1,892

[Peter1469]

As of March 28, 2014, there have been 1,892 military / veteran suicides since January 1, 2014.

[IMPress Polly]

Isn't that equivalent to like half the total number of American deaths in the 12-year Afghanistan War to date? In a three-month period? This to me sounds like a major cultural problem.

[Newpublius]

As of March 28, 2014, there have been 1,892 military / veteran suicides since January 1, 2014.

Obviously you're highlighting a problem, but is there a rate comprison with the non-military civilian population to illuminate the scope of the problem?

[sachem]

I think it is due to the lack of mental health screenings, support and treatment for active and retired military. It is a crime.

[KC]

I've often heard that suicide is most frequent among recruiters.

[Peter1469]

I've often heard that suicide is most frequent among recruiters.

That was prior to the current wars. Recruiting is very stressful, and often absent morals. Lots of corner cutting and breaking of integrity standards.

[Peter1469]

I would doubt that there are any reliable civilian numbers for this year.

Obviously you're highlighting a problem, but is there a rate comprison with the non-military civilian population to illuminate the scope of the problem?

[KC]

That was prior to the current wars. Recruiting is very stressful, and often absent morals. Lots of corner cutting and breaking of integrity standards.

Do you have any insight as to what changed that? Did policymakers reform recruitment standards, or did the wars just increase the tendency for suicide among deployed personnel?

[Peter1469]

Do you have any insight as to what changed that? Did policymakers reform recruitment standards, or did the wars just increase the tendency for suicide among deployed personnel?

The wars increased suicide among deployed personnel. Plus the economic crises made the recruiters' job easier, despite the wars.

From my position I see three broad groups of military suicides: during deployments the Fobbits (people who don't leave the base and have too much time on their hands) are the main source of suicides. After deployments it is the trigger pullers. They can't fit back into civilian life. Then it is in the Vet community (along with active duty members after a longer period out of the sandbox compared to group 2). The article discusses these guys well.

“My husband was not afraid of combat zones, or flying into fire, but he was afraid of asking for help,” she said. “He was afraid of letting people down, like most of our marines, soldiers, airmen, sailors.”


“His last words to me on the day that he died was, ‘I’m going to get help, but we are going to lose everything because of it,’” Ruocco said. “He thought that going for treatment for his injuries would forever change the way people viewed him. He died of stigma, and stigma still continues to be one our biggest battles in our [fight] against suicide.”

[waltky]

Calls to Vets' Suicide Hotline Still Sent to Backup Centers...

Report: Calls to Vets' Suicide Hotline Still Sent to Backup Centers
21 Mar 2017 | WASHINGTON — The Veterans Crisis Line continued to send approximately 30 percent of its calls to backup centers near the end of 2016.

The Veterans Crisis Line continued to send approximately 30 percent of its calls to backup centers near the end of 2016, according to an internal watchdog report released Monday that outlined widespread problems with the suicide hotline. The Department of Veterans Affairs established the Veterans Crisis Line as a suicide-prevention effort in 2007 and estimated 10 percent of its calls would be routed to a backup call center – where calls are sent if all phone lines are busy. But from April through November last year, the amount of calls sent to backup centers hovered at about 30 percent, even after a second call center was opened in Atlanta in October, according to a report from the VA inspector general's office. Calls sent to some backup centers, which are not run by the VA, are placed in a queue, leading to some veterans waiting for a response or hanging up and trying to call back. The VA doesn't track how long veterans wait in a queue, the report states.

The findings follow internal emails sent in September by the hotline's former director, Greg Hughes, that stated 35 to 40 percent of calls were rolling over to backup centers. The reports -– and earlier findings from the inspector general that 23 callers were sent to a voicemail system -- prompted a new law requiring the VA to submit improvement plans this year. "It's unacceptable that the issues with the Veterans Crisis Line have still not been addressed," Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, said in a prepared statement. "I am extremely frustrated by the OIG's findings and will continue to conduct oversight."

The Veterans Crisis Line continued to send approximately 30 percent of its calls to backup centers near the end of 2016, according to an internal watchdog report that outlined widespread problems with the hotline

Poonam Alaigh, the VA's acting under secretary for health, wrote in response to the report that the hotline "is the strongest it's ever been." She said the VA would follow up on the 16 recommendations that the inspector general made in the latest report. "VA is making notable advances to improve access and quality of service to mental health crisis care for veterans, which is why we've opened the new Atlanta satellite office," Alaigh wrote. The inspector general cited training issues, a lack of structured leadership and little follow-through on making improvements the inspector general recommended last year. "I am disappointed by the lack of action taken by the [VA] to consider the recommendations for improving the shortcomings of the Veterans Crisis Line that were previously identified… more than a year ago," Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, said in a statement.

Additionally, some employees told the inspector general's office that the emphasis at the Veterans Crisis Line was on business metrics, rather than tracking whether veterans received the help they needed. John Daigh, an assistant inspector general, wrote in the report that the hotline didn't have the resources to answer all of the calls it received. From April through November last year, more than 384,000 veterans and family members called the hotline, and more than 108,000 -- 28 percent -- went to backup centers. The number of calls sent to backup centers during that time peaked in November, when nearly 18,000 – about 35 percent --- were rolled over. Daigh attributed the increase to the opening of the Atlanta call center. Poor planning led to the temporary transfer of hotline workers from the original facility in upstate New York to Atlanta to help with training. "This led to an increase in the number of calls that rolled over to backup centers and delays in the development and implementation of [hotline] processes, policies and procedures," Daigh wrote.

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