Report released on suicides of 4 recruiters - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Report released on suicides of 4 recruiters

HOUSTON — Poor leadership, stress and individual issues were all factors in the suicides of four Army recruiters in a single battalion, an Army investigation found.

Brig. Gen. Dell Turner, who conducted the investigation ordered by the secretary of the Army, told the Houston Chronicle that there was no single cause for the deaths in the Houston Recruiting Battalion, but all Army recruiters will conduct a one-day stand-down next month for training, suicide prevention and recruiter wellness.

The investigation was prompted by four suicides within the 266-member Houston battalion since 2005. All four were combat veterans, and some family members complained that the high-stress and isolation of the recruiting job helped crush the men. The Houston battalion was the only one of the 38 battalions nationwide to report more than one suicide in recent years.

Fifteen recruiters nationwide have committed suicide since 2003.

Turner said the one-day stand-down is a significant action.

“It’s rarely implemented, and typically only after some significant event. It’s a day for the unit to stop what it’s doing on the mission side and review policies and practices,” he said in a Chronicle story posted online Wednesday.

He declined to say what disciplinary actions might be taken against the chain of command, but he said the Army inspector general will be asked to lead an assessment of the climate of the recruiting command.

In a statement released by the Army, officials said they are also reviewing the recruiter screening and selection process and mental health care for recruiters, who are frequently far removed from military medical services. The Army, additionally, will reconsider a policy that allows soldiers to waive a 90-day mandatory waiting period after returning from deployment.

Turner was appointed to conduct the investigation in October after U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, pushed for a review of the recruiting command.

Staff Sgt. Amanda Henderson, the widow of a recruiter who hanged himself in September, was among the most outspoken in calling for changes in recruiting. She had also been a recruiter in the Houston battalion.

On Wednesday, she told The Associated Press that the investigation’s findings are “bittersweet.”

“My husband is still not here,” she said.

But she was encouraged the Army planned to take steps to address the issues that affected recruiters like her husband, Sgt. 1st Class Patrick Henderson.

“Now that we have an outline, let’s focus on executing the outline,” Henderson said.