White House lifts ban on military suicide condolences

Really People? · Jul 6, 2011

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/07/06/military.suicide.condolences/index.html?hpt=hp_bn1

Washington (CNN) -- The Obama administration announced Wednesday that it will begin sending condolence letters to the next-of-kin of service members who commit suicide, said a White House statement.

"This issue is emotional, painful, and complicated," President Barack Obama said in the statement. "But these Americans served our nation bravely ... we need to do everything in our power to honor their service, and to help them stay strong for themselves, for their families and for our nation."

The move comes nearly six weeks after a group of senators -- 10 Democrats and one Republican -- asked President Barack Obama to change what they called an "insensitive" policy that dates back several administrations.

U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer led the bipartisan group and was pleased with the administration's policy change.

"This will ... do a great deal to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health treatment that prevents so many from seeking the care they need," she said in a statement Wednesday.

The lack of condolence letters in instances of suicide has been the subject of protest by some military families.

"It's bittersweet," said Gregg Keesling, father to Army Spc. Chancellor Keesling, who killed himself while serving in Iraq. "It does not bring our son back, but I think it does send a powerful message that mental health in our military can be addressed."

CNN first reported in 2009 about the family of Army Spc. Keesling.

The family set up a wall to pay tribute to Keesling in their Indiana home. Along with his uniform and the flag from his burial service, a space was left for the expected condolence letter from the commander in chief.

Upset when they learned a suicide did not merit a letter from the president, Gregg Keesling wrote to the president and the Army chief of staff requesting the policy be changed. He argued that his son's suicide was a result of what he was exposed to during war and that it deserved to be considered caused by battle.

"They didn't die because they were weak," said the president's statement. "And the fact that they didn't get the help they needed must change."

According to an Army report last year, annual suicide rates in the Marine Corps and the Army -- the two branches most involved in combat operations in Iraq and Afganistan -- increased steadily between 2004 and 2009, to more than 20 per 100,000 people. During that time the rate for those two branches surpassed the age-adjusted, national civilian average, whereas suicide rates for the Air Force and Navy stayed below the national average.

In 2001, the suicide rate among Marines, like the Air Force and Navy, was about half the civilian rate, and the Army's, while higher than the other three branches, was still below the civilian rate, according to the Army report.
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I think this is a good thing... even if a service member commits suicide, esp. when they are at war and being exposed to everything that goes on during war, they should be shown the same respect and acknowledgement as one who dies at the hand of the enemy... good job by all involved...

waltky · May 26, 2012

Say what???...

General's remarks about suicide "upsetting"
May 25th, 2012 - On this Memorial Day when military leaders around the world honor fallen troops, one Army general has retracted a blog post stating he is "fed up" with soldiers who commit suicide, calling it "an absolutely selfish act."

The comments were originally posted online in January by Maj. Gen. Dana Pittard, commanding general of one off the Army's largest posts, Fort Bliss, but have only recently caused a public stir. Rep. Thomas Rooney, R-Florida, called the comments "upsetting," Friday. Rooney is co-chair of the House Military Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Caucus. He said Pittard's post "displays a complete lack of understanding about the struggles that our troops and veterans with mental illness are facing." After meeting with a retired military member recently about the blog, Pittard decided this week to retract the blog and explain himself, according to his office.

His retraction reads in part: "In my commentary published January 19, 2012, I stated suicide was a selfish act. Thanks to many of you and your feedback, I have learned that this was a hurtful statement. I also realize that my statement was not in line with the Army's guidance regarding sensitivity to suicide. With my deepest sincerity and respect towards those whom I have offended, I retract that statement."

Pittard wrote the original post the day after attending a January 18 memorial service for a soldier who committed suicide on Christmas Day. As he was leaving the service, according to his office, Pittard was informed that another soldier at the base was suspected of taking his own life. A senior military source at Fort Bliss who would not speak for attribution, the January blog post was written when Pittard was "frustrated" about soldier suicides and that it was "out of character." It reads in part:

"Wednesday, we lost a Fort Bliss Soldier to an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. I heard the tragic news as I walked out of a memorial service for another one of our Soldiers who decided to kill himself at home on Christmas Day so that his family would find him. Christmas will never be the same for his two young daughters he left behind," Pittard wrote at the time. He continued, "I have now come to the conclusion that suicide is an absolutely selfish act. Soldiers who commit suicide leave their families, their buddies and their units to literally clean up their mess. There is nothing noble about suicide."

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FreshAir · May 26, 2012

Really People? said: ↑

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/07/06/military.suicide.condolences/index.html?hpt=hp_bn1

I think this is a good thing... even if a service member commits suicide, esp. when they are at war and being exposed to everything that goes on during war, they should be shown the same respect and acknowledgement as one who dies at the hand of the enemy... good job by all involved...
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agreed

waltky · Feb 3, 2014

Too long in combat is what drove J.D. Salinger over the edge...

Army suicides decline sharply in 2013, reversing rising trend
January 31, 2014 ~ Scientists may never know precisely what led to a steep rise in suicides that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta described as an epidemic.

There were 150 suicides among soldiers on active-duty status last year, down from a record 185 in 2012, according to Army data. The numbers include both confirmed and suspected suicides. Lt. Gen. Howard Bromberg, chief of Army personnel, says he is cautiously optimistic in seeing success in Army programs to avert suicides by giving soldiers coping strategies for keeping a positive or optimistic outlook. "I'm not declaring any kind of victory here," Bromberg says. "It's looking more promising."

Within the ranks, it has meant that people such as Levertis Jackson, an Afghanistan War veteran whose despair led him several times to try to kill himself, have chosen life. "It was like before, all my doors were closed, and I'm in a dark room," says Jackson, 41, married and father of four. "(Now) I look for reasons why I need to continue to live." He left the Army last year after completing an experimental treatment plan at Fort Carson that helps soldiers cope with deadly, self-destructive impulses. Research results slated to be published in the Journal of the American Medical Association show a promising 60 percent reduction in suicide attempts by 30 soldiers who participated in the program.

Efforts such as this one conducted by the National Center for Veterans Studies at the University of Utah and the University of Memphis are part of complex effort by the Army to reduce suicides. Larger initiatives include years of expanding behavioral health counseling. "I think we've hit the turning point where people are really, really talking about behavioral health and the fact that it's OK to have problems. It's what you do with those problems that's important," Bromberg says. The Army has spent tens of millions of dollars in a long-term study of suicide, teaming with the National Institutes of Health, and has developed a comprehensive program of instilling emotional resilience in soldiers.

Suicide researchers say the decline may be the inevitable result of the nation ending involvement in one war in Iraq and winding down its role in another in Afghanistan. "I get the sense when I work with military people now, they just don't seem as burnt out as they used to be," says Craig Bryan, associate director of the National Center for Veterans Studies. "I mean there was a while there, they were just driven into the ground, even if they'd not been deployed, it was just keep going more, more, more, more."

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FreshAir · Feb 3, 2014

Really People? said: ↑

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/07/06/military.suicide.condolences/index.html?hpt=hp_bn1

I think this is a good thing... even if a service member commits suicide, esp. when they are at war and being exposed to everything that goes on during war, they should be shown the same respect and acknowledgement as one who dies at the hand of the enemy... good job by all involved...
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Absolutely agree....

waltky · Nov 20, 2014

VA suicide prevention programs is gaining steam in Congress...

VA suicide overhaul bill gets push in Congress
November 19, 2014: WASHINGTON A proposed review and expansion of VA suicide prevention programs is gaining steam in Congress during the lame duck session.

Mothers of two servicemembers who committed suicide were set to testify late Wednesday in support of the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention Act in the Senate, where a group of Republicans and two Democrats introduced the bill this week. House lawmakers were slated to review their version of the legislation later in the day. It was a strong signal that lawmakers might consider passage before the close of the congressional session at the end of the year, according to Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, which has pushed the legislation. The bill mandates new resources and an outside review of VA efforts to reduce what the military calls a suicide epidemic, especially among younger vets returning from the past 13 years of war. While this bill wont fix everything, it is a big step in the right direction, said Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., ranking member on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee during the bill hearing.

It is estimated that about 22 veterans commit suicide each day. Burr joined fellow Republicans including Arizona Sen. John McCain and Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., to introduce the bill on Monday. Susan Selke, the mother of Marine veteran Clay Hunt, spoke to reporters before she was slated to testify in front of Burrs committee, saying she met privately with VA Secretary Bob McDonald on Tuesday about the legislation and was told he would support it.

Susan Selke, mother of Marine veteran Clay Hunt, who killed himself on March 31, 2011, attends a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on Nov. 19, 2014. Selke and her husband, Richard, looking on from behind, listen to Valerie Pallotta testify before committee members about the suicide of her son, Joshua Pallotta, who killed himself six weeks ago. Selke and Pallotta tesitfied before the committee in support of the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention Act.

The bill requires the independent review of suicide prevention programs to determine which work and what changes should be made. It also would create a new website to link veterans with mental health care services and provide incentives for psychiatrists to join the Department of Veterans Affairs. Hunt survived a brush with a snipers bullet during combat in Iraq and became an advocate for suicide prevention. But he struggled with post-traumatic stress and survivors guilt, and took his own life in 2011 at the age of 28. Selke, who was to testify with the mother of a Vermont National Guard combat vet, said she just learned of a new suicide among members of her sons old unit, and that suicide has now claimed as many victims of the unit as combat did.

Alexander Nicholson, legislative director for IAVA, said the Clay Hunt Act is a first step toward stemming the deaths and figuring out how to improve the VA mental health care system. House lawmakers have indicated they will take a floor vote on the bill during the lame duck session, a critical step toward it becoming law, Nicholson said. But the Senate may not be able to craft its version and complete the process of getting it to a floor vote. Nicholson said Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., indicated to the group that he may consider allowing a fast-track floor vote that might make taking action on the suicide measure impossible.

http://www.stripes.com/news/va-suicide-overhaul-bill-gets-push-in-congress-1.315022
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See also:

GAO: Vets' data still at risk due to unaddressed VA security weaknesses
November 19, 2014 ~ The Department of Veterans Affairs still has not taken adequate steps to protect private data, despite security flaws during the past few years that have been exploited by hackers, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office released Monday.

Until VA fully addresses identified security weaknesses, its systems and the information they contain including veterans personal information will be at an increased risk of unauthorized access, modification, disclosure, or loss, the report concluded. The VA oversees a massive system, with more than 300,000 employees. It administers health care and other benefits to about 22 million veterans and their families through the Veterans Health Administration, Veterans Benefits Administration and the National Cemetery Administration. Several incidents in the past few years have highlighted weaknesses in the VAs information system.

The system was hacked in 2010 by attackers who exploited weak technical controls within the agency. In January this year, a software defect in the VAs eBenefits system, an application that is used by almost 3 million veterans to receive services, gave users unfettered access to information about other veterans. The private data of about 1,300 veterans or their dependents was potentially viewed by others, the report said. The VA has taken some steps to patch such network vulnerabilities, and it is now required to submit monthly reports to Congress detailing private data breaches. For example, in October the report stated that the data of 765 veterans had been affected by incidents such as lost/stolen devices and incorrect mailings.

The GAO report found, however, that the agency had not yet taken adequate steps to fully protect its network. In the wake of a 2012 cyberattack by malicious outsiders, the VAs Network and Security Operations Center took steps to remediate network weaknesses that had been exploited. However, VA could not demonstrate the effectiveness of its efforts because staff could not locate the associated forensics analysis report or other key materials, said Gregory Wilshusen, the GAOs director of information security issues, during testimony Tuesday before the House Committee on Veterans Affairs. Without preserving such evidence, VA will be unable to demonstrate the effectiveness of its incident-response measures and may be hindered in assisting law enforcement agencies in investigating and prosecuting cyber crimes.

In addition, the VA had yet to even address the underlying vulnerability that allowed the 2012 intrusion, Wilshusen said. Part of the problem is that VA policy doesnt allow NSOC full access to the agencys computer networks. The VA has also been slow to apply critical patches to vulnerabilities identified in software, the report said. As of May this year, the VA had not applied patches to the 10 most critical vulnerabilities identified by department security scans, even though some patches had been available for more than two years. The report noted, however, that the VA is in the process of hardening its network to breaches. It has established an organization to oversee remediation of vulnerabilities and is working creation of a database to track the implementation of patches and other fixes.

http://www.stripes.com/news/veteran...o-unaddressed-va-security-weaknesses-1.314869
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Related:

Casualties of the after-war

galant · Nov 22, 2014

as long as we drop them from many thousands of feet up in the air, without parachutes, I couldn't care less where we drop them.

Junkieturtle · Nov 22, 2014

galant said: ↑

as long as we drop them from many thousands of feet up in the air, without parachutes, I couldn't care less where we drop them.
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Drop who?

waltky · Dec 17, 2014

Military suicides on track to pass 2013...

Military suicides total 144 in 1st 6 months, on rate to surpass 2013
December 16, 2014 ~ The number of suicides by active-duty, Reserve and National Guard servicemembers during the second quarter of 2014 declined by about 5 percent from the first three months of the year, dropping from 74 deaths to 70.

The number of suicides during the last half of this year would need to decline considerably to fall below the 254 suicides reported in 2013, based on information released last week on the Department of Defense Quarterly Suicide Report. Both the rate and number of suicides declined from 2012 to 2013, but the death rate among Marines and soldiers active, Reserve and National Guard was particularly high. Active-duty Marines and soldiers had a suicide rate of about 23 deaths per 100,000 servicemembers in 2013, compared with 12.5 suicides per 100,000 overall in the United States in 2012, the most recent rate calculated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The suicide rate among sailors also has increased this year. So far, 63 sailors 48 on active duty and 15 reservists have committed suicide this year, compared with 46 suicides last year, 41 active duty and five reservists.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert told Stars and Stripes recently that suicides have not dropped off the radar, despite increased focus on combating sexual assault. This is a real, hard problem, he said, Weve got to continue to work on the resiliency of our sailors. Greenert said one of the biggest challenges has been identifying a thread suicides in the Navy have varied in rank, age and deployment status. Navy officials said a continued focus must be placed on developing supportive peers and leaders and the importance of seeking help. Its an effort the Navy plans to emphasize with next years bystander intervention training, which is currently a key component of the Navys sexual assault prevention efforts.

The Army also has initiated a campaign to prevent suicide that relies heavily on peer intervention, employing slogans such as Buddies can prevent suicide. Posters displayed in common areas of Army bases ask, Have you saved a life today? Jacqueline Garrick, acting director of the Defense Suicide Prevention Office, said in a Pentagon statement that fear of career damage remains one of the major obstacles to servicemembers seeking counseling and treatment. The goal is to eliminate the stigma of getting help, she said. So theres been an increase in first-level, peer-to-peer groups, which have made a difference in enabling people who fear they may be jeopardizing their career to reach out for care.

The most common stressors linked to suicide among servicemembers are financial and relationship problems, depression and abuse, she said. On Monday, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., blocked a military suicide prevention bill named after former Marine Clay Hunt, an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran who killed himself in 2011. For immediate help regarding suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800 273-8255.

http://www.stripes.com/news/militar...1st-6-months-on-rate-to-surpass-2013-1.319555
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waltky · Sep 19, 2016

Navy copies Marine suicide prevention program...

Navy Launches Suicide Prevention Program Modeled After Marines' Effort
Sep 16, 2016 | A Navy program rolling out in the coming year aims to keep care providers in closer contact with sailors who have expressed suicidal ideations in an effort to prevent suicide in the ranks.

Called Sailor Assistance and Intercept for Life, or SAIL, the program is modeled after a Marine Corps initiative launched in late 2013. Both SAIL and the Marine Intercept Program allow counselors to make contact with consenting troops at six different intervals -- 3, 7, 14, 30, 60 and 90 days -- after a service member expresses a suicidal ideation. "We need to develop a culture where people are just not afraid to ask for help when facing a challenge that is just a little overwhelming," Capt. Mike Fisher, director of the Navy's Suicide Prevention Branch, told Military.com in an interview. "This is just one more small act that can save one more life."

The SAIL program, which will be in addition to, not replacing, existing prevention programs, launched in the Navy's Pacific Northwest region in late August in what will be a phased rollout ending in the third quarter of Fiscal 2017. Fisher said the program will require little additional work and staffing; only discreet communication between the Navy's Fleet and Family Support Program and regional caseworkers who will stay in contact with the at-risk sailor. The phone check-ins will be simple and informal, Fisher said, and caseworkers will not provide therapy during the calls.

Lt. David Dziengowski, left, Yeoman 1st Class Silvia Raya, and Lt. j.g. Victor Gutierrez, from the Chief of Naval Personnel office, show support as part of Suicide Prevention Month.

The Navy is launching SAIL as the Marine Intercept Program marks early successes. In March, Lt. Gen. Mark Brilakis, deputy commandant for Marine Corps Manpower and Reserve Affairs, told a congressional panel that 77 percent of Marines who reported suicidal ideations or attempts accepted the program's services in 2015. A preliminary review of 2014 data showed that Marines in the program accessed care 2.5 times sooner, engaged with specialty care more frequently, and missed fewer appointments, he said.

In a Navy administrative message released Thursday announcing the program, officials at Naval Personnel Command noted it was important to have a system in place to reach out to at-risk sailors because they often struggled to seek help on their own. "Suicide prevention requires ongoing efforts to promote health and a sense of community. It is a shared responsibility," the message states. "Despite the fact that 85 percent of Sailors say they will seek help if overwhelmed by stress, 2 out of 3 believe there are barriers to seeking help, and 1 in 3 believe their shipmates will see them as weak." Fisher said officials would periodically evaluate the success of the program and determine if more resources are needed to execute it. "Can we handle it? The perception is yes," he said.

http://www.military.com/daily-news/...revention-program-modeled-marines-effort.html
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waltky · Feb 16, 2017

Navy Launches Expanded Suicide Prevention Program Service-Wide...

Navy Expands Suicide Prevention Program Service-Wide
Feb 15, 2017 | The Navy has rolled out a program aimed at providing added support for sailors considered at risk for suicide.

The Navy has rolled out a program aimed at providing added support for sailors considered at risk for suicide. Sailor Assistance and Intercept for Life, or SAIL, was announced service-wide earlier this month and is now available at all Fleet and Family Support Center locations. The voluntary program works by linking sailors who have demonstrated suicidal behavior with Fleet and Family Support Center counselors trained in assessing suicide risk. Those counselors remain in contact with the participant for three months, said Capt. Michael Fisher, director of the Navy Suicide Prevention Branch. They can help identify stressors, like financial issues, and link the sailor with resources, he said.

Participation in SAIL is not intended to replace therapy. "A caring contact is all it is," Fisher said. SAIL is patterned after the Marine Corps' Marine Intercept Program, which began in 2014. A pilot of the Navy's version began in August in the Pacific Northwest. At least 91 sailors accepted SAIL's services out of 175 referrals between Aug. 28 and Feb. 3, according to Navy data. The problem of suicide among troops has plagued military leaders in recent years as numbers spiked. Navy Personnel Command data shows 51 active duty sailors and 10 reservists killed themselves in 2016, according to preliminary numbers. In 2015, the numbers were 43 active duty sailors and 14 reservists.

About 40 percent of sailors who commit suicide had a previous attempt or impulse, Fisher said. Removing stigmas that prevent sailors from seeking mental health treatment or from helping those who appear to be in danger has been an ongoing challenge. The Navy has promoted intervention programs to help sailors recognize and respond to suicidal or risky behavior among their peers. "We want people to be willing to step forward if they're having challenges," Fisher said. The Military Crisis Line offers confidential support for active duty and reserve service members and their families 24 hours a day at 800-273-8255 or online at www.militarycrisisline.net. Text messages can also be sent to 838255.

http://www.military.com/daily-news/...-suicide-prevention-program-service-wide.html
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White House lifts ban on military suicide condolences

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