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Subscribe to RSSAn estimated 22 veterans committed suicide in America each day in 2010, according to a report released Friday by the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs.
That rate has edged higher from 1999 when an estimated 20 veterans took their lives every day, the report noted. In 2007, the veteran suicide pace temporarily dipped to 18 per day.
Nearly 70 percent of all veteran suicides were among men and women aged 50 or older, the VA said.
"The mental health and well-being of our courageous men and women who have served the nation is the highest priority for VA, and even one suicide is one too many,” VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki said in a news release. “We have more work to do and we will use this data to continue to strengthen our suicide prevention efforts and ensure all Veterans receive the care they have earned and deserve.”
The report notes that while the numbers of veterans who die by suicide each day "has remained relatively stable over the past 12 years," the overall percentage of people who die by suicide in America who are veterans has decreased slightly. The share of all suicides reported as "veterans" on state-issued death certificates was 25 percent in 1999 versus slightly more than 20 percent in 2010, according to VA researchers.
"This provides preliminary evidence that the programs initiated by VA are improving outcomes," read an accompanying "executive summary" signed by Dr. Robert A. Petzel, the VA's under secretary for health. "As long as veterans die by suicide, we must continue to improve and provide even better services and care."
Also Friday, the U.S. Army released its monthly suicide report, offering a preliminary tally for 2012 in that branch: 325 "potential" suicides among active and reserve troops — the highest number in history, Army officials noted. More than 50 of those deaths remain "under investigation," awaiting a final ruling. If that bleak total remains at 325, the toll in 2012 would have risen by 15 percent over 2011 when the Army sustained 283 suicides.
Meanwhile, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, a nonprofit advocacy group representing more than 200,000 members, said the nation should be "outraged" by rate of veterans who are taking their own lives — nearly one per hour.
“This VA suicide report is the most important piece of data to be released since 2007,” said IAVA founder and CEO Paul Rieckhoff. “Our leaders in Washington need to accelerate efforts to shrink wait times for mental health care and find more creative solutions like the Veteran Crisis Line" — 800-273-TALK.
"The country should be outraged that we are allowing this tragedy to continue The trends are headed in the wrong direction,” Rieckhoff added. “As veterans, we at IAVA understand the spectrum of challenges facing veterans transitioning home, including the struggle with invisible wounds. One thing is clear, we need more research and more collaboration.”
VA leaders vowed "immediate actions" to curb the suicide rate among former service members. The top strategy on the agency's list: A task force — already established — that will "provide recommendations for innovating mental health care" within the VA system," VA officials said.
That panel also has been tasked with "reassessing the value of traditional suicide risk assessments at screening" and "adding ways to identify life stressors and concerns earlier," read Petzel's summary.
Friday's report also identified female veterans and Vietnam-era veterans as two demographic groups that require extra urgency when it comes to suicidal behaviors. VA officials said they will be developing "additional training programs" to help better target those segments of the U.S. veteran population.
The veteran-suicide statistics are likely to become a topic on Feb. 13 when the U.S. House Committee on Veterans' Affairs holds a hearing to explore whether veterans are "overcoming barriers to quality mental health care."
Related:
- Concern grows about military suicides spreading within families
- Military suicide rate set record high in 2012
- The enemy within: Soldier suicides outpace combat deaths in 2012
- Some wounded vets shine on 'Alive Day,' others wear black
Leave a Comment:
Robert,,why don't you stfu
how does that rate compare to suicides amongst the general population? without the rest of the data these numbers dont really mean much to me.
The rate is not much different than the civilian population if you google it.
Just appears to get more "attention".
Who cares about the gen pop,we are talking about vets here
because you'd need to compare the rate of suicides in the vet population vs the general population to see if there is a significant difference. its important to know.
It's not just the VA that is the problem.
One of the major problems is people who never served are standing at the gates of power and influence. One example is Marshall University where I applied to medical school after I got out of the Navy. When I did my interview one of the administrators there told me they were not comfortable having veteran-students there because they thought we might get angry and come in and start killing everyone. It is that kind of ignorance that is keeping our veterans out of good college programs and giving them the keys to the better future that we fought for.
We need legislation, similar to affirmative action, guaranteeing a certain percentage of admission slots to business, graduate, and professional programs. We need tax breaks for starting our own businesses. We need income tax breaks for just being veterans; is 5% off for the rest of our lives too much to ask as thanks from a grateful nation? I mean we're only talking about less than 1% of the overall population; shouldn't make too big of a dent in the Federal coffers.
What percentage of those veterans had no coping skills? Could not deal with adversity in life in general and just happened to be veterans? Had problems with any adversity long before they joined the military and/or long before they got out? How many actually never served in a war zone and therefore were never "exposed" to anything remotely stressful?
I hate to say this, but unless they are mentally unstable, suicide is the coward's way out. They can't cope with life, what has happened in their life so they take the easy way out and end their life. And it's not anyone's fault but the person themselves, sorry.
I am a retired disabled veteran of war and so is my spouse.
Not only is my spouse a retired disabled veteran of war, but he suffers from extreme PTSD and from a debilitating stroke.
He can't talk right, walk right, remember things, body doesn't function right and he takes upwards of 19 medications per day to maintain.
BUT - he has never spoken of suicide nor attempted suicide or even thought of it, why?
Because he COPES with what has happened to him and what will happen in the future. He is brave and willing to LIVE his life and not end it.
I'm sorry, but as a veteran with a spouse who is a veteran, the only people I feel sorry for when someone takes their own life are the ones they leave behind. They are the "true" victims of suicide.
Well, well Kimbo. A suck it up mentality. You are mimicking exactly what the government is now trying to say to avoid payments for service connection disabilities such as PTSD, that their condition could have been a pre-existing problem. No wonder we have so many vets committing suicide when they are not in a supportive environment to help them with their feelings of helplessness, hopelessness and despair. No, the solution is to give these vets scripts which only masks their mental pain and can actually increase the probability of suicide. You are in essence calling vets who commit suicide wimps. I'm sure you are enjoying you and your husbands 100% service connected payments while current vets are in the waiting game-- because you have not walked in their shoes, nor has your husband because all walks are individual walks. You are truly a mean spirited person to have such a lack of sympathy for vets that take their life when the will to live is very strong. But not for 22 vets a day that kill themselves! And for you to state that unless someone is mentally unstable they are a coward to kill themselves-------------You actually believe these vets were mentally STABLE when they killed themselves? We're not talking about mass murderers or other criminals killing themselves: THEY are the cowards, not the vets. They were deemed mentally fit to be accepted in the military and you are wondering about the % who had no coping skills? Your husband who you state has had a debilitating stroke-which is actually a brain attack, is hardly in a position to commit suicide when he can't talk right, walk right or has memory impairment and takes 19 meds per day per your writing. It would not surprise me if your husband is also in a VA nursing home (CLC) and you can continue to collect the service connected pay because you don't sound compassionate enough to care for a debilitated person 24/7. How does it feel to be judged? Well, just suck it up and use your *coping skills* because the vets spouse, children and other family members are dealing with enough pain without you compounding their grief. You say at the end, you are sorry. You are not.
And one more note Kimbo: You state your husband has severe PTSD. So, you all get service connected disability payments-maybe your husband didn't have coping skills either and his PTSD was not really service connected but an inability to cope like you accuse current vets who kills themselves of!
19 medications is a coping strategy. You didn't serve, therefore shut your mouth.
It's unconscionable the way this country treats its Veterans.
These are just meaningless, mindless, words!! . . . turn your worthless words into something that will really take care of the men and women who fought and lost their limbs and lives -- and suffered many, many other wounds of war -- so that your fat ass can sit comfortably in your well-appointed Washington office spouting words. Navigating the VA system is a nightmare -- an absolute nightmare! Fixing that should be your "highest priority" for starters!
The real secret why the older vets do it is >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> They lived long enough to see what kind of society we have today, one that if they were able to foresee they would not be willing to die for at the time they served.
It has degenerated beyond anyone's imagination. They feel betrayed.
rradiko...your writing was powerful. May I suggest you publish it! Please get it on a blog and circulate it. It is powerful, moving, touching, very deeply felt and an accurate description of how it must feel to be that discarded, disconnected, distanced or debilitating vet. I hope you become a friend of the veterans and do some support work. You sound caring, sensitive, compassionate and insightful. This is a tragic story. I screamed about mental health issues years ago...did they listen? Did they listen?
Be well!
MS
well, i always maintained self sufficiency and strength, never relying totally on others. I did not serve, my father was a vet, and I bet self sufficiency and strength were paramount, and relying on others in the military was a must, and they better be damn good, and then we better be damned good to those that served.
I'm an 80% disabled, retired vet. Having gone through the system, I can certainly understand frustration on the part of fellow disabled vets.
We have no choice but to take care of our vets - it is a reflection of our current military. If you want GOOD soldiers - then you must take care of them when they are no longer soldiers. We have a volunteer force - who will volunteer if we push our disabled vets to the side? It is unfortunate that we even need a military - but that's the way that the world is - and since we need a military - we also need to take care of them - when they are active duty and beyond.
It's very easy to poo poo PTSD and the like - and, sure, there are probably some that are using it to their advantage - but don't blanket all. War and combat are VERY personal - they are unique to the individual. Nobody knows what I have seen - and that is the same for EVERY combat vet. Some folks get PTSD from prolonged low level action, some get it from one traumatic event, and some never get it no matter what they do - it doesn't make PTSD false. One thing to remember is killing changes a person - you can say it's the enemy and whatnot - but it is still a human and we are SOO taught NOT to kill. I had PTSD for a while after returning - but probably not to the same extent that others faced it. Lost some sleep, had bad dreams, and loud noises were...not good. Still not quite over it - but I never reported it and I am not getting paid for it.
Take care of your vets, folks. I've given a lot to this country, but I work on Fort Sam Houston, and I see young men walking around with missing limbs. I'm fortunate to have all of mine in various states of function anyway. Until we can get over war - we will have vets - they are needed - they are valuable. Please - always take care of them and realize that you will never KNOW what they have been through.
I learned what one year in a war zone does in Vietnam, I changed but function okay with society. I can't imagine being one of these kids serving 2-3-4-5-6 war tours in Afghanstan and Iraq. These kids should get every break in the world in America for their service for America by our companies and government jobs.
This is what happens when they are built up as Superheros. Wars end and then they are forgotten. No future, just disposable people.
Just looking at the amount of comments speaks for itself.
Forgotten and disposable...
Not a place on earth might be so happy as America. Her situation is remote from all the wrangling world, and she has nothing to do but to trade with them. Thomas Paine, 1776
The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is, in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible. George Washington, 1796
We should listen to our Founding Fathers and quit trying to occupy the world. War is necessary sometimes, but we are not the problem solvers of the world. The governments start the wars, but the soldiers and citizens are the ones in the graves.
Sell your people, future and economy out on wars for the greed of a few, export jobs for slave labor and the freedom to pollute your heart out, import desperate people for slave labor, destroy your schools and teachers, dumb the people down, feed them violence and filth, create laws that make otherwise law abiding people criminals, fill your prisons with non violent criminals and send the violent criminals back out on the streets because of overcrowding. Don't forget to make guns a right and don't require any training, testing, licensing or registration then use it as an excuse to take them away from law abiding citizens. Also make it almost impossible for the mentally ill to receive treatment until they commit some horrific crime. Sooner or later you will have the public begging to take all of their rights away just to be safe, then bingo you have total control. Is this the legacy we want to leave our children?
Mark, do you live outside the USA? Most people living in the USA seem to lack the insight you demonstrate. It is easy to see that the USA has become a dump when you don't live there. So many Americans are blinded by all the patriotic rhetoric and propaganda. The US leads the world in virtually nothing anymore. About all it has is military might. The sad thing is, it is more concerned about being king of the hill (prevent other nations from gaining military might) than it is about the issues you noted. I am very luck that I don't live in the United States.
A must see search Hannity Boom Town, we still have the vote people at the next election we can throw the traitors out in mass if we stand together and don't buy what they push on us. We can start grass roots campaigns in colleges across the country and support leaders who will serve the country over special interests. With the internet people all over the world are seeing each other like never before, it is not the people of the world but the governments that are the problem, most people just want the same thing a fair share. If the people of the world wake up we can realize that government gets it's power from the people not people it's power from the government. Then the people of the world can bring real hope and change if they stand up together for what is right instead of being slaves to greed of a select few. We are now at the crossroads of either developing mankind like never before or facing our extinction because of greed. We are all peaces of a puzzle and what we do with those pieces will determine what we get. If we choose to love, respect each others gifts and work together we can reach for the stars, unfortunately mankind throughout history has chosen the opposite. We now have the technology to either totally destroy mankind, take it back to the stone age or reach for the stars. We need to learn how to live and work together in peace and fairness because the price will be too high if we don't. So much talent and ability is being wasted in this world, so much innocent blood is being spilled because people continue to serve hate, greed and corruption.
Dr Petzel needs to RESIGN, Effective Immediately. How can he suggest that a 10% Increase in ALL DAILY SUICIDES in 2012 compared to 1999 be an improvement simply because Veteran Suicide are less of a percentage in 2012 than in 1999? This Doctor is playing with the Statistics and believes his own Bull$#!t. After doing some Math I learned in Grade School: In 1999, on Average, 20 Vets and 60 Non Vets Committed Suicide Daily for a Total of 80 Suicides Per Day of which 25% were Veterans. In 2012, on Average, 22 Vets and 88 Non Vets Committed Suicide for a Total of 110 Suicides Per Day of which 20% were Veterans. How is a 10% INCREASE in Suicides in Both Veteran and Non Veteran Suicide Rates an IMPROVEMENT? To put it simply, Suicide Rates have INCREASED 10% in 2012 when compared to 1999.
These deaths should be investigated by a congressional committee, to see if something regarding their care, or lack there of, was a mitigating factor in their suicides.
Odd that all those so called pro life people are not concerned.
And yet the Military still considers soldiers with PTSD deployable! DUH. They just don't get it.
Setting people up for failure
Horrific statistic. 22 a day? My God.
Most young men and women who join the armed services now come from very low income families, broken homes, don't have the education to get into college, may have had trouble with the law and really have no other options. If parents would stand up and be parents, would put education first, would TRY to discipline their children they wouldn't be putting their kids on this road to military "service" then suicide.
This is a national shame. Sending the poorest and least educated and most challenged of our nation's kids to fight a war then home to a life that they eventually end themselves. Shame on America.
It absolutely is a national shame. From outside America, it is easy to see that America actually has a number of national shames: care of veterans, care of the elderly, healthcare, education...what a sad list.
With the long waits that we have for just basic appointments a lot of us feels that they are just waiting for us to die anyways.
I am so sorry that you feel that way. Your government should cherish you. It put you in harms way in other places in the world. It should protect you when you come home.
It is this kind of situation, one where those who serve a country cannot get the support he/she needs from the government of that country, that makes a country a sad, sorry place to live.
So, to all Americans: With this kind of statistic, you should be appalled. And you should do something about it. Rather than spouting American patriotism at every turn, something that is a complete joke to everyone else around the world, you might want to actually DO something that reflects greatness.
Worked for a VAMC years ago and it was sad the management running it. Have a friend working same facility today and it's not made improvements maybe worse...
It's not the military that causes suicides. It is how one is raise up during childhood. Here's one outstanding issue:
1. make a choice.
making a choice is not a life lesson one teaches by designing a lesson around concept of decision making even for little kids. So, stop the insanity. Take the longer route like climb the cliff instead of something one can learn in words. Alot of these suicider-s with military background probably made bad choices in life and it all caught up to them by age 50/60. So, at 50, they see themselves without hope for a better way of life. They kill themselves because they reject teaching of the catholic church around age identified in suicide rate studies. They don't care if they goto hell.
The problem for current white americans being suicidal is cause by two major institution of unity that demand a chunk of the life up to age 60 for unity and leaving nothing for retirement as individuals. It is call volunteerism. The selfless act. A matter of economy of one entire life span without using money to blame for. To begin with, one should have a choice to volunteer and not force to do so at the cost of low economy of life later on. But that alone only allow the brain to make a choice one time at the beginning, after that is just show up and brain not require. By age 60, brain not require still and suicide happens.
Live free to make a choice. (E for evil) A necessity of chaos not unity.
The veterans are killing themselves AFTER VA mental health "TREATMENT" ...not before; once a veterans is LABELED FOR LIFE "CRAZY, ADDICTED, and ALCOHOLIC" by the VA & entered in their medical records the veteran's lives are over....thousands of jobs, housing , and opportunities are FOREVER GONE...BY LAW!
Who wants to hire or rent to a veterans the VA has labeled "CRAZY, ADDICTED, and ALCOHOLIC", and is ONE DRINK AWAY FROM A HOMICIDAL RAMPAGE?
A/c ROBERTSON, USMC has killed more in training than combat? Find that hard tobelieve. Otherwise, we do not do right by our vets, but I use va services and have nothing but positive to say. Maybe crowded but there are alot of vets Navy 68-72