Soldier deaths in South Korea put spotlight on US military suicide crisis

[soryang]

Soldier deaths in South Korea put spotlight on US military suicide crisis
By KIM GAMEL | STARS AND STRIPES
Published: November 11, 2019

...The Pentagon reported that 541 service members died by suicide last year, up from 511 in 2017 and 482 in 2016, according to a report released in September.

Suicide rates for active-duty troops, which specialists say more accurately reflect trends, increased from 18.5 to 24.8 per 100,000 service members from 2013 to 2018.

Service members who die by suicide are mostly male, white and under the age of 30, said Karin Orvis, director of the Defense Suicide Prevention Office.

The New York Times reported this month that suicide has been deadlier than combat for the military, citing congressional testimony from Rand Corp. researcher Terri Tanielian that more than 45,000 veterans or service members have killed themselves in the past six years.

“That is more than 20 deaths a day —...

Much more:

https://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/soldier-deaths-in-south-korea-put-spotlight-on-us-military-suicide-crisis-1.606963

I've highlighted the statistics but the more anecdotal information in the article is worth a look. Obviously the armed forces and VA like to keep their statistical information and records for organizational, epidemiological and legal reasons.

I like the notion of a personal approach taken by leadership and the effort to remove the stigma from obtaining help. Typically the military hyper masculine environment hasn't been receptive to the warning signs of mental illness. One thing i noticed in and outside the military is for persons diagnosed or not to be treated as a problem that needs to go away. Some of whom end up in the brig or in jail instead of getting the treatment they need. Sometimes going AWOL is an initial indicator or otherwise cutting oneself off from the group formal or informal with which one is normally associates. Sometimes people may know what they need. The right response isn't toughen up or tough shit get back to work. FWIW.

I hope that anyone interested in this subject would read the entire article.

[B Stieg]

1. K&R