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View Full Version : U.S. military suicides remain high for 7th year



Rocky C
04-03-16, 10:18 AM
The Pentagon reported Friday that 265 active-duty service members killed themselves last year, continuing a trend of unusually high suicide rates that have plagued the U.S. military for at least seven years.

The numbers of suicides among troops was 145 in 2001 and began a steady increase until more than doubling to 321 in 2012, the worst year in recent history for service members killing themselves.

The suicide rate for the Army that year was nearly 30 suicides per 100,000 soldiers, well above the national rate of 12.5 per 100,000 for 2012.

Military suicides dropped 20 percent the year after that, and then held roughly steady at numbers significantly higher than during the early 2000s. The 265 suicides last year compares with 273 in 2014 and 254 in 2013. By contrast, from 2001 through 2007, suicides never exceeded 197.


"Suicide prevention remains a top priority, and the Department will continue its efforts to reduce deaths by suicide among its service members," said Marine Lt. Col. Hermes Gabrielle, a Pentagon spokeswoman. "Reducing suicide risk entails creating a climate that encourages servicemembers to seek help, reducing access to lethal means and broadening communication and awareness to Service members and their families."

Among efforts by the military to combat suicide was a $5 million, long-term study by the Army that eventually produced algorithms for predicting what group of soldiers is most likely to commit suicide. The Department of Veterans Affairs has embraced the science and will soon launch a pilot program for helping its therapists concentrate efforts on those veterans with strong self-destructive tendencies.


The increase in suicide in the military was driven largely by the Army, where suicides rose sharply from 45 in 2001 to 165 in 2012. The Army reported 120 suicides last year, the same as in 2013 and down from 124 in 2014.

Data released Friday also show that suicides among reserve troops — reservists in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps and the National Guard — were 210 last year. That is an increase from 170 suicides in 2014 but down from 220 suicides in 2013.

U.S. troops have been at war since 2001 in Afghanistan, and fought in the Iraq war from 2003 to 2011.

MunkyVsRobot
04-03-16, 05:57 PM
Unfortunately a lot of it is because at least from my perspective the new generation doesn't really have thick skin at all they really haven't had too much adversity in their lives and they don't know how to deal with it.

2 Marine Mom
04-03-16, 11:58 PM
I see in one of the other threads, about the marine suicides, one of the main causes is, relationship issues. I wonder, if they asked the questions to find out the specifics, of the relationship issues. I know most of us off he top of our head, would figure it to be, spousal issues, but, I know there are a lot of kids that recruit, because of problems in the home/birth family. I'm pretty sure thats why my daughter, enlisted. Her fathers very controlling, and alcoholic, among other things. Thats why I left. although we got joint custody, and I got full visitation rights. I had no place to take the kids, since my X had money, and got me thrown into the street. thats why he got physical custody. But he made sure the kids didn't want to come see me. My son did sometimes, but I'm sure he paid dearly for it when he got home. Since all of this I'v done some research on the whole Parental alienation thing, which seems to be in epidemic form, right now. My daughter,said, to my mom, when she stopped to see her before she left for boot, that she needed to get out of Nebraska, and had told her brother, she needed to get out of North bend. I'm wondering how many of these marines, committing suicide, have issues, like this, that,they are also dealing with. My research, said that children, that have been alienated from a parent are more prone to drugs and alcohol, and suicide, because they have been told by the alienating parent that the other parent is a piece of crap. Well, when the kids think about it, they are part of 2 people, after being told that for long enough, they think, that, well, in my case, If my daughter were thinking in those terms, she would be thinking like this. If im half of my mom, and dad says shes a piece of crap, than that means I too am a piece of crap, and I also don't have a reason to live. That thought pattern is hard for anyone to take. and I could see where you might go over the edge, especially, when your not allowed, to talk to the other parent, to see what is actually true. I'v been told my daughter looks, exactly like me, except for being blonde, and I know she has, my blank you, attitude. I also know, If I didn't sign her paperwork to join, she'd figure it out and get it done, anyway, just like me. SHE is MY daughter, AND IT SHOWS IN MANY WAYS. It might be questions they want to look into, to understand, other issues behind the sucides, too. Id read a post by a recruit, he said it wasn't very long after he go home on leave, that he remembered, why he left home.