March 09, 2012
Study: Suicide rates among army soldiers up 80 percent
Excerpt from article
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It's a problem that has existed since soldiers have returned from deployment, but Dr. Joseph Hullett, a board-certified psychiatrist who is also a Vietnam-era Marine, believes it's only going to get worse. He says the problem is that combat exposure during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars was very high, meaning more soldiers are likely to suffer from mental health problems.
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"There are people in the service right now who are remaining in the service who probably have the kinds of multiple deployments and multiple year combat situations that make them vulnerable," Hullett, senior medical director of clinical strategy for Optimum Health, Behavioral Solutions, explained to Healthpop.
May 26, 2011
Concern grows over ‘epidemic' veteran suicide rate
excerpt from article
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The latest attack on the VA came two weeks ago from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, which ordered a major overhaul of the agency. The court said that with an average of 18 veterans killing themselves each day, “the VA’s unchecked incompetence has gone on long enough; no more veterans should be compelled to agonize or perish while the government fails to perform its obligations.” On Capitol Hill, when the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee took up the issue Wednesday, senators made clear that they expect the VA to improve its performance.
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“We do not need the courts to tell us that much more can and should be done to relieve the invisible wounds of war,” said Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the chairwoman of the committee. “Although some steps have been taken, the stigma against mental-health issues continues within the military, and VA care is still often too difficult to access. This has had a tragic impact.”
November 03, 2011
One U.S. veteran attempts suicide every 80 minutes: Hidden tragedy of Afghanistan and Iraq wars
excerpt from article
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In a staggering indictment on the lack of mental health programmes in the U.S. military, the report reveals 1,868 veterans made suicide attempts in 2009 alone.
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Many veterans face dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, high unemployment and a loss of military camaraderie after returning from tours.
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Dr Margaret C. Harrell and Nancy Berglass, who authored the Center for a New American Security Suicide report, said: 'America is losing its battle against suicide by veterans and service members.
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'And as more troops return from deployment, the risk will only grow.'
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But it is not just returning servicemen and women who are suffering. From 2005 to 2010, approximately one current service member attempted suicide every 36 hours, the study revealed.
July 30, 2010
VA Official Grilled About E-Mails
excerpt from the article
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Internal e-mails made public this week as part of a lawsuit in San Francisco federal court show what appears to be the deliberate attempt by top VA officials to conceal the number of suicides and attempted suicides by veterans
see the next link if you would like to see a copy of the email referred to
February 13, 2008
Subject: FW:Not for the CBS News Interview Request
excerpt from the email
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Shh!
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Our suicide prevention coordinators are identifying about 1000 suicide attempts per month among the veterans we see in our medical facilities. Is this something we should (carefully) address ourselves in some sort of release before soneone stumbles on it?
February 11, 2009
Veteran Suicides: How We Got The Numbers
Excerpt from article
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In order to calculate rates of suicide, we needed to find a reputable independent biostatistician. We consulted with several experts from across the country and approached the University of Georgia's Epidemiology and Biostatistics Department.
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The acting head of the department, Prof. Steve Rathbun, agreed to do the analysis for CBS News. He did this as a public service entirely free of charge. We choose Prof. Rathbun because of his expertise in statistics and because he had no ties with any federal agency that could pose a conflict of interest in looking at military suicide data. For example, he had no paid relationship with the DoD or the VA.
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CBS News did not pay Prof. Rathbun, the University of Georgia or any of its employees for the analysis.
November 13, 2007
Vets' Suicide Epidemic - watch video - 5:56
A five-month investigation found vets were more than twice as likely to take their own lives than Americans who never served.
