thedrifter
10-21-07, 09:00 AM
Military lags on suicide prevention, report says
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Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, October 21, 2007
In 2006, 30 soldiers and Marines committed suicide while serving in the war in Iraq, the most in any year since it began in 2003, according to information released by the Defense Manpower Data Center in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by The Bee.
This year is on track to meet or surpass that number with at least 27 suicides so far in 2007.
Soldiers and Marines are being required to serve on the front lines for longer than any time in U.S. military history, according to a report on mental health by the Army's Office of the Surgeon General.
During World War II and Vietnam, service members were regularly and routinely withdrawn from war zones for rest, something that's not happening in this war, the report says.
The report also deemed the military's suicide prevention training not applicable in a combat environment. And with only one behavioral health specialist per 1,000 service members – one per 700 soldiers and 2,000 Marines – the question is whether service members would be able to access help even if they overcame the military stigmas surrounding mental health issues.
The Army responded to increasing suicide rates by committing several months ago to increase its behavioral health staff, although the number actually hired so far is "quite small," Col. Elspeth Ritchie, behavioral health psychiatry consultant to the U.S. Army Surgeon General, said during a media roundtable. He said mental health professionals are in short supply.
The Army has extended the leaves of soldiers deployed to the Middle East for 15 months from 15 to 18 days.
Ellie
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Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, October 21, 2007
In 2006, 30 soldiers and Marines committed suicide while serving in the war in Iraq, the most in any year since it began in 2003, according to information released by the Defense Manpower Data Center in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by The Bee.
This year is on track to meet or surpass that number with at least 27 suicides so far in 2007.
Soldiers and Marines are being required to serve on the front lines for longer than any time in U.S. military history, according to a report on mental health by the Army's Office of the Surgeon General.
During World War II and Vietnam, service members were regularly and routinely withdrawn from war zones for rest, something that's not happening in this war, the report says.
The report also deemed the military's suicide prevention training not applicable in a combat environment. And with only one behavioral health specialist per 1,000 service members – one per 700 soldiers and 2,000 Marines – the question is whether service members would be able to access help even if they overcame the military stigmas surrounding mental health issues.
The Army responded to increasing suicide rates by committing several months ago to increase its behavioral health staff, although the number actually hired so far is "quite small," Col. Elspeth Ritchie, behavioral health psychiatry consultant to the U.S. Army Surgeon General, said during a media roundtable. He said mental health professionals are in short supply.
The Army has extended the leaves of soldiers deployed to the Middle East for 15 months from 15 to 18 days.
Ellie