Alan: War makes people crazy.
In particular, you cannot subject young wo/men - often idealists - to bogus wars like Iraq and Vietnam without ALL hell breaking loose.
"Bush's Toxic Legacy In Iraq"
Hans Blix' Fruitless Search For WMD And Bush/Cheney's Rush To War In Iraq
Cheney's Lucid 1994 Rationale For NOT Invading Iraq. Conservatives "Must" See This
"Bush's Toxic Legacy In Iraq"
Hans Blix' Fruitless Search For WMD And Bush/Cheney's Rush To War In Iraq
Cheney's Lucid 1994 Rationale For NOT Invading Iraq. Conservatives "Must" See This
"The Fall Of Iraq. Jawdropping Video Footage Of Cheney, Albright, Gen Clarke & Others"
"Terrorism And The Other Religions"
"Terrorism And The Other Religions"
U.S. Veterans Commit Suicide at Rate of 20 a Day, VA Says
Agency revises number from 22, using better data; those using VA services have lower rate
Twenty military veterans commit suicide every day in the U.S., according to new statistics released Thursday by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
That number replaces prior VA estimates of 22 veteran suicides a day, a figure used for years and which was disputed by veterans groups, health care experts and the department itself. The new number remains persistently high despite department efforts to address the issue and comes soon after an investigation showed major failings at a VA mental-crisis call center.
“One Veteran suicide is one too many,” said David Shulkin, the VA’s undersecretary for health in a statement, adding that this new data can be used to further refine the department’s approach to the mental health care.
The new report draws on 55 million veteran records from across the U.S. over a nearly 40-year period ending in 2014. The previous suicide estimate was based on data from only 3 million records ending in 2010, an incomplete database which led people to question its accuracy.
Veterans are 21% more likely to commit suicide than their civilian counterparts, according to the data, and in 2014 some 7,400 veterans took their own lives.
The majority of veterans who kill themselves aren’t from the most recent generation of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, according to the report. Among veterans, 65% who commit suicide are at least 50 years old.
The data from the VA, which will be refined into a final report later this month, shows that veterans who have signed up for VA benefits have drastically lower suicide rates than veterans who don’t use the VA. Some 75% of vet suicides are among those who don’t use the department’s services.
Female veterans who don’t use VA services have had suicide rates shoot up by 98% since 2001, making them a major at-risk group.
“Sustained progress will require a comprehensive approach to help ensure our most at-risk veterans have not only the care they need but also a job, a purpose and a system of support in place to help carry them through their struggles,” said Rep. Jeff Miller (R., Fla.), chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs in a statement.
Suicide rates across all populations have been rising for years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since 1999, suicide rates in the U.S. have gone up 24% with rates among women rising by more than double the rates among men.
The VA has been making a push to address mental health issues among veterans, including efforts to focus on holistic treatment of patients, for example, screening for mental health issues when someone visits a clinic for an unrelated issue such as a checkup or a physical injury.
The VA also boasts that its veterans crisis line, a phone system set up to respond immediately to veterans who call in, has more staff and is responding to more calls than ever since its launch in 2007.
But a February inspection from the VA’s inspector general showed that calls to the crisis line sometimes go unanswered, are forwarded to voice mail or are answered by secondary personnel who might not have received adequate training in dealing with at-risk veterans.
The department said, in an official response to the inspection, that all issues would be addressed by Fall, 2016.
The full report on the VA’s newest suicide statistics is scheduled to be release by the end of July.
Write to Ben Kesling at ben.kesling@wsj.com
