The number of suicides by active-duty, reserve and National Guard servicemembers during the second quarter of 2014 declined by about 5 percent from the first three months of the year, dropping from 74 deaths to 70.
The number of suicides during the last half of this year would need to decline considerably to fall below the 254 suicides reported in 2013, based on information released last week on the Department of Defense Quarterly Suicide Report.
Both the rate and number of suicides declined from 2012 to 2013, but the death rate among Marines and soldiers — active, reserve and National Guard — was particularly high.
Active-duty Marines and soldiers had a suicide rate of about 23 deaths per 100,000 servicemembers in 2013, compared with 12.5 suicides per 100,000 overall in the United States in 2012, the most recent rate calculated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Army has initiated an ongoing campaign to prevent suicide that relies heavily on peer intervention, employing slogans such as “Buddies can prevent suicide.” Posters displayed in common areas of Army bases ask, “Have you saved a life today?”
Jacqueline Garrick, acting director of the Defense Suicide Prevention Office, said in a Pentagon statement that fear of career damage remains one of the major obstacles to servicemembers seeking counseling and treatment.
“The goal is to eliminate the stigma of getting help,” she said. “So there’s been an increase in first-level, peer-to-peer groups, which have made a difference in enabling people who fear they may be jeopardizing their career to reach out for care.”
The most common stressors linked to suicide among servicemembers are financial and relationship problems, depression and abuse, she said.
On Monday, Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn blocked a military suicide prevention bill named after former Marine Clay Hunt, an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran who killed himself in 2011. Coburn said the bill wouldn't accomplish its goal and duplicated other programs.
For immediate help regarding suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.
olson.wyatt@stripes.com
Twitter: @WyattWOlson
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