The United States has ceased combat operations for over a year now but veteran suicides are still higher than the national average

22 veterans a day commit suicide even during peacetime operations, but unlike popular belief, PTSD is not the main killer

Source: Veteranvisionproject.com

America’s combat operations in Iraq ended nearly four years ago and Afghanistan more than a year, but suicide rates in the military are still double the national average. 

Most individuals believe that Post Traumatic Suicide causes an overwhelming amount of suicide in the military but recent studies show that statement is not entirely true. Before the post 9/11 era, this was the exact opposite with military suicide being lower than those who did not serve their nation.

With methods such as setting up hotlines, the Department of Defense has invested millions of dollars in order to combat an alarming suicide rate in the military. An organization such as the RAND Corporation has done comprehensive studies to discover why these individuals are committing these acts while at home. 

In addition, Dr. Skip Rizzo from the University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies has taken an innovative way of treating individuals who may be suicidal with devices such as Oculus Rift. Other methods include using horses as therapeutic devices and also hallucinogens.

After a decade of combat operations, our nation’s brave men and women are still committing suicide in record numbers, but over half of them never went to combat

Suicide has been a long-term problem in the U.S. military, but studies have now shown that there has been no connection between deployments overseas to fulfill a combat role in regards to the high number of suicides. 

The has become problematic that individuals in the combat forces have committed more suicide in comparison to those killed in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. It has been problematic due to it still reaching record highs even in peacetime so the question now is, how to fix this epidemic that has taken so many of our brave young men and women? 

A factor that has been identified as increasing the likelihood of suicide amongst military members is actually leaving the armed forces. When comparing those who chose to leave the service, 26.06 out of 100,000 people committed suicide while those who chose to stay past their initial commitment had a lower number of suicides with 15.12 out of 100,000. The number rose dramatically higher with those who prematurely left the service with less than one year’s time. These individuals are designated to be at a greater risk due to 48.04 out of 100,000 committing suicide.

Other problems that the Journal for American Medical Association has identified as problematic, is service members involving in heavy drinking or misusing medical drugs. Drinking more than 14 drinks a week for males, 7 drinks a week for female or participating in binge drinking for both sexes increases service members’ changes of committing suicide.

This itself is even more problematic due to the heavy drinking culture that is part of military life, such as some formal events they hold like “mess night” that promotes overdrinking. Even with this being identified, the biggest branch of the military, the Army, suffers from 43% of its active duty soldiers binge drinking at least once during the month that the survey was conducted. Due to this high number, the Institute of Medicine called, “drugs and alcohol abuse amongst troops to be a public health crisis.”

Even if an individual chooses to stay away from the drinking culture of the military, many are still faced with other serious issues such as “survivor’s guilt”. Many people may feel guilty for not saving a fellow “comrade in arms in combat”, but those who never went overseas may feel just as guilty due to not being able to serve in that role with their comrades. 

This a subject in which has been noticed by not only sociologist but as well as historians.  Dr. Vincent Houghton, the International Spy Museum's head Historian and Curator as well as Army combat veteran speaks about how this has increased the suicide numbers.

    Reserves have a lower suicide rate than active duty personnel, despite the fact that both experience nearly the same amount of combat

Dubbed as the "weekend warriors," the reserve component of the military that train once a month and 2 weeks out of the year have endured more than their fair share of military stress while juggling military life and civilian life. Unlike active duty personnel, these individuals do not always surround themselves with military members, but as current data show, they have not been suffering from this same epidemic suicide rate as their counterparts. They are tasked with the same missions as some of their fellow Military Occupation Specialist (MOS) members on active duty, but have shown to be more resilient when dealing with suicide.

  Just as American civilians that commit suicide over troublesome issues such as marital problems, drug overuse and behavioral issues, those in the military face the same problems. Those who have not deployed are also faced with the problem stated before  but may feel worse because they have not served overseas while the nation was at war. Even though these facts may be against them, they have declined in suicide percentages.
 
Reservists  have the ability to stay in the same unit in which started their careers and do not have to constantly move, unlike their active duty counterparts. This may lead to a stability that most active duty members may not have but yearn for,  such as dealing with long overseas tours while having dependents such as a wife or child.

    This sort of stability is believed to cause the numbers of suicides to go down amongst individuals that are in the reserves. Researchers, such as Military Sociologist Dr. David Segal at the University of Maryland, believe this may be the cause. 

   

The alpha male population in the military increases the likelihood of suicide due to the “Toughen up” attitude

    The problem has only been exacerbated more so by the tough guy mentality that the military promotes and recruits for. Due to the military no longer being a conscript force, only 0.5% individuals join.  Those that join should be able to but not always can withstand its ruggedness as well as can do attitude.  Those who do feel as if they are struggling with an emotional problem at times choose to tuck away their dark secrets in order to preserve their careers as well as security clearances.

Military members are consistently pushed to be stronger, better, faster and at times are faced with troublesome issues that they feel they cannot speak about. Due to the combative nature of the military, the ones that speak out about their problems jeopardize their careers due to their  commanders no longer having faith in them accomplishing a task. This has caused more individuals to fight their dark secrets alone even though more resources to help them have been created. Another reason that individuals choose to not speak out is that some believe that by acknowledging that they have a problem, it will make them “soft” and in return make them inefficient at their occupation.

     
Senior leaders in the military have acknowledged this and have begun changing this perception. This at one time has been seen as a weakness but due to high-ranking officials such as the Sergeant Major of the Army Chandler admitting he had a problem and Medal Of Honor recipient Sergeant Dakota Meyer speaking out about their issues, the stigma is being lifted. 

 
The tough guy attitude is now being changed from those who fight with their problems alone to now seeking help in order to continue their effectiveness. Historians such as Dr. Vincent Houghton have seen the change from how the military once perceived this problem to its current form where speaking out is honorable.

Virtual reality, therapy and horse therapy are some of the new ways that are being used in order to prevent suicide

The military has devoted a large part of its budget to help prevent more service members from committing suicide. Due to the numbers still not declining, agencies within and outside the government are now focusing on new innovative methods to try to help those in need.

Source: Army.mil

One program is focusing on using items like the Oculus Rift to help those who have had traumatic events relive them in order to help them move past their problem. By allowing them to relive the events that have haunted them in the past, they now have the chance to change it and feel empowered for that which has given positive results. 

Horses for Heroes is an organization that has existed for over a decade that focused on helping disabled veterans, but have now found ways to help those with mental issues. By allowing the veterans to groom the horses and do as they please ethically, it allows them to have a sense of freedom that some feel they have not experienced in a while. This therapeutic exercise has grown from being based in one ranch to now being located in multiple places across the nation.

Some individuals have chosen methods that the United States used to deem to be illegal such as taking hallucinogens. This controversial method has not only helped those with the alcohol problems stated before, but also those who have suffered from rape, which also plagues the military. 

By allowing individuals to take, “Acid” in a closely supervised room, individuals have seen peace as well as acceptance. Regardless of the United States acceptance to this treatment, individuals have gone as far as the Amazon to find a solution that can end their pain.

Suicide as a whole has risen in the United States and due to this, government officials are now devoting more time to fixing this issue. This problem is one that has not only plagued our nation’s veterans but also our youth that are going to be the future. The statistics are out and the only way to improve the nation is by fixing what is taking our brave and young away from this life.