A Soldier's Perspective
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Why Are Our Soldiers and Veterans Killing Themselves?
I received this comment today on an older article that I wrote back on April 17, 2008. This comment compliments a recent post from February 8 on the VA Mental Health System,
Its not only the VA – but the lack of support from the military. When soldiers try to go to the military to get help for PTSD and other war combat related injuries – they are brushed aside… and told that they need to suck it up.
Regardless of what the Army says to try to cover this up – its obvious by the amount of suicides that are still going on today… if the proper help was given to those coming back to war, suicides would not be on the rise.
My husband is a combat wounded soldier at Fort Bragg. The Warrior Transition Unit is ran by National Guard – by many who have not even been to war. There are less than 100 combat wounded soldiers in the Warrior Transition Unit with almost 600 soldiers total. Guys who have broken legs from training are put in with combat injured soldiers – the mix is not working.
The Warrior Transition Unit needs to separate the combat wounded from other soldiers and treat them with,
1. RESPECT
2. DIGNITY
3. COMPASSION.
It does not take a rocket scientist to figure this out. Why all of the red tape?
My original post, February 8, 2008,
Who is Killing our Veterans?
…in the coming years we are going to see a growing trend in veterans suicide. On Nov. 13, 2007 CBS reported:
Veterans aged 20 through 24, those who have served during the war on terror. They had the highest suicide rate among all veterans, estimated between two and four times higher than civilians the same age. (The suicide rate for non-veterans is 8.3 per 100,000, while the rate for veterans was found to be between 22.9 and 31.9 per 100,000.)
This is just the beginning, the Iraqi veterans have been exposed to unprecedented levels of sustained combat. Never before in the American history of War have our soldiers seen three and four tours of combat as a common experience.
Penny Coleman, author of Flashback: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Suicide, and the Lessons of War testified before the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on December 12, 2007,
My name is Penny Coleman. I am the widow of Daniel O’Donnell, a Vietnam veteran who came home from his war with what is now known as PTSD and subsequently took his own life. I use the term PTSD grudgingly—it is the official term, but it is deeply problematic. My husband did not have a disorder. He had an injury that was a direct result of his combat experience in Vietnam. Calling it a disorder is dangerous; it reinforces the idea that a traumatically injured soldier is defective, and that idea is precisely the stigma that keeps soldiers from asking for help when they need it.
She goes on to report that more than 6256 veterans commit suicide each year.
Over 30 years have passed since the Vietnam War ended, since then more than 180,000 veteran deaths have been attributed to suicide. 300,000 Iraq & Afghanistan veterans suffer from mental illness. 58,000 names emblazon the black granite in Washington D.C. at the Vietnam Memorial Wall, one third of the amount of veteran’s deaths attributed to suicide.
The VA system is poorly underfunded and not ready to take on such a high level of veterans needing mental health care…as we will see in the next 10-20 years.
How many of our modern warriors will become one of these statistics?
(30) Readers Comments
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CJ
Ok, I’m raising the BS flag on the individual who made that comment. Why? Because I had a Soldier working for me at Fort Bragg who was in the WTU. She had nothing but wonderful things to say about the unit. They treated her with dignity and respect. Were there assmunch leaders there? Yes, just like everywhere else in the Army.
It’s unfair to even mention that the Army is telling Soldiers to “suck it up”. That’s simply inaccurate and completely false. The Army bends over backwards for these troops and provides them with opportunities they don’t have in normal units. I can’t go one week without hearing about the care our wounded troops deserve from all ranks and levels of the Army leadership. That may have been the experience with your commenter, but that is not reality. I visit WTUs all over the place (Bragg, Campbell, Benning, etc) and they are overwhelmingly dedicated Soldiers, few of whom are National Guard troops in my experience. The NG is augmenting the regular Army, but is not running the programs I’ve seen.
I’ll be visiting the WTU at Bragg AGAIN next week and will speak to the Soldiers assigned to that unit and provide an update, but we can’t base the treatment of our wounded warriors based on this comment. It’s unfair and completely inaccurate, especially as it deals with Bragg.
Roman General
Your BS meter aside, I have talked with a Warrior Advocate that works directly on one of the bases here in Kentucky (cannot disclose which one). This person works directly with a caseload of 55 warriors that come through the unit. They backup this comment, I was just discussing this Tuesday with them.
One of the complaints that this casemanager had was the combat wounded were placed with a majority of who were not.
CJ, your experience of the military is of one who has rank and privilege. You know the regulations and your rights front to back and have the skills to assert them. The soldiers outside of your unit tell you what they think you want hear. Their experience of the military is not yours. Try and imagine the assmunch leaders munching down on troops and where most of the troops do not have such high functioning as you (I have read from you that the military has lost a lot of good NCO’s). Most in the military are not as much of a squared away soldier as you, of course their experience is not going to be the same.
For this issue to keep arising in the media, from people directly involved and complaints abroad. To say that no problem exist is to deny, deny, deny. To do so does not make it so. The same attitude that I have faced from too many government organizations still permeates and rails against the lower ranks.
AND, if everything is peachy as you say, then explain the 23 suicides in January which out number the killed in combat.
CJ
Considering that not every suicide is related to deployments, I cannot answer that. Every suicide has its own unique, distressing story behind it. For whatever reason, these individuals felt like their life no longer mattered or was too much of a burden. Could it be the stresses on the military? The economy? Perhaps their spouse lost a job recently? Divorced? Dog died? I don’t know. What I can tell you is that the military I’m a part of is very much involved in the lives of our troops. I talk to other 1SGs from all kinds of units. I frequently travel to Fort Knox, Fort Campbell, Fort Bragg, Fort Benning, Fort Gordon, and Fort Stewart on a regular basis. While there, I speak with NCOs and Soldiers of all ranks and they’re all focused on the problems of PTSD, suicide, and the effects of combat.
Unfortunately, there are some NCOs and Officers out there (I highlighted one just yesterday) who still don’t get it. They continue to find ways to make life even MORE difficult on troops. Please don’t patronize me and tell me that Soldiers lie to my face, because they don’t. Yes, some aren’t completely open to me because they may be intimidated, but I’m a trained kinesic interrogator and recognize those when they arise. When things are bad, I hear it. Soldiers aren’t afraid to tell me their stories because I’m not in their chain of command. Not every single story I’ve heard from a WTU has been positive. Interesting, not every single story I’ve heard has been negative either. If I had to put a number on it, I’d say that maybe 70% of those I speak to have good things to say about their WTU experiences. When I hear a bad story, I speak directly to the senior NCO on location and get the problem fixed. Guess what? Sometimes the problem isn’t the WTU, but THAT PARTICULAR SOLDIER! Sometimes it’s the WTU or that NCO. There are a few Soldiers out there that feel their wounds give them the right to throw their military bearing out the window and when they get called on it, they whine about WTU treatment.
When was the last time you VISITED a WTU and saw and spoke to these people yourself? For me, it’s been a little more than three weeks. I’ve heard it all from all peaches and candy to the worst experience of their lives. But, I revert back to my 70% number. If you look hard enough, you’ll find plenty of Soldiers who are miserable. If you look hard enough, you’ll find plenty of piss poor leaders.
As to the quality of NCO leadership in the Army, I admit that the quality is what it used to be. But that doesn’t mean, and I don’t infer, that every NCO in the Army today sucks. That would be completely unfair. I work with a lot of great NCOs, but the number of poor NCOs has simply seemed to increase. Guys like me are working hard to fix that. Believe it or not, MOST in the military ARE as squared away as I am and many of those more so. I’m not the best thing since Audie Murphy, believe me. I have many faults and there are so many NCOs I can only HOPE to emulate.
I will not buy this crap about the Army not caring…at least not yet. Not even close!
Roman General
OK, I’ll accept the 70% number, and I never said all NCO’s sucked. I was referring to the exodus of good NCO’s leaving and this having an influence on the quality overall. Always room for improvement, I am saying lets get to it already.
The fact is that this phenomenon is happening. It sounds like you are saying that if they are complaining about being wounded that they should suck it up, am I right? A good soldier should be able to take it, a bad one is one who cannot, hmm, seems like that is what I said about the military attitude.
As far as the suicide is concerned to blame it on the dog died, Jodi or anything except the war, multiple deployments, or the strain on the military is ludicrous and insensitive. I have read the military news release blaming the suicides on everything you mentioned, I do not buy it. Yes, there would be multiple elements involved, but to blame them on the last thing that happened is to not understand the magnitude of the problem. Suicide almost never has a single precipitating event stressor.
Generally a culmination of events build up to the point of overwhelming the coping capacity of the individual and results in suicidal ideation. Then that one last straw the breaks the will, the letter from home with the bad news, or a spouse leaving them at their greatest time of need. To say this as flippant as you opened with is part of the problem. It smacks of contempt for the individual incapable of handling stress of such magnitude.
It is that 30% that I am writing about, always the 30%. I have said from the beginning that most soldiers do not have these experiences. I say that to many of our soldiers are falling between the cracks of the net. 30% is a large number of soldiers, we can do better than that.
This is all totally separate from veteran issues. I would not go to a WTU due to my mental health, it would be overwhelming to me. I do not know if I could handle it. That is why I do not go. Writing about these issues triggers me plenty, stresses me out enough. I am still in therapy after 3 years. I work directly with veteran issues and to raise awareness of soldiers issues. My military experience is over except for its aftereffects.
Kathy Gaultsee our family
All I can do is shake my head. I,a a nurse with 30yrs of experience and my son is a great soldier served three tours in combat. He has been hurt more than once but is a great respecte leader. He has begged for help with problems associated with his servicethat has included some very difficult duties he had to undertake so that other sold iers remains could be gathered and sent back to their loved ones as respectfully as could be. All e has gotten was t old to suck it up, we think you are “malingering”.I even bought him a ticket home to see our family doctor when he told me he wanted to drive his car into a telephone pole! The military refused to put him on the eds recommended and now he is in a terrible shape. Not to mention a military yrelated lung condition they have refused to recognize. Also treated back home due to refusal to treat correctly by the military. I could go on but why? Please dont insult my intelligence!
CJ
Kathy, if your son is willing, please have him contact me. My email address is cj[at]soldiersperspective[dot]us. I will send you my phone number. He has options to get care.
Isaac
I can’t really give any personal experience on this one, maybe in a couple more years when I enlist…
Critical Facts
This distressing and heart wrenching issue is, again, one of the reasons why those who maintain the cost of the Iraq war is less than one trillion dollars just don’t get it.
Kat
I think some of the issue here as well is the media coverage of the war. I know some of the airmen feel that nothing good ever gets reported. It seems although we may not be openly attacking troops returning from Iraq as the Vietnam guys suffered, we are not welcoming them and supporting them the way we should be as a nation either.
While my husband served in the Army, there was support, but I know they did feel it made them weak to ask for it!
Isaac
Kat,
I agree with that. My former pastor used to be a manpower officer in the Army, his job could have ranged from counselling these problems to summary execution. I’ll have to ask him the next time he visits us.
Kat
Can’t wait to hear back from you on what he says! Thanks Isaac
Roman General
I to can attest to the Army making one feel as though they were weak or broken.
Roman General
To many soldiers kill themselves. To many veterans kill themselves. A common thread weaves through this mesh of lives, military service. Something is happening and we need to get to the bottom if it and begin to understand the magnitude and scope of the problem. Then we need to address it with standards of care that work.
Over 6,000 veterans kill themselves EVERY year. Since Vietnam over 180,000 veterans have killed themselves. This issue is not about weak minded people. It is about providing for the people who gave us our freedom at horrendous costs to themselves.
Our mentally wounded deserve better than catch phrases, we need to quit blaming them for their problems and help them go through the hell that resides in their minds.
barbara stroder
My brother was at a wtu for an injury he sufferred to his knee while serving his second tour. They told him he’d be there approx. 3mths. Well 8mths and a bunch of bull later he chose to leave without permission and got a desertion charge(whole nother story) My brother was pushed so far over the edge he came home soooo angry, we barely know who he is anymore. We live in Indiana and he was kept at a wtu in Ga. Why so far away? Everytime I talked to him all he’d say was he just wanted to come home. My family and I believe hes sufferring from ptsd. He is a wounded warrior who now faces criminal charges because he wanted to just be home. Where was all the attention he needed??? Somebody please help us!!! We are so very worried about him. Thank you, Barb
Kat
Agree, this is our responsibilty as a nation to be sure these men and women are taken care of. The responsiblity does not rest 100% on the military!
c murphy
i have had it. i am fighting the navy, VA and ssi. i am totaly done. served 3 tours in middle east and am getting nothing for my service
Roman General
Murphy, get the help you deserve. Keep fighting your psychological pain. You are worth every minute you spend on this earth. There is support for you, your local VFW, AmVets or other veterans organization. Find a solid VA rep to help you with the process of receiving your benefits.
You are worth living your life to the fullest, call 1-800-273-TALK if yo feel like you need someone to talk to.
Jlo
All I can comment on is the treatment that soldiers receive at the WTU’s. My husband has been sitting at a WTU for 5 months awaiting a surgery that if he were a civilian would have been scheduled the first month after he saw a doctor. The only “treatent” he has received is to be pumped with the painkillers. There is absolutely no justifiable excuse why he is still sitting there after 5 months. Furthermore, he knows guys there that get their pass privileges taken away for a month because they missed formation. Hello! These guys have TBI’s, serious injuries, or are on a large amounts of narcotics-should our military really be taking away a soldier’s family support because he was too ill to attend a formation? When my husband attempts to advocate for himself, he is told that he needs anger management classes even though he has certainly never raised his voice or said anything even remotely inappropriate. He is told to just deal with it-it is a process. The soldiers on WTU have been subject to numerous searches of their personal property, they are told they must work or being taking college courses (because it’s not like they should be just recuperating or dealing with their injury). They are not treated as if they are injured, but are held to the same standards as noninjured soldiers. My husband knows guys that have lost their rank while on WTU for minor violations such as missing formation. Why on earth is it the military’s goal to punish our wounded soldiers? I make sure I tell everyone I come into contact with the horrible things that are happening-I don’t know that anybody that is listening but I can certainly attest that this has been a horrible experience for my husband and many others that are there.
SSgtJ
That story sounds terrible, Jlo. You have my sympathy. This might be a place where RG can use his influence and get some answers for us on this. I know that missing formation might sound like “minor” offense to a civilian, but it is a little more important than that in the military and anyone in the military already knows that. It is not like you just didn’t show up to serve burgers at McDonalds.
What about it RG? What is really going on here? Name names please. Those that are responsible for criminal acts should be accountable … and please, don’t tarnish the rest of us.
Roman General
My influence, name names…don’t tarnish the rest of us? Dude, forgive me if I am wrong, but this smacks of sarcasm. Please, do not use others pain and outpouring of emotion to use for your own agenda.
SSgtJ
Maybe I didn’t word it right but it was an honest request. I know that you have done a lot of research and have many contacts. Seriously thought you could help us track down the actual villans. Someone must be pulling the strings or at least setting the tone.
As for your last comment “Please, do not use others pain and outpouring of emotion to use for your own agenda.”, that was low and you know it. I have no agenda other than to support our veterans. If I occasionally disagree with you or misunderstand you, that is no reason for you to attack me.
Roman General
I apologize I do not mean to be antagonistic, my nerves have been frayed and I have had my emotions getting the best of me lately. I do not offer this as an excuse, but as a reason of understanding.
Thank you for your support of our veterans and thank you for challenging me when you do not agree or understand. Usually I receive some of my best inspirations from exchanges such as we have, so keep it coming.
Roman General
I would suggest that the soldier in question talk with their warrior advocate. If the advocate is worth their salt, they can get something done. Writing your congressperson could help also.
Five months eating pain pills could easily lead to addiction. Opioids are the most addictive pills one can ingest.
I empathize with your plight, as I have told many people. This could be your calling, you might have been placed in this situation to do something about it. Here is two links to posts that I have written, the information contained in them have relevance to your situation and could apply. Use what you can of them and discard the rest.
Again, this may be your purpose in life, to be the freedom fighter for all soldiers who do and will face this tribulation. Advocate for your husband, the WTU’s have serious issues. It will take someone with intimate knowledge of the situation to shed light on the problem.
Suggested Guide to Help Your Veteran or Soldier Diagnosed With PTSD and Charged With a Crime
Self-Care Contingencies for the Loved Ones of Incarcerated Veterans and Soldiers
the red barron
I think it’s interesting the day they picked to report this story is taking priority over Kim Jong Ill’s threats to attack the U.S.
I’m very sorry to hear about the suicides. I have a brother who takes pills after his deployment. A lot of times, when life at home isn’t so stable, it doesn’t help your mentality in combat. It helps to know that you have something worth fighting for for such a tedious task.
As a civilian, I can say that the media we watch has been beyone lousy. We don’t see the importance of what they do, yet we’re more concerned with the dog of some overrated narcissistic politicians than we are with our own welfare in this sick economy.
it’s a horrible stat, but i’m not suprised.
Roman General
Red Barron, this article was posted in February.
CPT M (separated)
I know this is an older post, but it should remain a current post. Soldier/veteran suicides should ALWAYS be a prevention priority.
Why do they/we do it? Some of the answers are the intangible way combat changes you – you are never again able to believe the things you did. If you were wounded or those around you were, are you a failure in your mind? Did you complete your duty to the best of your ability? Does the vision of your eviserated best friend bother you? Some would say it shouldn’t (you should suck it up, etc.), but I would say if it doesn’t, you have an equally serious problem. You don’t fit in at home anymore. Not the way you did. It’s not like coming home from vacation. You have an attachment to the people you served with, and a new detachment from the people you love. You feel permanently damaged, even if the wound is small. God forbid you were on career track and being a soldier/marine/sailor/pilot etc. was all you ever wanted to be.
Depression. Anxiety. Not being able to enjoy the things you used to enjoy. Not being able to explain this to others. The psychic pain of just being in this now foreign place (formerly “home”.)
God forbid you end up with some of the yahoos who aren’t competent to practice in the best circumstances in your VA or Vet Center experience. No purple heart? Well then, you can’t be wounded. Try again. We need a purple brain for we “head cases.” And these are just if all is peachy when you come home. The family is basically normal and intact. Your job is similar, etc. Stack a bunch of interpersonal dysfuction on top of all the rest, and this should reduce the mystery of why we are killing ourselves. The pain (or simply absence of feeling or connection), combined with lack of support, and sadly self-med with drugs/alcohol, is why we are killing ourselves. Try that on for size. Hope this helps somebody somewhere understand troop suicide. I’m not saying it’s right to kill yourself- once that’s done it’s done. But I sure as hell can tell you from my perspective post-deployment why I’ve thought about it many times.
Roman General
CPT M, thank you for sharing a deeply personal thinking process for our modern warriors whom have been psychologically wounded in war. You wrote a succinct account of how we come home and operate from our Combat Values, detachment from family and loved ones and the loss of our squad attachments – the intense warrior bond upon leaving the war zone can become a major obstacle in reintegration and forming new bonds.
Kathy Gaultsee our family
Sorry roman, a comment above from me was not to u but to the poster above u in thethread about suicide and care
James
I have not deployed and it looks as if i will not deploy.. I have been trying to go active duty for over 3 years, I’ve volunteered for deployments and tours aswell and with no success. I just recently got orders 3 weeks late and am considered awol by the army, My unit told me to quick my job and get ready to leave asap, It did what they required and then waited for 4 days, I just found out today that i quit my job, got stuff i needed for the deployment and spent alot of money getting things ready (passport, visa, driving to the unit and stuff like that) and now i am not going because my unit dropped the ball.. I have no income, a stack of bills, empty cupboards and am desperately trying to find another job. If it werent for me having kids, i would write a note, walk into my reserve unit and shoot myself in the head (maybe they’ll finally stop screwing over soldiers needlessly). I have been screwed over for almost 3 years and am pretty sick of it.
I know that this article is old and about suicides amongst vets/deployed soldiers but i thought i would try to shed some light on other issues soldiers are having.
Scott Lee
James, this issue is not an old one, but your plight is. It looks like your best go would be to get out of the military all together for no other reason then to get your life back together again.