In 2009 there were 160 active duty suicides, 239 suicides within the total Army including the Reserves, 146 active duty deaths from drug overdoses and high risk behavior and 1,713 suicide attempts. In addition to suicide, other out-of-character behavior like domestic violence is known to erupt from the drugs. More troops are dying by their [...]
September 30, 2010
WASHINGTON — The nation’s top military officer said yesterday that he expects suicides by service members, already alarmingly high, and other family crises to increase in the coming months as large numbers of troops return to their bases after years of multiple deployments. “I think we are going to see a significant increase in the [...]
September 30, 2010
Nutrient may enhance Soldiers’ performance: “An Army doctor serving in Iraq received approval from an Army medical review board, Sept. 28, to study the effects of omega-3 fish oil capsules on deployed Soldiers’ mental health. Omega-3 fatty acids are essential nutrients obtained through food, and research indicates they have strong ties with mental and vascular [...]
September 29, 2010
U.S. Army: It’s not war; the “risky behavior” of our troops at home drives them to suicide. Did you know that a solider committing suicide with a pistol often has just engaged in the high-risk behavior of aiming at his head and squeezing the trigger, in blatant violation of existing Army policies and standards? The Army calls [...]
September 29, 2010
FORT HOOD, Texas — The apparent murder-suicide of a soldier and his wife is among a rash of suspected suicides in recent days at Fort Hood, where the number of cases this year in which soldiers took their own lives has already matched the post’s record, Army officials said Tuesday. So far this year, 14 [...]
September 28, 2010
From the “Not really surprising” file… Returning soldiers and military veterans don’t really hold much hope or trust in the military to help them with their mental health needs — especially suicidal thoughts — according to a new report. And why would they? The military is their employer. Would you feel comfortable talking to your [...]
September 25, 2010
I’m a bleeding-heart liberal. I’m anti-war. I love my country. I’ve stood on the tarmac and seen my husband off to war. I served in the Army Reserves for 10 years. Why do these things need to be mutually exclusive? I feel no need to apologize for any of them. These things are all a [...]
September 24, 2010
ALBANY NY — E-mails and homework assignments that mention death and hopelessness are signs that a military veteran studying at Excelsior College may be thinking about suicide. The Albany-based college specializes in online classes and has 11,500 students — or one-third of the school’s student body — who are veterans or active military members. On Thursday, Joseph Hunter, [...]
September 23, 2010
Pontiac MI — James Harper served two years in Vietnam in the U.S. Army, but fought his worst demons more than three decades later at home when his wife of 33 years was mauled to death by pit bulls. Harper began drinking heavily after the 2007 incident. For the next two years, his life spiraled until [...]
September 14, 2010
It was the word “divorce” that sent Spc. Joseph Sanders’ mind to a dark place, and the quick thinking of his battle buddy Spc. Albert Godding that brought him back from the edge. Deployed in Iraq, Sanders received news that his wife, the woman who the very thought of helped him through a deployment, wanted [...]
October 12, 2010
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