The demographics of military suicide
Let me begin by saying that even one suicide by a veteran or active duty member of the military is an absolute tragedy. Bobo sends us a link to an Reuters article about the study that was recently conducted by researchers at Joint Base Lewis McChord. Mark Reger of the group told Reuters;
Suicide rates were similar regardless of deployment status. There were 1,162 suicides among those who deployed and 3,879 among those who didn’t, representing suicide rates per 100,000 person-years of 18.86 and 17.78, respectively.
Leaving the military significantly increased suicide risk, however, with a suicide rate of 26.06 after separating from service compared with 15.12 per 100,000 for those who remained in uniform. Those who left sooner had a greater risk, with a rate of 48.04 per 100,000 among those who spent less than a year in the military.
Service members with a dishonorable discharge were about twice as likely to commit suicide as those who had an honorable separation.
“This is the first time such a huge, comprehensive study has found an increased suicide risk among those who have separated from service, particularly if they served for less than four years or had an other than honorable discharge…”
The researchers also tie in gun ownership to the suicide rate, but that is to be expected – what they don’t filter out is the number of suicides from methods other than firearms. Also they skim over the part where military members sometimes bring baggage from civilian life to the military with them. To me, the folks who are forced out early are in that group because they have difficulty adjusting to the military – which would explain why that group is twice as likely to kill themselves than those who deployed. Maybe the pentagon ought to look into making everyone deploy in order to take advantage of therapeutic benefits.
Deployments seem to be a suicide vaccine. Deploy your sergeant major to save his life!
Category: Military issues
Service members with a DD or BCD can go ahead and off themselves and save us the time and aggravation as opposed to them showing up here later.
/Said kind of tongue in cheek
//boy I’m a real ass today, ain’t I??
You’re cool. I feel the same way. Every chapter packet I had to put together has taken time away from training my Soldiers.
That old adage that the 10% takes 90% of your time still true.
the company that builds iPhones etc. for Apple caught grief a few years ago for worker suicides in China. A great fuss was made that they had 15 suicides within about a year and a half… no one bothered to determine that the company had almost a million employees and that the company rate at that campus was about 13/1000. The Chinese national rate varies from about 18/1000 to 24/1000 depending on whether the group is urban or rural. Suicide is never an easy subject, and is rarely as simple/non-complex as some folks (like the folks correlating gun ownership and suicide) like to try and make it.
This country has a high suicide rate, across the board. The reasons are many. Our teenagers are killing themselves at a staggering rate. There is no one ‘why’ this is happening, there are many reasons. I think our military is reflecting the trend in our country.
The military is not reflecting the trend you speak of, PN. On the contrary, the military is actually bucking the trend.
Bluntly, no it doesn’t. The US is ranked 43rd out of the top 100 countries per suicide.org’s (admittedly somewhat dated) list, and a quick scan down the list shows very few comparably populated countries with significantly lower rates. The teen suicide rate is 7.9/1000 per teen-help.com – depending in which source, that is 1/2 to 1/3 of the rate for the country at large.
My comment was not meant to be a statistical anaylsis. I suck at statistics. I work around people who survived their suicide attempts — and hear about the ones who didn’t. I’m not arguing with your statistics, I’m simply pointing out that there are stress factors behind those numbers, be they civilian or military.
I understand and in no way meant to denigrate your work – there is a tendency nowadays to ascribe gargantuan proportions to many things that just ain’t so – as you probably can see from the earlier post I made above, I had some work-related contact with the subject but on a far different level.
“Deployments seem to be a suicide vaccine.”
*chuckle*
This will upset the Left which has long made use of the highly suspect connection between the wars and military suicides. Remember SOD Panetta? He called military suicides epidemic, thereby giving credence to the superficial reports and false conclusions. These researchers accessed three million + records and did not extrapolate from a casual sampling. And sure enough, it is the rate of suicides among those who left service less than a year after enlisting that is gargantuan. This is followed by those who got the dishonorable boot. Honorable service with deployment(s)? Well back of the pack. In fact, the rate is lower than this group’s civilian counterpart rate. Finally, a deep study that gets down to the nitty gritty.
Now, if these researchers would please address the ‘epidemic’ of sexual assaults in the military, we would really see the Left pissed off and a much cleaner and deserved image for our military.
Researching the “epidemic” of sexual assault in the military would probably turn up a large number of UVA Jackies. Can’t have that.
When DADT was up for repeal, Rand (I think) did a massive review of all of the discharges under DADT. Shockingly a large percentage were pending other disciplinary action not related to DADT.
Facts make some people uncomfortable.
These studies are a necessary prelude to getting real information. I would also favor routine brain scans, of the type that can detect physical injury to brain function, starting first with those who have been injured and eventually extending to everyone.
Yeah, the privacy implications suck.
However, subtle brain impairment, which might be the result of relatively mild injury before service as well as during, has been implicated in both dysfunction and criminal behavior.
Subtle brain impairment, if detected, is treatable through both physical intervention (supplements, drugs) and mental intervention (counseling, training, social support).
Valerie, I have to think that brain trauma and head injuries have little to do with suicide. I’ve had more head injuries and brain trauma then most would think is possible, over 1000 stitches, 50 staples, 40 skull fractures, and countless concusions. I have no issues with depression or suicidal thoughts. I have no sense of smell what so ever, but that hasn’t taken the smile off my face, my face is just a lot more memorable now
40 skull fractures? Damn dude…time for a new helmet or hobby…maybe needlepoint?
Exactly! What are you, Smittty, a motorcycle helmet field tester?
Brain scans have only been available for about 20 years, and they do show a correlation between behavior problems and functional conditions, some of which have an unknown cause, and some of which come from subtle injuries.
http://tinyurl.com/nuqhc9y
Right now, I don’t know how much influence functional impairment and brain injury are related to suicide, but I do see that we have an exploratory tool worth using, especially because there are therapies that can have a profound (good) effect.
With all due respect, your resilience is a very good thing, and your medical data could be useful to show what an injured brain looks like when something goes right in an individual.
The scans are a valuable diagnostic tool, but in and of themselves, they are unreliable for predicting potential aggressive behavior. Where they are useful, apart from those scans taken at the time of traumatic injury, is when they are combined with psychological testing, to rule out certain disorders and dysfunctions of the brain and endocrine system.
They already have a DNA sample on file for everyone in the military – the privacy implications of that could suck even worse, but they have strict controls in place (from what I understand – no direct experience with it, other than them taking my sample) – it can’t be used in investigations of anything but identifying remains. I’d think they could put similar restrictions in place for the brain scans, just for use in research…
When 1/509th deployed, they sent our 2 infantry line companies and kept hhc and D troop in ft polk. Someone should have told our BC this and maybe his ass would have gone with the soldiers he deployed.
Ft. Polk, or deployment? Think I’d opt for the latter. 🙂
I would have thought that this thread would have 50 comments by now. For years we’ve been reading and hearing about the suicide rates among our military, always with the suggestion or pronouncement that the rate was due to multiple deployments and PTSD. And, now, it turns out that the rate is due to people with serious issues enlisting and never deploying. The new strategy ought to be, in large part, to better ID the trouble before an enlistee takes the oath. Oh, and the Pentagonals might give some serious reconsideration to admitting transgenders while they’re at it. They, like the one who was shot outside of the NSA, seem to have a penchant for self destruction.
There are so many out there, if you even try and dispell the myth of “22 Combat Veterans a day comitt suicide” who will jump all in your shit. Have had it done to me. The facts are irrelevant when you have an agenda to push.
Suicide is a serious topic, but it has been abused for political reasons.
Just watch… Once the transgendered types are integrated in the military, we’ll be back here commenting on stories of why the suicides have increased among that demographic group.
In re: “22 a day,” this is in my backyard: http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/28680941/shephards-men-helping-fellow-veterans
The left will abuse/exaggerate *many* topics and stats for political reasons… homelessness, college campus and military rapes, hate crimes, heterosexual AIDS, etc., etc.
The “22” a day figure includes Vietnam Veterans and all other demographics besides current war vets and active duty. The number comes from a 2010 study that surveyed records by state. If I remember correctly, About 20 states responded and the balance did not. The numbers were extrapolated to become 22 a day based on Veteran populations. Study after study has been done to support a certain conclusion. At one time, the worst rate of suicide in the Army belonged to trombone players. A number quoted above, would indicate about 6 per day which coincides with an earlier study of active duty suicides which showed approximately even rates between deployed and never deployed. That was back when 18 a day was the recognized number.
Do they count sucide by LEOs ? Do they count suspected sucide ie drinking and driving into bridge abuttments, losing control at high rates of speed? The suspected but unprovable. Joe
Speaking as a civilian, I think Team Rubicon is on the right track, i.e. provide meaning in life post-service to prevent suicide while using your skills to help others in the community. Best group ever!
I would think the same philosophy applies to everyone. If you feel useful, participate in some kind of supportive structure, if your focus is mostly on others instead of yourself, you are at less risk of a suicide.
There are a number of studies on longevity that show marriage, church, friends, and/or extended family helps you live longer. I would say that’s the same sort of support and meaning.
That’s a pretty serious rate of suicide when compared to the civilian rate of 12.6 in 2013 during the study time frame of 2001-2007 the suicide rate was a little lower for civilians….It’s a tragic outcome and can be avoided sometimes, but even a small nation like Japan shows that suicide prevention is unfortunately a catch as catch can operation and not much more.
When depression takes someone that deep in a hole many times taking their own lives seems the most logical progression for them.
I am going to sound awful with this, but truth be told some of these people in depression killing themselves is a better outcome than medicating them out of it. Those who are medicated out of depression without long term treatment will sometimes take others out with them when they finally do decide to end their lives even after being treated. I’d rather see people killing themselves than committing the murder suicide routine. Whenever the thought enters someone’s head to kill another it’s best they start with themselves.
Uh, VOV . . . the civilian suicide rate includes both males and females. The male suicide rate is between 3 and 4 times that of females. That alone explains a huge chunk of the difference, and perhaps all of it.
Last time I checked, the civilian population is slightly more than 50% female. The military is somewhere around 75-85% male.
Understood, I did read that women attempt suicide more often than males but males are far more effective at successful completion of the act.
And, for the record – I can’t argue much with your last paragraph. The latest Aviation disaster provides an example. The only caveat would be I’d say “stop treatment” instead of “stop taking their meds”, since it looks as if the guy there was avoiding medical treatment that would have terminated his flying status.
IMO, some people simply seem predisposed if not actually programmed for eventual self-destruction. Dunno why, and it’s unfortunate as hell. But that does seem to be the case.
I have a son who is being “treated”. The only thing they are doing for him is drugging the shit out of him.Yes he also damn near committed suicide. I apologize, tis a sore subject that I wish there really I had an answer for.
Yesterday I was doing some casual reading and found out Marine Major General Merrit A (Red Mike) Edson committed suicide at the age of 58 by carbon monoxide in his garage.
WW1, Nicarauga, China Marine and WW2. Medal of Honor 2 Navy Crosses and a Silver Star.