ptsd Military Suicides Growing.

[allan]

Military Suicides Growing.

The Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger (11/22, Mueller) reported that there is "an accelerating trend" of military suicides "that has sent tremors throughout the U.S. military, alarming the most senior officers and highlighting the strain on America's fighting men and women after eight years of uninterrupted war." In response, "the military has launched what is perhaps the most far-reaching effort in history to understand the psychological effects of war" through a five-year study conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health. "The uniformed services also have rolled out dozens of new initiatives" that are "a fundamental departure from the suck-it-up approach that has dominated military training for generations."

Military Attempting To Prevent Suicide By Changing Ethos. The Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger (11/22) reported that "the military's strategy" for preventing suicides "is to reshape the warrior ethos, instilling in service members the idea that mental health is as vital as physical fitness or the ability to aim a rifle." An "important aim is" removing the stigma from admitting one is suffering or suicidal. Still, "major challenges remain," including "a drastic shortage of mental health professionals in the military's ranks" that "sometimes leads to long waits for appointments, a potentially deadly situation when a soldier is suicidal." In response, "the Department of Defense is experimenting with internet-based counseling."

Marine Committed Suicide After PTSD Went Undiagnosed.

The Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger (11/22, Mueller) reported on the death of Marine Lance Cpl. James T. Jenkins. He "was so wracked by nightmares that he sometimes chose not to sleep" and suffered from flashbacks. He fled Camp Pendleton and killed himself in an apartment. "Declaring Jenkins a deserter, the Marine Corps initially denied his mother death benefits. The decision was later overturned by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which found Jenkins' erratic behavior and suicide were caused by untreated PTSD."

Psychiatrist Claims He Was Fired After Protesting About Poor Care Marines' PTSD.

The AP (11/21) reported, "Marines treated at Camp Lejeune for post-traumatic stress had to undergo therapy for" almost two years "in temporary trailers where they could hear bomb blasts, machine-gun fire, and war cries through the thin walls, according to servicemen and their former psychiatrist," Kernan Manion, MD. Manion, "a civilian psychiatrist," claims that

"he was fired for writing memos to his military superiors complaining of shoddy care of Marines returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with PTSD." The AP pointed out that "Manion was fired in September after working for eight months for a" military contractor providing "mental healthcare on the North Carolina base. He said that when he asked the contractor why he was being fired, he was told it was ordered by the Navy."

http://www.veteranstoday.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=9500

Edited November 24, 2009 by allan

[Hoppy]

Three of the guys that I went to high school with who were Vietnam veterans committed suicide after the Vietnam War. I'll bet that none of these suicides are represented in any statistics. One of the veterans drank himself to death over a two-week period. I'll bet the death certificate says alcohol poisoning without any reference to suicide. Another veteran who had a daughter decided that they had too many problems to deal with in his personal life. However, he wanted to take care of his daughter. He worked as a lineman for the phone company. One day they found him dead at the bottom of the phone pole was his head fractured. The official cause of death was an industrial accident. His wife and daughter received the maximum benefit from all insurance associated with workers compensation, his retirement system in any other insurance. Two years later was talking to some friends of his and told me that he had told them in detail of this plan to commit suicide so that his daughter would be taken care. The last veteran drove his car into a tree at 70 miles an hour. After getting out of the Marine Corps in 1970 he was struggling with school. Prior to going in the Marine Corps he was a straight “A” student. Everybody knew that he had changed after coming back from Vietnam.

I often wonder how many cases of suicide go unreported because the individual intentionally covers up the fact that they were committing suicide.

[john999]

Hoppy

You are on to something. I think there have been some studies about risk taking behavior of people who suffer from PTSD and people who have been in combat zones. All those single car accidents and unaccountable deaths of young healthy veterans are probably suicides based on impulse. I think a lot of Vietnam vets felt disconnected from the world they had left and the world they came back to when discharged. I had a very hard time directing myself or taking anything seriously for years. I just could not see any future and I was only 22 years old.

[Victor_C3]

Hoppy

You are on to something. I think there have been some studies about risk taking behavior of people who suffer from PTSD and people who have been in combat zones. All those single car accidents and unaccountable deaths of young healthy veterans are probably suicides based on impulse. I think a lot of Vietnam vets felt disconnected from the world they had left and the world they came back to when discharged. I had a very hard time directing myself or taking anything seriously for years. I just could not see any future and I was only 22 years old.

That is something I've been dealing with since I was in Iraq. I recognized it happening to me while I was there and I just didn't care if I made back or not. Actually I still don't give a damn about myself, but having a family helps keep me going. I have a 13 month old daughter who gives me every reason to be happy and there for her. She always has the biggest smile and gets so excited everytime she sees me. She keeps me going and I know that I mean everything to her and I'd hate for her to grow up without a dad. That alone keeps me here.

The suicide thing is always in my head and I have it all planned out on how I would take care of my family finicially, but I'll never do it. My wife and my little girl need me - not the just the money.

Sorry for the rant. But the above quote from hoppy is absolutely spot on.