Army suicides hit a new single-month record in July, when 38 active-duty and reserve soldiers took their own lives, according to official figures released Thursday.
The toll, up from 24 in June, prompted a wave of renewed anger and frustration among Pentagon leaders and veterans advocates.
Army officials said 187 active-duty and reserve soldiers have committed suicide so far in 2012. Last year’s total was 283. Many of the cases are suspected suicides under investigation and have not been officially classified as a suicide, officials say, meaning the eventual final total could be higher or lower. And the numbers Thursday do not include statistics for former service members.
“As shocking as the Army numbers are, we have no idea what the veteran numbers are,” Tarantino said....
The fact is that, as Selang mentioned, the answer to this problem is not prescription drugs. I have been deployed and found that I was strengthened in my faith, because I have a real and living faith in Christ. Most soldiers, however are in a dark place spiritually and the military chaplaincy is largely ineffective and watered down. This is exactly what we would expect to see from a Godless culture that seeks PC solutions to spiritual problems.
"“That said, I do believe suicide is preventable,” he said. “To combat it effectively will require sophisticated solutions aimed at helping individuals to build resiliency and strengthen their life coping skills""
How very optimistic!! Depression and mental health problems can lead to suicide. The solution to depression and mental health issues is not available to man. Thus the ultimate result of these being suicide is also beyond man's reach. What man does about mental health disease is feed the patient many different cocktails of drugs which simply sedate and tranquilize a person. This is not a cure!
This is a reflection of a generational problem that is seen in higher civilian suicide rates. Statistics show that of Army suicides, it isn't connected with OPTEMPO or the number of deployments. Many of those committing suicide have only one or no deployments. Older soldiers with far greater numbers of deployments are not the once committing suicide. I'm convinced the suicide of a young person is in part due to their disconnect from a family narrative and consequently a lack of genuine identity. The lack of identity creates ambivalence about the future and a lack of purpose.
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john uk from wales: "
frank
hey pilgrim! hope all is well with you. of course..."
