thedrifter
04-18-09, 06:10 AM
Web Posted: 04/18/2009 12:00 CDT
Mullen 'alarmed' at rise in GI suicides
By Sig Christenson - Express-News
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday that the Army is on pace to break a record number of suicides that was set last year and that the Pentagon is growing increasingly concerned about the trend — which is occurring in all service branches.
Adm. Mike Mullen, meeting with reporters after visiting wounded troops at Fort Sam Houston, blamed a high deployment tempo to the war zone for rising stress on GIs and their families but rejected one retired commander’s call to boost the Army to 700,000 troops.
“I, as the rest of the leadership in the military — military and civilian — we are alarmed with the increase in suicides, particularly in the Army,” he said. “All the services, actually, the numbers are going up but the Army has spiked very badly through 2006, 7 and 8, and we are also on a pace right now, in 2009, which will exceed 2008.”
Mullen and his wife, Deborah, met with troops at Brooke Army Medical Center, the Institute of Surgical Research burn ward in the hospital, the Center for the Intrepid and Warrior and Family Support Center, which opened Dec. 1 and is home to 600-plus wounded GIs.
The Fort Sam visit revealed a growing support infrastructure for wounded troops.
The post is home to the military’s sole burn treatment facility. Since 9-11, it has treated more than 4,169 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines hurt in the war zone. The burn center has cared for 790 troops.
Mullen’s tour came amid news that two soldiers have mysteriously died at Fort Sam over the past several weeks. He said he was aware of the deaths of Chief Warrant Officer 1 Judson Erik Mount and Spc. Craig Reginald Hamilton, but knew no details.
Mount and Hamilton died April 7 and March 27, respectively, prompting criminal intelligence division investigations and autopsies. Just why they died isn’t yet known, but the Army has grappled with suicides and cases of soldiers dying of drug interactions.
The Army recorded 128 suicides among active-duty soldiers last year — a record that could rise even more as other cases are resolved. Mullen said the solution to the problem is leadership from top officers and NCOs.
“I know the leadership of all the services and particularly the Army is very focused on this and I think that really is a big part of the solution,” he said.
“But also the military has been pressed. We’re in our eighth year of war, repeated deployments, the stress levels are up, and we have to recognize that stress is driving an awful lot of this. We’ve got to look for ways to relieve that stress.”
Soldiers in Baghdad and at Fort Hood have told the San Antonio Express-News that they’ve grown weary of fighting that has kept them away from their families for much of the past six years.
They’ve typically spent a year in Iraq or Afghanistan and a year at home since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. One major complaint is that the year of “dwell time” with families actually is around six months because of training for the next duty tour.
Mullen has expressed worries over the issue, telling a group in New York last month that psychological problems with former GIs and strain on their families is a “50-, 60- or 70-year problem.”
However, while reiterating his concerns Friday, he rejected one possible solution — a sharp increase in the number of soldiers that would take the Army to just under Cold War levels.
Gen. Jack Keane, a retired Army vice chief of staff, has argued for increasing his service to 700,000 soldiers, “close to a Cold War Army.”
Saying he has “seen the impact repetitive deployments have had on families,” U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is supporting legislation that would increase the Army’s current end strength, 547,000 soldiers, by another 30,000. Mullen said the current mark is good for now.
“We’re today in the Army at 547,000, which is the authorized end strength increase from about 485,000 when these wars started,” he said. “It’s my view that that’s about right, and we just got to 547,000 and I’d like to settle out on that before we make any decisions about whether we should increase that.”
Ellie
Mullen 'alarmed' at rise in GI suicides
By Sig Christenson - Express-News
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday that the Army is on pace to break a record number of suicides that was set last year and that the Pentagon is growing increasingly concerned about the trend — which is occurring in all service branches.
Adm. Mike Mullen, meeting with reporters after visiting wounded troops at Fort Sam Houston, blamed a high deployment tempo to the war zone for rising stress on GIs and their families but rejected one retired commander’s call to boost the Army to 700,000 troops.
“I, as the rest of the leadership in the military — military and civilian — we are alarmed with the increase in suicides, particularly in the Army,” he said. “All the services, actually, the numbers are going up but the Army has spiked very badly through 2006, 7 and 8, and we are also on a pace right now, in 2009, which will exceed 2008.”
Mullen and his wife, Deborah, met with troops at Brooke Army Medical Center, the Institute of Surgical Research burn ward in the hospital, the Center for the Intrepid and Warrior and Family Support Center, which opened Dec. 1 and is home to 600-plus wounded GIs.
The Fort Sam visit revealed a growing support infrastructure for wounded troops.
The post is home to the military’s sole burn treatment facility. Since 9-11, it has treated more than 4,169 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines hurt in the war zone. The burn center has cared for 790 troops.
Mullen’s tour came amid news that two soldiers have mysteriously died at Fort Sam over the past several weeks. He said he was aware of the deaths of Chief Warrant Officer 1 Judson Erik Mount and Spc. Craig Reginald Hamilton, but knew no details.
Mount and Hamilton died April 7 and March 27, respectively, prompting criminal intelligence division investigations and autopsies. Just why they died isn’t yet known, but the Army has grappled with suicides and cases of soldiers dying of drug interactions.
The Army recorded 128 suicides among active-duty soldiers last year — a record that could rise even more as other cases are resolved. Mullen said the solution to the problem is leadership from top officers and NCOs.
“I know the leadership of all the services and particularly the Army is very focused on this and I think that really is a big part of the solution,” he said.
“But also the military has been pressed. We’re in our eighth year of war, repeated deployments, the stress levels are up, and we have to recognize that stress is driving an awful lot of this. We’ve got to look for ways to relieve that stress.”
Soldiers in Baghdad and at Fort Hood have told the San Antonio Express-News that they’ve grown weary of fighting that has kept them away from their families for much of the past six years.
They’ve typically spent a year in Iraq or Afghanistan and a year at home since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. One major complaint is that the year of “dwell time” with families actually is around six months because of training for the next duty tour.
Mullen has expressed worries over the issue, telling a group in New York last month that psychological problems with former GIs and strain on their families is a “50-, 60- or 70-year problem.”
However, while reiterating his concerns Friday, he rejected one possible solution — a sharp increase in the number of soldiers that would take the Army to just under Cold War levels.
Gen. Jack Keane, a retired Army vice chief of staff, has argued for increasing his service to 700,000 soldiers, “close to a Cold War Army.”
Saying he has “seen the impact repetitive deployments have had on families,” U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is supporting legislation that would increase the Army’s current end strength, 547,000 soldiers, by another 30,000. Mullen said the current mark is good for now.
“We’re today in the Army at 547,000, which is the authorized end strength increase from about 485,000 when these wars started,” he said. “It’s my view that that’s about right, and we just got to 547,000 and I’d like to settle out on that before we make any decisions about whether we should increase that.”
Ellie