What has led modern soldiers to become twice as susceptible to suicide?

2015-10-30T10:56:45-04:00

Over and over we hear that another comrade has taken his or her own life and sometimes we hear that they also took the lives of others around them.
Over and over we talk about how to prevent servicemen and women from committing suicide.
Over and over we talk about recognizing the signs, intervention, support groups, buddy checks, medication...

There's nothing wrong with any of these things however I began recently to wonder if we're not going about this the wrong way. Everything here is a reaction to a symptom. What if instead of reacting to and treating the symptom we look for and treat the cause?

Here is something I came across and think is worth sharing.

What has led modern soldiers to become twice as susceptible to suicide?

"'The self-esteem generation'
Some answers lie in present military lifestyles and in the multiple deployments of soldiers to Iraq and Afghanistan — but also in stark psychological distinctions between today’s 20-somethings and the mindsets of past generations, according to Rudd and to veterans of recent and past U.S. combat actions.

“The fact is, nobody really understands what it means to be at a wartime, operational tempo for more than a decade,” Rudd said. “What that means for soldiers is: When they come home from those deployments, they’re never really off duty.

“They get block leave for a month or so when they get back (from war) and then they’re right back in the field, training. Even at home, you’re away from your family. That level of disconnection is a big deal,” Rudd added.

And at military garrisons on home soil, some service members stay and sleep in private quarters versus the packed barracks of long ago. Rudd said he was surprised to see such a setup earlier this year when he visited the 29 Palms Marine base in Southern California.

“They had their own TVs, no common areas. Entitlement has grown in younger generations and society has embraced that, giving in to the entitlement,” Rudd said. The military has “made decisions in accommodating these kinds of requests for more privacy and more seclusion by isolating (soldiers) even further.

“This group is the self-esteem generation. My worry is they have not dealt with enough challenges, enough disappointments in life for many of them to build the kind of resilience that is foundational when you go to war,” added Rudd. “This has led to many of us to having thin skin. That doesn’t bode well when you go to war.”

But suicide is not solely a military phenomenon, said Cynthia O. Smith, a spokeswoman for the Department of Defense, who described suicide as “a national public health problem” and the 10th leading cause of death for all Americans.

The Pentagon has, however, rolled out numerous anti-suicide strategies during the past three years, including a 35-percent boost in the number of behavioral, health-care providers who work in primary-care clinics or who are embedded with front-line units, Smith said.

“Suicide prevention is first and foremost a leadership responsibility. Leaders throughout the chain of command must actively promote a constructive command climate that fosters cohesion and encourages individuals to reach out for help when needed,” Smith said. “Seeking help is a sign of strength.”

They went through 'harder times'
But such collective emotional strength may be lacking in today’s warriors when compared to past generations who were perhaps better steeled for battle by the epic financial hardships they faced at home, said Barry Hull, a retired Navy commander and former F/A-18 Hornet pilot who flew missions in the first Gulf War.

“Stress is all about coping skills. World War II was just as difficult as war today. But think about what the World War II (soldiers) had just come through: The Depression. What creates our coping skills? Trauma, difficulty, adversity,” Hull said. “I’m not stereotyping individuals. I’m stereotyping populations. I’m not saying youngsters today are any less – don’t misunderstand me. But our lives tend to be a little bit less adverse. We typically do not develop the coping skills that some of the older generations did.

“So you take a young, patriotic guy. He goes over (to Afghanistan or Iraq) and sees things he can’t even comprehend. And so what does it do? He tends to feel the effects of that stress more fully because he has not developed the coping skills that the older generation has developed,” Hull added.

One Iraq veteran who can speak intimately on the suicide epidemic is Andrew O’Brien, who was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and who knew a 19-year-old soldier — with a wife and child back home — who died in an explosion. That 2009 family tragedy left O’Brien asking: “Why couldn’t it have been me?” In 2010, after returning to his Army base in Hawaii, O’Brien tried to kill himself by swallowing several bottles of pills, including sleep medication and anti-depressants. He awoke in a hospital the next day.

“That older generation, they went through harder times, the Depression, and they had so many worse things going for them. I feel like it made them more prepared,” said O’Brien, who has written an anti-suicide guide and who is scheduled to speak this weekend in New Orleans about his experiences.

But among older and younger veterans, there is one common thread that perhaps leaves both groups vulnerable to post-war struggles, O’Brien said. It is a basic tenet of Army teaching and military character.

“We are trained to be selfless. Being selfless is good when you’re deployed. You’re constantly making sure you’ve got your buddy’s back," O’Brien said. "But when you come back, it’s not good. And you have to live for the rest of your life with survivor guilt, with the fact that we lost that person.”"

Response by SCPO David Lockwood made Oct 30 at 2015 11:05 AM

2015-10-30T11:05:20-04:00

In my opinion, today's generation has been coddled so much that they don't know how to deal with everyday pressures. They don't know how to deal with failure. We as a country have been bent on making kids feel good about themselves and forgot to teach them what it was like not to lose, fail or any other negative aspect of life and how to deal with it.

Response by PO3 Steven Sherrill made Oct 30 at 2015 11:09 AM

2015-10-30T11:09:01-04:00

COL Mikel J. Burroughs You need to read this sir. It is right in your wheelhouse.

Response by PO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 30 at 2015 11:19 AM

2015-10-30T11:19:41-04:00

I will answer it in a very politically incorrect way, For God and Country! .... When country fail you, there is still God. When you only fight for country ... and the country fail you ... guess what happen? You will overwhelm with anger ... and it lead to extreme action.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 30 at 2015 11:19 AM

2015-10-30T11:19:41-04:00

Are we looking at the wrong problem?

A large study of nearly 4 million U.S. service members and veterans found that deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan is not associated with an increased risk of suicide.

Appearing in JAMA Psychiatry online on Wednesday, the study by researchers at the Defense Department's National Center for Telehealth and Technology, or T2, indicates that although the suicide rate among active-duty personnel has increased since 2001, the rate for those who deployed to a combat zone was roughly the same as for those who did not.

Rather, the study found that the military group at highest risk for suicide are those who served in the military for less than a full enlistment.

In fact, the suicide rate among those who served less than a year was 2.5 times the active-duty rate, according to the research.

And those rates remained extremely high among those who served less than three years.

Study: No link between combat deployment and suicides

A large study of nearly 4 million U.S. service members and veterans found that deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan is not associated with an

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Oct 30 at 2015 11:19 AM

2015-10-30T11:19:49-04:00

That is a problematic title to say the last CPT Private RallyPoint Member.
The vast numbers of deaths in WWII on all sides do not generally include suicides even though many enemy soldiers, sailors and airmen particularly Japanese committed suicide by running or being launched against us and our allies. Who knows how many American's committed suicide either to save their fellow servicemen by rushing the enemy or out of sheer combat fatigue.
We now have the concept of death by police. Death in warfare goes back millennia. Now we have the capability to save people who would have been dead on the battlefield because of advances in triage and battlefield medicine and surgery.
I suspect the "increase" in suicides is due in part to the fact that people are able to survive what was impossible to survive in WWII or even in the Vietnam War. There is guilt, anger and incredible frustration for some of those service members and veterans.
I wonder if anybody is tracking the suicide rate for the caregivers of these severely disabled veterans. I suspect that has gone up significantly over the past couple decades. :-(

Response by SGT David T. made Oct 30 at 2015 11:26 AM

2015-10-30T11:26:39-04:00

My take on this is first repeated deployments with very little break in between. Combine that with insufficient and ineffective reintegration programs (they told us not to point weapons at family members). Also factor in laughable transition programs like the Army's ACAP that does NOTHING to help someone leaving the service. And to top it all off is when we get out of the military there is in many cases a loss of identify.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 30 at 2015 12:08 PM

2015-10-30T12:08:25-04:00

I agree to some extent. But in my opinion I really think suicide is more drawn to how much anperson can persevere! How resilient a person is. I see it also that personal background plays a big role in this. How a person is raised. Abusive? Neglected or so. By any means a person makes their choices in life. They choose their emotions every second in fact every millisecond. I got chronic ADHD and I tend to think differently. I do take meds for it and it has changed my life. Everyone in the world if different. The way you cope in life will affect a person. Suicide really is a huge thing in the military. Whether today or the past. Post deployment my company alone had 9 divorces including myself, what more I count the whole brigade of 4,000 plus or minus soldiers. People make their choices in life. I came home to a 5 month old pregnant wife(currently ex wife of course) that bared a child that wasn't my own. During that time frame I was going through a nephew that passed at the age of two. First born in my siblings. And then my mother passed. I turned towards the military programs and was in behavioral health for about 6 months. 4 classes I attended; high risk class, stress class; anger management class, and PTSD class. I learned that it wasn't for me because I was surrounded by so much negativity. I then leaned towards teleconference behavioral health from ft Sam houstons psychologist and psychiatrist. Did that for about two months and then felt like it wasn't helping me out. So I turned to prescribed medicine. And that pretty much has helped me cope with life and grasp everything daily together. Still currently take medications but I can say this now, I am at the best shape in my life. We need to look at the bright side and stop Drawing towards negativity. Help one another out! Success is out there. You got to reach for your dreams. Develope your goals. And achieve your goals. Hardest thing in life is taking the first step. Once you do that everything else is easy. From there on. Once accomplished then set new goals. Hope sharing this experience helps out. Kinda draw outta the subject but it's good to release and share experiences.

Response by SSG Audwin Scott made Oct 30 at 2015 12:08 PM

2015-10-30T12:08:38-04:00

The pressure of far to many deployments, QMP is back so many are being put out without any compensation or anything to fall back on.

Response by SSG Warren Swan made Oct 30 at 2015 12:25 PM

2015-10-30T12:25:24-04:00

Ma'am NO DISRESPECT, but my take on this is let's stop the constant dick measuring over who had it the worst. Who GAF if you deployed to Sicily, North Africa, Europe, Chosin, Da Nang, Desert Storm, or GWOT. WGAFLYINGF? Let's figure out how to rein in the situation. These Soldiers each day aren't limited to just the new crop of troops. Some of the ones not mentioned are from previous wars and somehow the memories finally made them break. And until the leaders in charge BELIEVE the BS they're trying to sell to the troops who can see right through it, we're getting what we give. When a Soldier believes his career is more important than his health we have a serious disconnect. When that Same Soldier believes his CoC will use his request for mental health possibly as a reason to push him or her out, we have a serious disconnect. When that Soldier finally breaks we have the ULTIMATE disconnect, and we get to try to pick up the pieces and figure out why did SGT Snuffy kill himself when the shit is staring us in the face? Walk the dog looking for clues and I'd bet anyone their favorite drink, MANY of the reasons are the same, and their CoC, or NCO Support channel didn't see it, or didn't react in any real time. For those that have ETS'd and are now in the populace, they suffer loneliness and no one who understands them. It's crazy to see how many we are loosing and no one's really taking it seriously, and the ones that do, don't have a way to get Senior leaders to see what they see. But come Monday, there'll be another 144 page powerpoint brief on the "importance" of looking out for each other that will go in one ear and out the other. Tuesday morning, another group of vets who saw that presentation are now dead. Wednesday another brief..Thursday..22 more...LATHER, RINSE, REPEAT.

Response by LTC John Shaw made Oct 30 at 2015 12:33 PM

2015-10-30T12:33:50-04:00

CPT Private RallyPoint Member Expectation management is much different than in prior wars. WWII you were on duty and did not come back but in rare situations. We started in Vietnam with war tours until this day. The rotations are more intense from some units, much more than others. Bottom line there is no work life balance in the military. We need to stop setting an expectation that this fictional work/life balance exists. When in war, conduct it aggressively with only the troops needed for actual combat. Provide an actual break/rotation out and expect some level of decompression from stressful events.

Response by LCDR Rabbah Rona Matlow made Oct 30 at 2015 12:36 PM

2015-10-30T12:36:16-04:00

It's a combination of unprecedented combat operations, lack of support by the chain of command, and a National Command Authority, from both parties, that is clueless...

Response by SPC Margaret Higgins made Oct 30 at 2015 2:22 PM

2015-10-30T14:22:23-04:00

CSM Jennifer Dehorty, And Guys (and /Gals, is understood): I hear of this reality over and over. I used to be a victim of this. My attempt at helping/curtailing this fact; is on http://facebook.com/groupforsuicidalactivedutyandforsuicidalveterans.

Facebook

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Oct 30 at 2015 2:30 PM

2015-10-30T14:30:06-04:00

I know this, not all PTSD soldiers are treated equally. Some go to day long therapy, some go to the WTUS, some go to short sessions of therapy and are expected to soldier on, and some are treated as fuck ups. Company Commanders and 1SGs have an important role in fixing our PTSD soldiers.

Response by SPC David S. made Oct 30 at 2015 3:00 PM

2015-10-30T15:00:47-04:00

I think there are a number of factors at play - genetics, chronic stress due to multiple deployments, possible side affects from pharmaceuticals such as Lariam and Halfan. However to understand the problem the data must be collected - The number 22 comes from a VA report that is misleading. Only 21 states provided data - 40% of the population. As well more than 34,000 suicides from the 21 states that reported data to the VA were discarded because the state death records failed to indicate whether the deceased was a veteran. So only 77% of the data was used. To me this is tainted and unreliable information - the most dangerous data is bad data. Additionally while this data will only help in understanding the demographics the circumstances that caused these suicides will more than likely be unascertainable. Case in point American suicidologists have largely restricted their death analyses to the Mortality Detail Files. In doing so they have neglected the national Multiple Cause of Death (MCOD) files, which contain information on both mental and physical health impairments among those who have committed suicide. The physical and mental aspects are only two of a number of factors that could contribute to the suicides. Data sets on economic condition, drugs use legal or other wise, family history, military records, geographic, financial, and many others would need to be integrated as well. However we need to know who we should be looking at and at this point that is still in question.

Response by SFC Eric Stoneburner made Oct 30 at 2015 3:55 PM

2015-10-30T15:55:04-04:00

There are quite a few variables to this issue; However Soldiers and veterans committing suicide due to PTSD or "battle fatigue" is not a new issue. Audie Murphy tried to bring national attention to the problem after WWII and as our military and culture has changed the situation has not improved. yes, previous generations were more resilient (growing up in an economic depression with little more than the clothes on your back will do that) the deployment pace is also to blame as is the habit of immediately reassigning a soldier who has not had time to decompress right back into another unit and a new chain of command often deploying sooner rather than later. Having gone through portions of the Army mental health system it has gotten better, but was woefully inadequate to deal with the influx of returning soldiers and their family issues. there is no one size fits all solution to this problem, especially as the military continually enters transition phases to satisfy the latest modularity/expeditionary/joint/combined plan.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Oct 30 at 2015 7:24 PM

2015-10-30T19:24:35-04:00

I think society has become softer and gentler with each generation, the military down range see horrific things, some get injured, this rotation of deployment and redeployment training stress our military folks.