For years, the Pentagon was reluctant to admit that the U.S. military, notably combat veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan, had a suicide problem. A rising number of highly publicized cases, however, finally prompted military officials to confront the issue a couple of years ago. The services, to their credit, quickly established prevention programs. They've helped address the problem, but don't work as well as they should. More needs to be done. A Defense Department task force admitted as much on Tuesday.
The group's extraordinarily frank report said military suicides continue to rise, despite the creation of about 900 suicide programs at U.S. military bases around the globe. A simple but grim accounting delineates the growing crisis.
More than 1,100 members of the armed forces committed suicide from 2005-2009. In 2007, the number was 224. In 2008, it was 267. In 2009, 309 men and women committed suicide. The trend is unmistakable, and it likely will continue this year, according to those who track the phenomenon. The toll, the Pentagon reports, is especially heavy in the Army and Marine Corps, the branches most heavily involved in fighting and thus most likely to have members serve the multiple tours of combat that can cumulatively sap mental health and equilibrium.
Suicides are the most visible aspect of a broader problem. For every successful suicide, military and Veterans Administration officials say, several hundred individuals attempt the act. The problems that compel someone to attempt or commit suicide also contribute to acts of rage and violence. The most likely victims of those acts are the wives and children of veterans. The cost to society is immeasurable.
The task force offers a clear-eyed view of the suicide crisis. It praises the military for an "extraordinary effort" to deal with the issue, but forthrightly says that enhanced detection and prevention are needed. The group provides a useful blueprint for such action.
It suggests a uniform rather than separate suicide prevention programs for the services. It urges the military to do a better job of making mental health an integral part of wellness programs. Currently, it appears, more attention is given to social, physical and spiritual issues. That must change.
More and better trained specialists would help soldiers and veterans in crisis. So would a renewed campaign to reduce the military's hard-to-erase discrimination against those seeking help for mental health issues. Those are useful steps that could be implemented quickly.
"Having any of our nation's warriors die by suicide is not acceptable - not now, not ever," says Army Maj. Gen. Philip Volpe, a physician and member of the DOD task force. He's right. Officials should enhance suicide prevention and mental health programs for both military personnel and veterans. Doing so undoubtedly would help save lives.