Suicide In Military

Finding Solutions to Decrease Suicide 1

Addressing Suicide Trends in the Military: Multi Facet Approach to Decreasing High

Military Suicide Rate

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Finding Solutions to Decrease Suicide 2

Abstract

The purpose of this Thesis is to find out the causes of suicide in the military. This Thesis will

also look at some of the multi-facet approach being used to eliminate and control the rate of

suicide in the military. The research was done on several reliable sources and has also included

an example of a case where a soldier took his life. This essay is meant to address the suicide

issue faced in the military and analyze the approach used to combat this problem. It also looks at

the challenges faced by this method.

Finding Solutions to Decrease Suicide 3

It’s one of the hardest jobs in the world. Soldiers are risking their lives every day for the

sake of the Nation. It's considered as an honor, and many soldiers upon returning from war are

greeted with praise and awarded medals. This action serves as recognition of their sacrifice and

show of valor. However, these brave souls of uniform end up facing an even dangerous enemy

than the one they left behind. They suffer depression which takes a toll on their mental health.

Some of them even go ahead and take their lives. Scientists have come up with approaches to try

and help these veterans. There have been recent multi-facet approaches that have been devised to

try and reduce the number of suicide among the veterans. The question that one would ask, are

these multi-facet approaches capable enough to save these souls?

The United States military is facing one of the greatest challenges in its history. It is not

happening abroad where the enemy is, but rather domestically. The military is losing both its

members and veterans to suicide at an alarming rate. The Army, which is the largest service

branch in the armed forces, has suffered the most. According to a report published by the

Pentagon, the number of suicide in the military has gone from 11 per 100,000 personnel back in

2001, to 25 per 100,000 personnel. This figure is 20% higher than the ordinary civilian suicide

rate, which stands at 14 per 100,000 people.

The above number represents the documented rise of the number of suicide by active-

duty soldiers every day. This statistics roughly translates that one death case in every 65 minutes.

The suicide rate for veterans stands at 30 per 100,000 personnel. Most of these reports, however,

don't necessarily touch on the gender of the victims. In States that reported sex, it shows that

97% of these suicide cases are male. For veteran cases that reported the age of the victims, it

shows that veterans who were aged 49 years and below recorded a 30% suicide rate compared to

69% of those of age 50 and above.

Finding Solutions to Decrease Suicide 4

According to a report published in Military Times magazine, it shows the number of

suicide committed by active-duty soldiers across all the service area; Army, Sailors, Marine and

Airmen to be 275 in 2015. That was two more soldiers than the previous year, 2014 and 22 more

than 2013. 2012 was a year when the military experience the highest number of suicide by

registering a record high of 321 cases. According to reports, it shows that more soldiers are dying

due to suicide as compared to those who die in the combat zone.

The Pentagon released a report back in March 2016 that showed even the reserve troops

were at a high risk of suicide. 210 reserve soldiers took their life, which was an increase from

170 cases in 2014. The number also showed a significant decrease from 220 cases back in 2013.

The rate of suicide in the United States military has made many experts admit this as the

‘new normal.' David Rudd, who is the president of the University of Memphis, has stretched out

the issue saying that the stability of these high rates over a period of seven years will be seen as

the ‘new normal.' He says that the fact both the Army and the Congress seem to embrace these

numbers and there is no ‘significant outrage' about it, clearly shows that the authority and top

level military is beginning to accept these figures. David Rudd was among the scientists that

served on a panel that was given the task of reviewing military mental health program back in

2014.

Craig Bryan, who is the National Center for Veterans Studies' executive director shares

the same feeling as Rudd. He says that there is a creeping mindset where the authority is

adopting the ‘this-is-just-how-it-is' mentality towards suicide cases. He says that one can feel

that the ‘sense of urgency' towards the matter has apparently faded. More and more death cases

are being recorded every day. Scientists have been questioned by the public to shed light on the

main causes of these suicide cases.

Finding Solutions to Decrease Suicide 5

It has become some sort of debate as to what is the main cause of suicide cases. Scientists

have refuted many times on many theories regarding the increase in the rate of suicide. The

significant increase in suicide cases in the military, particularly in the Army was witnessed after

United States' campaign in both Afghanistan and Iraq. After 9/11, there was enormous pressure

on the military, particularly the Army. The pressure that comes with the job has proven to be too

much to handle.

Some scientists have gone ahead and mentioned combat as the main reason why soldiers

end up committing suicide. The idea that soldiers are exposed to the harsh reality of war zone

which ends up taking a negative turn on their mental health. They have gone ahead to back this

finding by showing the relationship between the rise in suicide cases and the war in Afghanistan

and Iraq. Since the United States declared a full-blown war in Afghanistan and Iraq, the number

of suicide cases in the military has more than doubled. They have emphasized that the military

has not prepared its soldiers mentally to cope with the reality of war. They say that the soldiers

are thrown into the war zone and expected to perform like ‘robot.'

Some scientists, however, dispute this notion. The idea that suicide is related to

deployment is not entirely true. They rely on the report that showed the number of reserved

troops committing suicide. They argue that combat doesn't necessarily influence suicide. Some

soldiers had been sent to non-combat zone, which has led them to experience little to no combat

effects. It is confusing to see such soldiers committing suicide when it's clear they were not

involved directly in any combat activity.

Army director of behavioral health care, Lt. Col. Chris Ivany insists that mental illness is

directly linked to suicide cases. He also points out that mental illness has been on the rise

recently. He says failure by the soldiers and their superiors to identify the symptoms of mental

Finding Solutions to Decrease Suicide 6

illness has contributed to an increase in suicide cases. He says, once a soldier is suffering from

mental illness, his/her decision making is inhibited and mostly results in taking their life. He

includes illnesses like depression, bipolar and schizophrenia as the main culprits that lead to

suicide.

He, however, doesn't rule out the effect of combat, as this acts as a catalyst. According to

him, soldiers who have severe cases of mental illness when exposed to extreme environments

like those present in a combat zone, their mental illness win the race. They become a danger to

both themselves and their colleagues.

William Nash, who is a retired Navy Psychiatrist, he believes that many of these victims

experience what he and some of his colleagues have come to label as a concept of ‘moral injury.'

He believes that humans have a connection to their deeply held beliefs of right and wrong.

Damage to these beliefs, either through something you did and something you didn't do or by

something that was done to you can break someone's sense of moral certainty.

He continues to say that, it’s not the fear and terror that soldiers experience in the

battlefield that leads them to commit suicide, it's a shame and guilt that is related to their moral

injuries. This guilt makes the process of connecting with the society difficult for them. They end

up taking their lives instead.

Nash also talks about the failures that these soldiers experience in the combat zone.

Failure to protect their ‘brother’ who either died or suffered substantial injuries can make a

soldier see this as his/her fault. He says that these cases are more common to the Marines. He

compares this scenario to that of a parent losing their children.

Nash also focuses on the ‘friendly fire' incidents where a soldier unwillingly takes the life

of their fellow soldiers. This incident usually has an emotionally adverse effect on the soldier,

Finding Solutions to Decrease Suicide 7

according to Nash. He believes that this goes hand in hand the guilt experienced by soldiers

when they know that direct military actions led to the death of innocent civilians. He emphasized

that among the soldiers who are most vulnerable to this are the drone pilots.

Nash also stresses on another important factor. He says that the impact that a soldier

experiences when they are being discharged can have an adverse effect on the soldier, especially

to those that had lived a sealed life within the military, and suddenly find themselves excluded

from it. This was the case of one William Busbee who killed himself in front of his family and

colleagues after retiring himself.

When everyone has their theory which is supported by suicide statistics, one thing is

clear; suicide is mainly affected by the mental problem. A combination of this illness with the

pressure of the job can have a devastating effect on the soldiers. That is why many military

families, especially the ones who have lost their loved one to suicide are calling on the

government and the Pentagon to do something about it, and they have responded, or at least they

try to answer.

Pentagon and US Department of Veterans Affairs are stepping up their game in

combating this issue. The US Department of Defense (DoD) back in 2013 launched a suicide

prevention program whose primary objective is to help soldiers overcome the stigma that comes

towards seeking help. They have also introduced the rubric ‘never let our buddy fight alone,'

which is an educational campaign aimed to encourage soldiers to be vigilant on the signs of

distress among their peers.

There was a suggestion of using multi-facet approach to dealing with suicide issues.

Director of research and evaluation for the Defense Suicide Prevention Office (DSPO), Adam

Walsh, has said the department would introduce a series of new programs that will see an

Finding Solutions to Decrease Suicide 8

improvement in peer support among the servicemen, interventions, and suicide prevention

training is evaluated.

This has been due to high pressure from the public regarding the ever-rising cases of

suicide. Some have even gone ahead and questioned whether their approach works. Walsh has

emphasized that the system works, it’s only that there are numerous challenges that hinder its

progress.

Among the many difficulties, Walsh has touched on the severity of mental disorders

experienced by many soldiers who end up committing suicide. He stresses that each case is

unique in its way. Soldiers show different symptoms which make it difficult to use one major

treatment on all of them.

Among with many theories proposed by many scientists as what might be the leading

cause of suicide, it becomes difficult but not impossible to come up with a general treatment and

prevention program. Since it has already been discovered that suicide is somehow related to

mental illness, Walsh is confident that the new curriculum will work.

The peer support is meant to be the first facet, where members of the armed forces are

encouraged to help their colleagues who possess mental illness symptoms. He emphasizes that

many victims suffer alone because they are either isolated or find it hard to reintegrate back into

the society. Walsh believes that by encouraging other soldiers to offer a shoulder to lean on to

their comrades, it will greatly help those suffering to feel like they belong and be able to open up.

After showing peer support, the second step is suicide prevention training. This training

is meant to equip both the soldiers and doctors to deal with potential suicide cases. By offering

this form of training, Walsh believes that there will be a reliable and skilled workforce that will

be able to address these cases if they arise.

Finding Solutions to Decrease Suicide 9

The final stage would be intervention. This training will help soldiers know how and

when to intervene just in case one of their colleagues shows any signs of suicide. This remains as

the most critical stage as it's during this time that both the victim and people surrounding them

are most vulnerable.

Apart from this program, the military has gone ahead and invested over $50 million

studies which produced an algorithm that predicts a group of soldiers who are most likely to

commit suicide. This represents a new era where scientists are trying to embrace technology to

deal with this catastrophe.

Even with the above programs, there have been challenges that need to be addressed.

Walsh has gone ahead and pointed out to reluctance by people towards this major issue. He says

that the system is hampered by the fact that people don’t want to get involved. Limited

knowledge as to why many soldiers tend to take their life also possess another pothole. Walsh

believes that if people would get involved, this problem can be tackled and end in a short period.

It is a sad scenario to see men and women who put their lives at risk every day for the

safety of their country ends up taking their lives instead. Their suffering and of those they leave

behind should not go unnoticed. Every person should be involved to save these gentle souls

Finding Solutions to Decrease Suicide 10

References

Ed Pilkington, The Guardian: US Military Struggling to Stop Suicide Epidemic Among War

Veterans, 1 February 2013. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/feb/01/us-military-

suicide-epidemic-veteran

Patricia Kime, Military Times: Military Suicides Hold Steady in 2015, 17 December 2015.

http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/2015/12/17/military-suicides-hold-steady-

2015/77478384/

Zoroya Gregg, USA Toda: Experts Worry High Suicide Rates are a ‘new normal,' 18 June 2016.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2016/06/12/military-suicide-rates/85287518/

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