterans from all generations to open their own Out Post and Home Fronts for families.

Consider the following and begin to understand why we can no longer wait for someone else to do it.

The need for female veterans is growing and will continue to grow as more women enter the military.

Military.com had this in 2019 report With Historic Number of Women in Uniform, the Vet Community Is About to Change

In fact, the number of women in the armed services -- and subsequent veteran population -- is rapidly increasing. According to the Defense Department, women now make up 20 percent of the Air Force, 19 percent of the Navy, 15 percent of the Army and almost 9 percent of the Marine Corps.

Women now make up approximately 10 percent of the current veteran population, the fastest-growing demographic. The number of female veterans treated at the VA almost tripled between 2000 and 2015. As a result of this rapid growth, the VA experienced difficulty meeting the clinical needs of female veterans at all sites of care.

For 2017 according to the VA report on Female Veterans 8,541 lived in New Hampshire and 9,103 lived in Maine.

And another report from the VA in 2018 focusing on female veterans indicated that "between 2005 and 2015 female veterans between the age of 35 and 54 had higher suicide rates than those in other age groups. While we seem fixated on the rise of veteran suicides in general, the most shocking find was that for male veterans the rate went up 35.3 but the rate for female veteran suicides went up 45.2 percent.

It is no longer a matter of we need to do better. It has become we have to do better right now and we have had enough years to get this right! Contact Kathie Costos at 407-754-7526 email woundedtimes@aol.com

Tell veterans the truth that can set them free to heal instead of committing suicide

Counting more suicides because they could not count on us

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 5, 2019

I have been thinking a lot about "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" John 8:32 but there has not been much truth telling going on and instead of setting veterans free from their pain by helping them heal, we have succumbed to slogans. How is it that anyone has been so oblivious they actually believe reminding veterans they are killing themselves is a good thing to do?

Seems it would be a lot wiser to tell veterans the truth that can set them free to heal PTSD after service instead of committing suicide.

It isn't as if no one has tried, or pretended to do so, but far too many have failed. The evidence of this is clear. We have we been reading headlines like this for decades. "Lawmakers seek answers on rising military and veterans suicide rates" and then end up reminded of how it has all gotten worse.

The DoD’s 2018 Annual Suicide Report, released in September, found the suicide rate for active-duty U.S. service members in 2018 was 24.8 deaths per 100,000 troops, the highest on record since DoD began tracking suicides closely in 2001.

What that article does not point out is that there was another headline "obtained by the Associated Press" declaring that suicides were at a 26 year high. Well, that number was 99 and the year was 2006 when they committed suicide.

Who offered an apology to Teri and Patrick Caserta after their son Brandon committed suicide? Who gave excuses to other parents after all these years?

Joshua Omvig committed suicide and his parents fought like hell to get the government to do something about saving those who serve. President Bush signed the bill in his name in 2007. No one can explain what happened to all the other bills that followed year after year while the number of those serving, and those who became veterans, continued to climb. No one has been held accountable as more grieving families pleaded with the government to do something that would actually turn things around.

I have been asking why the press was not on suicide watch since 2007, because once they do a report, they seem to lack the ability to retain any of it. It is for sure no editor has assigned the task of putting it all together as if any of it really matters.

More and more groups pop up, get their publicity while apparently never taking any of it seriously enough that they actually manage to change a damn thing. Oh, excuse me. They do manage to change their bank accounts while they fabricate suicide figures and facilitate the ear worm penetrating so deeply veterans cannot fathom possibilities of healing waiting for them.

The press loves to cover feel good stories of the stunts almost as much as they seem to want all the grizzly details of those who took their own lives. What they do not seem too interested in are facts, or reporting anything that will make a difference. How about first telling them the truth about all the lies they have been fed? How about letting them know that they can heal PTSD and their lives can be so much better? How about all the groups claiming to care actually start to do the work necessary to let them know they really do matter and are worthy of the time it takes to change their lives?

That won't happen until we are brave enough to tell the truth and stop settling for BULLSHIT!

Wounded Times predicted rise in suicides a decade ago...DOD still clueless

In 2009 I wrote "Comprehensive Soldier fitness will make it worse"

General Casey, now hear this, you cannot, repeat, cannot train your brain to prevent PTSD and until you understand this "Because it is scientifically proven, you can build resilience." does not equal the cause of PTSD, you will keep making it worse! Did the rise in suicides and attempted suicides offer you no clue that Battlemind didn't work? Apparently something told you it didn't or you'd still be pushing this. When you have a program in place to "train them to be resilient" beginning with telling them if they do not, it's their fault, what the hell did you and the other brass expect? Did you think they would listen to the rest of what the Battlemind program had to say to them? Are you out of your mind?

With all due respect, because I do believe you care about the men and women you command, this is just one more in a series of mistakes because it seems no one in the Pentagon or the upper rows of the food chain have a clue what causes PTSD.

While adversity does make some stronger, you cannot train them to do it. Life and character does that quite effectively on their own. Some will walk away stronger after traumatic events but one out of three humans will not. Some experts put the rate at one out of five walk away wounded but the best experts I've listened to since 1982 have put it at one out of three.

Do you think that this man could have "trained his brain" as well?

UK:WWII veteran finally diagnosed with PTSD

A D-DAY hero has been told he is suffering a stress related illness picked up in battle — 65 years AFTER he was the first Brit to storm an enemy beach.

WWII vet George McMahon, who was the first soldier on Sword Beach in Normandy, France, had revealed he is still suffering terrifying flashbacks from June 6, 1944.

And Army docs have told the 89-year-old war hero he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) picked up during WWII.

Mr McMahon's family first sought help from docs when the ex-soldier talked vividly about the war in the lead-up to the 65th anniversary of D-Day.

Mr McMahon of Kirk Ella, Hull, was then visited by the Service Personnel and Veterans' Agency — part of the Ministry of Defence — who said he was displaying PTSD symptoms.

The Scotland-born Army vet who served with The King's Regiment Army was awarded the Military Cross for storming two machine-guns.

Back then there were plenty of excuses to use for what happened to veterans but after Vietnam veterans came home and forced the wound to be treated, we ran out of excuses. How can you continue to dismiss what is so obvious? It is the nature of man, what is in their core, their empathy for others that is at the root of PTSD. I've talked to them long enough and enough of them to have understood this over 20 years ago. I also live with one.

I'm sick and tired of reading about what does not work being repeated. In all these years, people like me have already learned from the mistakes we made trying to help our husbands and others. To us, it wasn't a numbers game or a research project. This has meant our lives and the lives of the men we wanted to spend the rest of our lives with. Aside from that General Casey, I've spent countless hours attempting to undo the damage done because the troops are not being told what they need to hear in the first place.

I've held Marines in my arms crying because the military told them they were not strong enough and National Guardsmen told they were not cut out for combat. All of this because the military has been telling them it's their fault they didn't work hard enough to toughen their brains.

How many more suicides are you willing to live with? Has it not gotten thru to you yet that you are losing more men and women after combat than you do during it? This is only part of it because I doubt you have considered how many have committed suicide and tried it after they were discharged. You cannot order them to stop caring! You cannot order them to become callous or oblivious to the suffering of others. Between the members of their own unit to the innocent civilians that do end up in the wrong place at the wrong time, you cannot seriously expect them to just "get over it" and "toughen" their brains. These men and women walk away with their own pain compounded by the pain of others. This is what opens the door to PTSD and until you understand this is what the difference is, you will never get close enough to finding the best treatment for it and they will continue to pay for it.

Ever notice the vast majority of the men and women you command end up carrying out the mission they are given, fighting fiercely and showing great courage even though they are already carrying the wound inside of them? They fulfill their duty despite flashbacks and nightmares draining them because their duty comes first to them. Do you understand how much that takes for them to do that? Yet you think telling them their minds are not tough enough will solve the problem? What kind of a tough mind do you think they needed to have to fight on despite this killing pain inside of them?

I fully understand to you, I'm no one. I have been ignored by senators and congressmen, doctors and other brass for as long as I've been trying to help, so you are not the first. I've also been listened to by others trying to think outside the box, but more importantly to me, by the men and women seeking my help to understand this and their families. I tell them what you should have been telling them all along so that they know it's not their fault, they did not lack courage and they are not responsible for being wounded any more than they would have been to have been found by a bullet with their name on it.

And then I issued the prediction that should have been seen by all the experts as a warning of what was to come.

If you promote this program the way Battlemind was promoted, count on the numbers of suicides and attempted suicides to go up instead of down. It's just one more deadly mistake after another and just as dangerous as sending them into Iraq without the armor needed to protect them.

I was right back then, still right now, while the DOD remains clearly wrong...and too many servicemembers remain choosing to die instead of fighting for their own lives.

This is the "headline" they are dealing with now.

U.S. military’s suicide rate for active-duty troops up over the past five years, Pentagon says

But the Pentagon must build better understanding of the effectiveness of its suicide-prevention efforts, she said. That can be done through examining pilot programs and seeing “what is working in the civilian sector and bringing it into the military as a promising practice and to measure the effectiveness.”

Too bad they have been saying the same F***ing thing for a decade!

Sec. of the Army said he is pushing "resilience training" when in fact it has been more responsible for military suicides and enforces the stigma of PTSD. Telling them they can train their brains to be mentally tough ends up telling them they are mentally weak. They won't admit they need help to a buddy that heard the same message. No one is held accountable and I just got off the phone with another Mom after he son committed suicide. woundedtimes.blogspot.com February 5, 2013

186 reported suicide deaths in 2017, including 123 spouses and 63 dependents

Here’s what first-ever data shows about military family suicides

Military Times
By: Karen Jowers  
September 26, 2019

Of the 123 spouses who died by suicide in 2017, 14 percent, or about 17, were active duty, in dual military marriages.

Getty Images/Stock

The prevalence of suicide among military family members is about the same or less than in the civilian population, according to a report from the Defense Department.

It’s the first time data on military family member suicides has ever been released by the Defense Department. This report includes one year of data: 2017, so there’s no basis of comparison for trends within the community.

Data from 2017 is also the most recent available, because the information is partly dependent on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The overall suicide rate among family members was 6.8 per 100,000 population in 2017, which is less than half the rate in the U.S. general population of 14.5 per 100,000. This measurement is the standard comparison used by the government for suicide rates in populations.

The overall military spouse rate of suicide was 11.5 per 100,000; the rate for dependents was 3.8 per 100,000. Adjusting for age and gender, the rates were comparable to or lower than those in the general population, officials said.

According to the report:
There were 186 reported suicide deaths in 2017, including 123 spouses and 63 dependents. The dependents ranged in age from 12 to 23; and almost half of the dependents who died were 18 years or older. Two-thirds of the spouses who died by suicide were female, and 82 percent were under age 40.

Ages 18 to 60 were used in the rate comparison for spouses. When examined by age, officials said, the suicide rates for female military spouses was 9.1 and for male spouses, 29.4 per 100,000 population. For females and males in the general population, the rates were 8.4 and 28.4 per 100,000 population, respectively.

For active duty spouses, the rate is higher: 13.2 per 100,000.

Firearms were used in more than half of the suicide deaths of military spouses and dependents. For female spouses, that trend departs from suicides of females of similar age in the U.S. general population, where poisoning or drug overdose were as prevalent as firearms.
read it here

...and yet, according to the DOD, they have been working very hard to support the families who support their servicemembers! Seriously?