Suspected suicides of soldiers went up in May - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Suspected suicides of soldiers went up in May

As many as 17 soldiers took their own lives during May, 10 more than in April, despite aggressive efforts by the Army to get soldiers the help they need.

The number of suicides had been steadily going down since January, when 23 soldier deaths were thought to be suicides, to April when seven soldiers’ deaths were investigated as possible suicides. This year’s deaths are on pace to come close to last year’s 144 suicides, an unprecedented number for the Army.

One of the May deaths was confirmed as a suicide and 16 were listed by the Army as potential suicides.

So far this calendar year, 82 deaths have been investigated among active-duty troops, including Reserve and National Guard soldiers on active duty. Of the 82 deaths, 45 have been confirmed as suicides and 37 are pending the outcome of ongoing investigations, according to Army statistics released June 11.

Last year at this time, there had been 51 confirmed suicides among active-duty soldiers.

Among reserve component soldiers who are not on active duty, there was one confirmed suicide and seven potential suicides in May. So far this year, among that same group, there have been 16 confirmed suicides, and 21 potential suicides are under investigation.

For the same period in 2008, the Army said, there were 23 suicides among reserve soldiers who were not on active duty.

“We have got to do better,” Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli said in a news release.

Posts have had suicide stand-downs, and a suicide prevention training program was mandatory for every soldier and Army civilian employee.

Chiarelli launched a house-cleaning plan for garrison commanders in early May that addressed the need to revive lapsed health and welfare programs and restore discipline in the barracks.

The Army Campaign Plan for Health Promotion, Risk Reduction and Suicide Prevention recognized that soldiers, including their leaders, were fatigued from nearly eight years of war and placed a renewed focus on the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health of soldiers and their families.

Chiarelli, who in February was named the Army’s point man on suicide prevention, has vowed to do whatever needs to be done.

“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.”

Who to call

• For emergencies, call 911.

• Call Military OneSource at (800) 342-9647 to talk to someone, or go to www.militaryonesource.com.

• Contact the Defense Center of Excellence Outreach Center at (866) 966-1020, or go to www.dcoe.health.mil/media/DCoE_News/DCoE_Outreach_Center.aspx.