Opinion: Suicide a pandemic among our vets, active duty military

By MARK BALLARD
Guest columnist

Saturday, Jan. 4, 2013 – This past Sunday, a friend of mine, who is a member of the Air Force Reserves, posted a note on his Facebook page about one of his Air Force colleagues committing suicide. His friend had more than 20 years of service to our nation.

The suicide rate in the military and among our veterans is on the rise. It has risen 16 percent in the last year alone for the military as a whole.

According to the Department of Defense, there were 295 battle-related deaths in Afghanistan in 2012 and 349 suicides during the same time frame. According to the Department of Veteran Affairs, 22 veterans a day (or 8,030 per year) end their own lives. That is about one every 25 hours!

Suicidal ideation is a medical term for thoughts about or an unusual preoccupation with suicide. Surveys have shown that one in three young veterans have thought about suicide.

In the age group of 17-24, for every 100,000 people in the United States, an average of 15 non-veterans commit suicide yet. In the same age group, 60 veterans end their own lives. And, with active duty military, the Pentagon states that 52 percent of suicides are members that have never seen battle. The Pentagon report also states that only 20 percent of the soldiers had been diagnosed with some sort of depression prior to ending their life.

Why is it that there are more active duty/veterans than civilians who commit suicide? There are more opinions among the “experts” than the number of cards in a deck.

The Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine states “Suicidal ideation is more dangerous in war veterans than in the general population because they know how to use firearms and they often own them.” That is untrue.

Among veterans, studies show that firearms are used in 50 percent of suicides and not in the other 50 percent. The statistic for civilians using guns in suicide is the same. Military service has no bearing on whether a gun is used or not. Everything from family life before, during, and after the military, life experiences before, during, and after serving in the military, and everything in between all have input to how people react to life. There is no specifically right or wrong answer that fits everyone, whether they are in the military or are a civilian.

What can we do? Be there for your friends! Be there for strangers! If a friend, family, or even a stranger is talking about suicide, take it seriously. Get them help. And, as I have experienced, sometimes there are no signs.

Veterans and active duty, here is a crisis website and hotline you can use. Veteranscrisisline.net and 1-800-273-8255. Call that number any day or time. Please ask for help. Call this number or go to your local Emergency Room. Call 911 and ask for help. Go and talk to a religious leader, doctor, or friend. There is no shame in asking for help. You have family and friends that want to help you. Let us.

-30-