Army study finds officials often overlook causes behind military suicides

This month has been the deadliest on record for US troops in Afghanistan. The deaths of three troops Friday in Kabul bring the total to 63 in July.  The Army is also looking into other causes of death among soldiers. In a lengthy report released Thursday, the Army examined the rising rate of suicides among active duty soldiers. The study puts the blame on commanders for ignoring problems until they're too late. Tanya Snyder reports:

TRANSCRIPT:

Coleman Bean was home from his second tour of duty in Iraq when he killed himself in September 2008.

His father, Gregory, says after each deployment he came back changed:

“He started having anxiety attacks, loss of focus, inappropriate outbursts of, sometimes, anger. Again, we thought he was drinking too much.”

He says Coleman tried to seek help from the VA, but was first told he wasn’t eligible for help, and then the VA kept canceling appointments.

BEAN: A lot of servicemen, active duty and discharged, can’t or won’t reach out to the VA, or find that process too cumbersome or unsatisfactory, or they don’t get what they need, or it’s too daunting.

The new Army report reveals that there were a record 160 suicides among active-duty soldiers in the last fiscal year, from October 2008 to September 2009. If you include other self-destructive behaviors like substance abuse and drinking and driving, the report finds more soldiers die “by their own actions” than die in combat.

The 350-page report downplayed the importance of multiple deployments on the rate of suicide, saying that 79 percent of those who committed suicide been deployed just once, or not at all.

" I don’t believe it, and there’s no way you can make me believe it.”

Again, Gregory Bean:

“Multiple deployments take a terrible toll on these young men and women. And for the Army to suggest that it doesn’t – I think that’s almost shameful.”

Others agree.

Aaron Glantz, author of "The War Comes Home: Washington's Battle Against America's Veterans", and Pacifica contributor, says the military is trying to shift the focus away from the war:

“You’ve seen generals talk about people coming suicide in Iraq because they got a 'Dear John' letter back from San Francisco. There’s some truth to that, but I also think the military is trying to pass the buck. They’re trying to shift blame.”

Besides, many people who have been deployed multiple times are then discharged, and the suicide rate of veterans is far higher than for active duty officers. Once they leave the controlled environment of the Army, and are no longer among people who can relate to their experiences, mental health issues begin to surface.

GLANTZ: The Army is only working with a portion of that overall statistical universe. So they’re able to say: hey, in our little statistical universe, it’s not the main cause! Because they’re the same people. It’s not like it’s two different sets of human beings. People who are now veterans used to be in the Army.

There are other ways that multiple deployments can aggravate the problem. The Army is only meeting its recruiting standards because it keeps lowering them. And the country has been unwilling to institute a draft. So when recruitment is down, commanders have no choice but to send into combat troops whom they know are unfit – whom they know are having psychological problems.

GLANTZ: He can’t tell them all: 'I’m going to help you get out of the Army. You need to go back to your home and your family and get on with the next phase of your life.' He’s got to get them to train up for next deployment. That’s his job.”

Suicide isn’t the whole picture, either. The report cites 146 active-duty deaths related to risky behavior, including 74 drug overdoses. Nearly a third of Army suicides involve drugs or alcohol.

At a news conference, Army Vice Chief of Staff Peter Chiarelli said he’s been frustrated that he hasn’t been able to get more health care specialists to deal with it:

CHIARELLI: I’m having one heck of a time getting the numbers I need to handle a higher rate of substance abuse today than eight years ago.

The use of prescription drugs to keep mental illness in check is also increasing. According to the report, between 2005 and 2008 the number of soldiers who were prescribed antidepressants grew from one to five percent.

Despite the sobering numbers, military families and others commend the Army for investigating the problem seriously and announcing the findings so publicly. They say it’s reassuring that the Army is done trying to sweep the problem under the rug.

Tanya Snyder, FSRN, Washington.

Photo: General Peter Chiarelli, speaking about suicide-prevention program for soldiers

Photo credit: The National Guard