Casey frustrated by increase in suicides - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Casey frustrated by increase in suicides

Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey expressed his frustration earlier this month over the service’s inability to reduce the number of soldier suicides.

“I’m personally frustrated with the effort that we have put on this over the last three years, and particularly over the last year, that we haven’t stemmed the tide,” Casey told members of the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee March 3.

Subcommittee Chairman Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, asked Casey for an update on the status of the Army’s efforts to alleviate combat stress.

“We’ve increased by about 18 suicides a year since 2004. And this past year, after all the effort we made, we increased by about 20,” Casey said.

The Army’s new Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program may help turn these numbers around, Casey said, by addressing stress before it becomes a life-threatening problem.

The initiative requires soldiers to fill out a lengthy survey designed to measure their emotional and mental health and, based on the results, directs soldiers to additional training.

“It’s a longer-term program, but I think that’s the only way we’re going to begin to reduce this,” Casey said.

Related reading

• Suspected suicides increased in February

• Army: Up to 12 active-duty suicides in January