River_Rat_459
03-08-2012, 18:54
I'm not trying to put anyone in a downer mood, but I think it's as important as a matter as any to discuss. The main reason I want to put this up here is that it's important to make sure everyone here knows that if you ever find yourself feeling like you've got nowhere to turn, don't hesitate to get hold of someone from this community.
I can speak from past personal experience that someone can pull you back from the brink. We're not licensed therapists or counselors. But what we are are brothers and sisters in arms (and friends!).
Army Suicides Up 80 Percent Since Iraq War Start
March 08, 2012
Agence France-Presse
The number of suicides in the U.S. Army rose by 80 percent after the United States launched the war on Iraq, American military doctors reported on Thursday.
From 1977 to 2003, the tally of Army suicides had trended slightly downwards, and was far below civilian rates.
But it started to curve upwards in 2004, the year after the U.S.-led invasion, according to their analysis, published in the British journal Injury Prevention.
In 2008, 140 Army personnel committed suicide, a figure 80 percent higher than in 2004 when measured in "person-years," a benchmark used by health experts, and much higher than in civilian society, it found.
"This increase, unprecedented in over 30 years of U.S. Army records, suggests that 30 percent of suicides that occurred in 2008 may be associated with post-2003 events following the major commitment of troops to Iraq, in addition to the ongoing operations in Afghanistan," says the paper.
Those who died were overwhelmingly male, young, white, in the lower military ranks and likelier to have had a history of depression and other mental disorders.
The rise mirrored an increase in consultations and hospitalisation for mental health. From 2003, these rates nearly doubled.
"The 2008 rate indicates that more than one-fifth of all active-duty soldiers had an ambulatory [walk-in] visit for a mental health disorder, implying a prevalent public health problem," warns the study.
In 2008, nearly a third of the suicides occurred among troops who had never deployed, which highlights the need to provide counselling for young soldiers facing pre-combat stress, it adds.
The study was headed by Michelle Canham-Chervak of the U.S. Army Public Health Command, using information from the Army Behavioral Integrated Data Environment.
This is a data bank that combines several national military sources, including details about medical consultations, diagnoses and treatment.
The study dissected the figures for 2007 and 2008, and compared these with previous years.
It did not include other branches of the U.S. military, nor did it examine trends after President Barack Obama's decision to pull out of Iraq, an operation that concluded last December.
http://www.military.com/news/article/army-suicides-up-80-percent-since-iraq-war-start.html
I can speak from past personal experience that someone can pull you back from the brink. We're not licensed therapists or counselors. But what we are are brothers and sisters in arms (and friends!).
Army Suicides Up 80 Percent Since Iraq War Start
March 08, 2012
Agence France-Presse
The number of suicides in the U.S. Army rose by 80 percent after the United States launched the war on Iraq, American military doctors reported on Thursday.
From 1977 to 2003, the tally of Army suicides had trended slightly downwards, and was far below civilian rates.
But it started to curve upwards in 2004, the year after the U.S.-led invasion, according to their analysis, published in the British journal Injury Prevention.
In 2008, 140 Army personnel committed suicide, a figure 80 percent higher than in 2004 when measured in "person-years," a benchmark used by health experts, and much higher than in civilian society, it found.
"This increase, unprecedented in over 30 years of U.S. Army records, suggests that 30 percent of suicides that occurred in 2008 may be associated with post-2003 events following the major commitment of troops to Iraq, in addition to the ongoing operations in Afghanistan," says the paper.
Those who died were overwhelmingly male, young, white, in the lower military ranks and likelier to have had a history of depression and other mental disorders.
The rise mirrored an increase in consultations and hospitalisation for mental health. From 2003, these rates nearly doubled.
"The 2008 rate indicates that more than one-fifth of all active-duty soldiers had an ambulatory [walk-in] visit for a mental health disorder, implying a prevalent public health problem," warns the study.
In 2008, nearly a third of the suicides occurred among troops who had never deployed, which highlights the need to provide counselling for young soldiers facing pre-combat stress, it adds.
The study was headed by Michelle Canham-Chervak of the U.S. Army Public Health Command, using information from the Army Behavioral Integrated Data Environment.
This is a data bank that combines several national military sources, including details about medical consultations, diagnoses and treatment.
The study dissected the figures for 2007 and 2008, and compared these with previous years.
It did not include other branches of the U.S. military, nor did it examine trends after President Barack Obama's decision to pull out of Iraq, an operation that concluded last December.
http://www.military.com/news/article/army-suicides-up-80-percent-since-iraq-war-start.html