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Ask a Vet
Author: TriSec    Date: 04/05/2011 10:20:12

Good Morning.

Today is our 2,939th day in Iraq and our 3,467th day in Afghanistan.

We'll start this morning as we always do; with the latest casualty figures from our ongoing wars, courtesy of Antiwar.com:

American Deaths
Since war began (3/19/03): 4443
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03): 4304
Since Handover (6/29/04): 354
Since Obama Inauguration (1/20/09): 215
Since Operation New Dawn: 25

Other Coalition Troops - Iraq: 318
US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 1,521
Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 867
Contractor Employee Deaths - Iraq: 1,487
Journalists - Iraq : 348
Academics Killed - Iraq: 448

We find this morning's cost of war passing through:

$ 1, 175, 672, 100, 000 .00


If you follow Paul Rieckhoff on facebook, then you've had a ringside seat to a quiet epidemic that is sweeping the veteran's community. The suicide rate among returning veterans continues to rise...and this past week IAVA lost one of their own.



It is with unspeakable sadness that IAVA staff and members across the country mourn the loss of Clay Hunt. Clay took his own life on March 31st. Clay served in the Marine Corps for 4 years before being honorably discharged in 2009. He served in an infantry squad in Iraq in 2007 where he was wounded in action, receiving the Purple Heart Medal, and then in Afghanistan in 2008 as a Scout-Sniper.

Clay was an incredible advocate for our generation of veterans, a person of tremendous character and a fierce believer in the value of service. He was a leader for IAVA, participating in Storm the Hill 2010 and playing a critical role in the Ad Council campaign. In addition to his involvement with IAVA, he was active with Team Rubicon and Ride to Recovery. Clay believed his mission in life was to serve both in and out of the military. That is something that we will never forget.

His passing is a huge loss to the IAVA family and to our entire nation. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time.

Clay’s services will be held in Houston on Monday, April 4th at 11:00 AM CT. We will post more information in the coming days.


Incredibly enough, while in Houston for the funeral, Paul posted again on FB...that they learned of another Veteran suicide while they were there. (Perhaps local news to Houston...the details are sketchy.) But what is being done about it?

Sadly...apparently nothing. A brief search of Google under "Veteran Suicide" yields a list of stories..the most recent of which date to 2010. This is happening in silence and noticed by nobody except those who are affected by it.

There is one exception, though. One story on that list is current, from this past month. The VA is trying. Whether it yields any results is yet to be seen.


WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is reaching out to Veterans in crisis and their families in a new public service announcement to raise awareness about suicide prevention resources, such as the Veterans Crisis Line at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

“As more Veterans return from Iraq and Afghanistan, the critical need for mental health care is rising,” said Sonja V. Batten, assistant deputy chief patient care services officer for mental health. “VA is increasing its efforts to reach out to Veterans in need and their families, to inform them about available services and programs.”

The new television spot encourages Veterans in crisis to call the crisis hotline number at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) and then push 1 on their telephone keypad to reach a trained VA mental health professional who can assist the Veteran 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“Suicide is preventable,” said Batten. “Every Veteran suicide is tragic and regardless of the numbers or rates, one Veteran suicide is too many. We feel the responsibility to continue to spread the word throughout the nation that suicide prevention is everyone’s business.”

So far, more than 379,000 people have called the hotline, and more than 200,000 of these callers have identified themselves as Veterans, family members or friends of Veterans. The hotline has led to more than 13,000 rescues of actively suicidal Veterans.

The hotline also operates an online Veterans Chat program, which provides Veterans, their families and friends with the ability to communicate anonymously online in real-time with a trained VA mental health professional. Veterans Chat can be accessed through the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline’s web page at http://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/Veterans/Default.aspx.

Through the hotline and Veterans Chat, VA can connect Veterans and their families with important services, including suicide prevention coordinators, as well as general inpatient and outpatient psychiatric services at VA medical centers and community-based outpatient clinics.

The hotline, which is part of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, was started in 2007 as a partnership between VA and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

The PSA can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/user/VeteransHealthAdmin#p/u/1/PPL7CAHixQE.


I have no information on the historic suicide rate among veterans. But I wonder if what they are returning to isn't part of the problem. Coming home should be a joyous occasion, and for many veterans it is. But what of the veteran coming back to a foreclosed home, a depressed economy, and ever increasing expenses? For more than a few, the choice is stark. A former acquaintance of mine re-enlisted and went back to Afghanistan. As he told me at the time...."it's better than any job I can get here." Very sobering, indeed.


Finally this morning...I know "celebrate" is the wrong word here. But today is "Ask a Vet's" sixth anniversary. Hard to believe. I never thought I'd be writing it for this long, and I don't see changing course any time in the near, or indeed distant, future.

As long as there is still work to be done for our veterans...we'll be here.
 

52 comments (Latest Comment: 04/05/2011 19:54:41 by TriSec)
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