LTG Chiarelli has been the lead guy in the Army combatting suicides. He was a guest on You Served Radio last year. You can listen to that show here, http://www.blogtalkradio.com/youserved/2009/06/18/episode-43-ltg-chiarelli
A hearing held last week focused on ways to reduce the number of suicides in the armed forces.
Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, said the Army had made strides in identifying soldiers at risk of committing suicide, setting up new treatment centers and deploying a new system of “telemental health services,” allowing soldiers to talk with counselors by computer video chat programs.
In his prepared testimony, he said, “Our long-term goal is to create a network of counselors and certified mental health care providers that encompasses the entire U.S. Then, when a Brigade redeploys, for example, a gymnasium full of stations/computers could be put in place allowing every leader and soldier to participate in a behavioral health evaluation on-line upon redeploying.”
As he opened the hearing, Committee Chairman Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said, “I am greatly concerned about the increasing number of troops returning from combat with post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries, and the number of those troops who may have experienced concussive injuries that were never diagnosed.” He added, “The increase in suicides by military personnel in the last few years is alarming. “In 2007, 115 Army soldiers committed suicide. In 2008, the number increased to 140 and to 162 in 2009.”
“We have seen a fairly significant reduction in suicides among active duty soldiers this year as compared to last year. However, we have seen an unexpected increase in suicides among our reserve component soldiers not on active duty, in particular the Army National Guard,” Chiarelli said. “I think it’s multiple deployments for them. I don’t think we’re getting enough time with them at the de-mob station to give them the kind of checkouts they need, behavioral health checkouts that they need.”
Chiarelli, in answer to a question, said, “I am able to wrap leaders around returning active component soldiers for the entire time that they’re back. We take a reserve component soldier today and within five to seven days, he’s back in his community on his own.”
Chiarelli said it is important to recognize the connection between Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the high rate of “co-morbidity,” or co-existing conditions in an individual. That, coupled with a lack of medical understanding about the disorders, and the differing drugs to treat them and problems like anxiety and depression, complicates diagnosis and treatment, he said.
“Our science on the brain is just not as great as it is on other parts of the body,” Chiarelli added, noting vast medical opinions about diagnosing and treating the disorders. “It’s not this well-developed science like you find with heart surgery.”
Of the Army’s most severely wounded soldiers – those at least 30 percent disabled – at least 60 percent are diagnosed with PTSD or TBI, Chiarelli said.
“Our success notwithstanding, we still have much more to do. “We face an Army-wide problem that will be only be solved by the coordinated efforts of our commanders, leaders, soldiers and program managers and health providers. This is a holistic problem with holistic solutions and that is how we’re approaching it.”
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