Monthly Archives: June 2009

The Army released suicide data for the month of May today, reporting one confirmed suicide and 16 potential suicides among active duty soldiers.

In the April report, the Army reported seven active duty potential suicides. Since that time an additional suicide was reported, for a total of eight April potential suicides, three of which have been confirmed and five remain under investigation. There have been 82 reported active duty suicides in the Army during calendar year 2009. Of these, 45 have been confirmed as suicides, and 37 are pending final determination of manner death. For the same period in 2008, there were 51 suicides among active duty soldiers.

During May 2009, among reserve component soldiers who are not on active duty, there was one confirmed suicide and seven potential suicides; to date in 2009, among that same group, there have been 16 confirmed suicides, and 21 potential suicides are currently under investigation. For the same period in 2008, there were 23 suicides among reserve soldiers who were not on active duty.

In January, the Army implemented an Army-wide effort to combat the rise of suicide in its ranks. The Army mandated a suicide prevention stand-down that involved all 1.1 million soldiers; established a Suicide Prevention Task Force; has made dozens of improvements to Army policies, procedures and resources; and recruited additional psychological and behavioral health counselors.

"We have got to do better," said Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, "It’s clear we have not found full solutions to this yet. But we are trying every remedy and seeking help from outside agencies that are experts in suicide prevention. There isn’t a reasonable suicide prevention tool out there the Army won’t potentially employ."

The Army’s Suicide Prevention Task Force is focused on rapid improvements across the spectrum of health promotion, risk reduction and suicide prevention to ensure the Army’s programs in these areas are coordinated, fully-resourced, and effective.

"As hard as this problem truly is, in some ways it is also very basic, because it requires caring for soldiers, and that’s something we already know how to do," said Brig. Gen. Colleen McGuire, director, Army Suicide Prevention Task Force. "We must simultaneously get back to basics and optimize current programs to set conditions for future programs to tackle this problem."

The Army has identified additional crisis intervention resources available to the Army community. Soldiers and families in need of crisis assistance are strongly encouraged to contact Military OneSource or the Defense Center of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury Outreach Center (DCoE). Trained consultants are available from both organizations 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

The Military OneSource toll-free number for those residing in the continental United States is 1-800-342-9647, the Military One Source Web site can be found at http://www.militaryonesource.com. Overseas personnel should refer to the Military OneSource Web site for dialing instructions for their specific location.

The DCoE Outreach Center can be contacted at 1-866-966-1020, or at http://www.dcoe.health.mil/media/DCoE_News/DCoE_Outreach_Center.aspx.

The Army’s most current suicide prevention information is located at http://www.armyg1.army.mil/hr/suicide/.

Ask any single Marine what he or she thinks of the barracks and you are very likely to get a negative answer. The Marine Corps has realized that the barracks is a big complaint among enlisted troops and leadership at all levels is tackling this problem head on.

When I lived in the barracks, there wasn’t much as far as amenities in the room or out. Rooms were small, furniture aging, and infrastructure such as heat and air was prone to failure. Over the last several years, the Marine Corps has placed barracks renovations and new construction very high on the list of priorities.

Rooms are getting more spacious, higher quality infrastructure is being installed, and the grounds around the barracks are becoming places to enjoy time with comrades. The placement of grills, basketball and volleyball courts, and other forms of recreation has brought Marines out of their rooms to enjoy time together and increase unit cohesion.

The Marine Corps is doing the right thing for our single Marines. For years, the mindset of what we have is adequate is being replaced by the mindset of let’s make it better for them. Marines will perform better when they feel they are taken care of on and off duty, and a big part of taking care of Marines is where they live.

This first step in making the lives of single Marines better is a great step forward. Let’s hope the Marine Corps continues these steps.