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thedrifter
03-21-09, 06:12 AM
Marines initiate new approach to suicide prevention
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March 20, 2009 - 6:01 PM
JENNIFER HLAD

Forty-one Marines committed suicide in 2008, and 146 more attempted it.

It's the highest rate of suicide in the Marine Corps since 1995, and has prompted Marine leaders to initiate a new approach to suicide prevention.

Previously, annual suicide prevention training focused on teaching Marines to recognize signs of problems in their fellow Marines and get them help. Now, the training includes an additional push to encourage Marines to seek help for themselves.

If a Marine or sailor started having symptoms of a heart attack, they would not hesitate to call 911, said Cmdr. Harry Griffith, chaplain for 2nd Marine Division. But if they're having thoughts of suicide, they may not tell anyone at all, he said.

The new approach lets Marines know, "someone's willing to reach out to you, but they can't read your mind," Griffith said. "The help is out there, it's just getting through that barrier."

Marine Administrative Message 0134/09, published Feb. 27, directs commanders to conduct additional suicide prevention training during the month of March. The message includes a link to instructional materials and requires commanders to create suicide prevention videos for their units.

Though the number of suicides in the Marine Corps is "significantly below a demographically similar civilian rate, ... one suicide is too many," said 1st Lt. Philip Klay, spokesman for II Marine Expeditionary Force.

Since Oct. 1, six Marines based at Camp Lejeune or New River Air Station have committed suicide, Klay said. From Oct. 1, 2007 to Sept. 30, 2008, 12 Lejeune and New River-based Marines killed themselves. Those numbers do not include Marines who may have committed suicide while deployed.

Two who have died since late November - and two more who attempted suicide - were part of 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment. The unit's chaplain said he is going to do everything in his power to make sure those numbers do not climb.

"Our most critical and valuable asset is our Marines and sailors," said Lt. Paul Rumery, chaplain for 3/6. There are about 1,300 Marines and sailors in the unit, and "each one is valuable."

Rumery said he takes a holistic approach to suicide prevention, knowing there are often physical and mental issues involved.

With the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the demand on service members is great, Rumery said. They need to be able to ask for help, and know that it's not a sign of weakness, he said.

"Each Marine has their own responsibility to take care of themselves," Rumery said.

Wednesday morning, nine Marines from 2nd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, sat in a classroom while Griffith went through some of the new training. He talked to the men about warning signs, about how suicides are often a cry for help, and that, too often, people don't seek help earlier because of false pride.

"You have to be honest with yourself; you have to be honest with your friends," he said. "A true leader, a real leader is unafraid to confront the hard things."

Griffith said chaplains are encouraged to do the suicide prevention training in smaller groups because it is more interactive and encourages the Marines to pay attention.

In his 30 years in the military, Griffith said he has not seen many changes in the factors that contribute to suicide.

"Deployments to me have not really been the reason. It's heightened the issue," he said. "We have a young society that is hungering for relationships, but doesn't know how to do them. ... We're finding out that young men and women aren't really having healthy relationships with themselves, so they don't know how to cope."

Additionally, he said, "we as a society don't really have a healthy understanding of death. We're the only society that plays games that death is a goal."

In the past, Marines may have lived in a squad bay and had more interaction with his or her fellow Marines. Now, they can return from deployment and lock themselves in their room by themselves, play video games and maybe even have a relationship online with someone they have never met.

"That individual can hide," Griffith said. "We have to get them out of that mindset of ‘I can do it all by myself.'"

While the Marine Corps has and will continue to teach Marines how to recognize signs of trouble in others, Griffith said he attends many memorial services where people say the suicide was a surprise.

"These people are blaming themselves, saying ‘What didn't I see?' But they can't read minds," he said.

The new training includes videos that show commanders and sergeants major addressing the issue, letting Marines know they can ask for help, and how, Griffith said.

The message, he said, is: "If you let us know, if you open up to us, we're not going to condemn you, we're going to help you. ... You're not weak because you ask for help."



Contact interactive content editor and military reporter Jennifer Hlad at jhlad@freedomenc.com or 910-219-8467

Ellie