A possible answer to the uptick in suicides.

SFC Michael Hasbun — Tue, 04 Mar 2014 12:22:52 -0500

I'd like to get you're thoughts on this ladies and gentlemen. Half of me is thinking "how do you come to this conclusion without interviewing and diagnosing every single military member?" but the other half of me is thinking "well this makes complete sense actually!".

Almost 1 in 5 had mental illness before Army enlistment, study says

The findings, published online in JAMA Psychiatry, point to a weakness in the recruiting process, experts said. "The question becomes, 'How did these guys get in the Army?'" Harvard sociologist Ronald...

Response by CW2 Joseph Evans made Mar 4 at 2014 1:21 PM

CW2 Joseph Evans — Tue, 04 Mar 2014 13:21:02 -0500

I would be curious to see what the ASVAB scores were for the high risk individuals. Were lower scores or higher scores more susceptible? Were both? Is there an indicator that can be looked for that won't require disclosure?
What about the issues of training? Rewarding behavior appropriate for conditions such as calm in non-competitive environments while rewarding aggression in high risk situations?
We all know the suicide briefs are ridiculous. I recognize that if they save just one life, they are worth it, but there has got to be a more cost/time effective way of dealing with depression/suicide than death by powerpoint.

Response by Sgt Eben Osgood made Mar 4 at 2014 2:51 PM

Sgt Eben Osgood — Tue, 04 Mar 2014 14:51:22 -0500

This report is bogus. The reason why suicides have increased is not some ridiculous number of mental health cases prior to enlistment. The reason why there is an uptick in suicide rates is because our service members are being subjected to more horrifying forms of combat, very similar to what was experienced in Vietnam. Unspecified enemy combatants, unconventional tactics (IEDs), and poor ROEs. When you couple that trio with the lack of medical care that our veterans aren't receiving, then you get a scenario of a perfect storm for suicides. Now let's throw into the mix that many active duty personnel that are struggling with PTSD or TBI are given chemical concoctions and shoved right back into the situation that gave them PTSD/TBI. Now let's add that the alternative veterans and active members are turning to is drugs/alcohol dependency to cope with their trauma. So now we have unconventional, ultra-violent combat, poor treatment upon return, being shoved right back into combat, little to no treatment after separation, and drugs/alcohol. Our men and women are being set up for failure, and more then 6k are taking their lives every year, that's the population of Manistee, MI- GONE, every year.

Response by LTC Jason Strickland made May 17 at 2014 8:09 AM

LTC Jason Strickland — Sat, 17 May 2014 08:09:12 -0400

Hey, we all have our issues, flaws, and problems. Few people consider their issues so atrocious that they take their own lives. However, the military (and society) must take into consideration those that do have that perspective. The problem is that a veteran is 4x as likely to commit suicide than the rest of the population. This is an issue that must be addressed.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jun 9 at 2019 7:30 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Sun, 09 Jun 2019 19:30:16 -0400

Social media has not made our kids tougher.