The military no longer automatically blames suicidal soldiers for their agony. But we need to do much more to help relieve their suffering.

They Broke Me and Now They Won’t Fix Me

The rapidly escalating rate of suicides among American soldiers is devastating families and plaguing an already exhausted military. More than 160 U.S. armed-forces personnel killed themselves in 2008-the most since the days of the Vietnam War-and the 2009 figures are worse, much worse: The Pentagon expected the year to end with twice last year’s toll. The rate of suicide among active-duty service personnel is now higher than it is in the civilian population, for the first time since the Vietnam War.

Until recently, the military establishment blamed soldier suicide on the troops themselves, rejecting suggestions that soldiers’ wartime experiences played a role. “You were screwed up when you joined” has long been the military’s attitude toward suicide, with officials blaming money problems, drug and alcohol abuse, and girlfriend and wife trouble as the leading causes of soldiers killing themselves. But with soldiers between the ages of 18 and 24 now more than twice as likely to end their own lives as their counterparts in the general population, both the military and civilian organizations are rushing to provide counseling and intervention, and an explanation for the deaths.

The Army is working with the National Institutes of Health to try to identify at-risk soldiers before they hurt themselves. The Pentagon has instituted a new program it calls “Battlemind” in an effort to better prepare soldiers for the stress of combat and tend to them after they experience it. Army psychiatrist Colonel Elspeth Cameron Ritchie is conducting an ongoing study to isolate the challenges that push some soldiers to take their own lives. The list includes failed relationships, conflicts with the law, money crises, job problems, and multiple deployments.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, commented last year about repeated tours of duty as they relate to suicides. “I can’t believe that is not a huge factor,” he said at Fort Campbell. In addition to the burden of multiple deployments, the type of warfare soldiers face in Afghanistan and Iraq often requires them to maintain a combat mentality day and night. It is a strain that leads to what mental-health experts are calling Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, a severe form of PTSD that has been seen in hostages and repeat-rape victims-victims psychologically damaged by being subjected to traurria over and over again. Almost two million soldiers have rotated through the Iraq and Afghanistan war theaters since 2001, wars that keep them in what psychologists call a “hypervigilant state.” It is a state of mind many cannot simply shut off once they return stateside: They can’t sleep; they can’t stop their minds from reliving what they experienced while on duty.

Vice Chief of Staff General Peter Chiarelli, who is tasked with organiz-ing suicide-prevention efforts for the Army, also expresses concern about mental-health issues in his official summary: “Any soldier, from private to general, may need help at some time in their Army career. Seeking that help, without fear of stigma, has to become second nature in our Army community; it has to become part of our culture.”

But stigma haunts many soldiers in jeopardy of taking their own lives. They fear that seeking mental-health help will subject them to ridicule, as they are supposed to be tough enough to handle life’s problems. They also worry that a record of mental-health problems will adversely affect their careers, both military and civilian. If they are burdened with a personality-disorder discharge or any other-than-honorable discharge, it is a barrier to getting care through the Veterans Administration. Augmenting the efforts of government agencies to help military-service personnel are grassroots community organizations that also aid veterans.

Elizabeth Stinson is a psychologist in private practice and the former executive director of the Peace and Justice Center in Sonoma County, California. Stinson and other counselors meet with family members of returning soldiers with mental problems who are convinced the wars damaged their loved ones. They come to her and say, “He’s not the same,” and, “I can’t live with him.” She tells a particularly sad story about a panicked call she received on her hotline from a female soldier in Iraq, and what the woman cried out haunts her: “They broke me and now they won’t fix me.” Swords to Plowshares, a civilian. organization that traces its roots to the Vietnam era, offers returning soldiers tools for their transition. This organization’s self-help book, You Are Stronger Than You Think You Are, authored by veterans, is a step-by-step guide to coming home and points soldiers to resources for mental-health help.

The Coming Home Project was founded specifically to help Iraq and Afghanistan vets adjust to their post-service lives. Give an Hour and the Soldiers Project are other nongovernmental organizations designed to help returning soldiers who are facing personal crises. Their expertise is free for any vet seeking to “ease the strains of war.” Professional trauma therapists work with returning soldiers who are despondent and suicidal because of their wartime experiences. This help is critical to combat suicide: The vast majority of suicidal soldiers hurt themselves after they return to the States. Lawyer Amy Fairweather at the Coalition for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans says, “There is help.” Her message to vets is, “You’re not alone.”

The problem of suicidal soldiers is every American’s problem and responsibility. We are obligated to provide therapy for those suffering because they fulfilled their contract with us.

Where to Get Help

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