Clay Hunt Sav Act Research Paper

PTSD and suicide are two things that are very common among veterans in the U.S.. A recent study has shown that there are a much as 8,000 veteran suicides a

Many people who suffer from depression or post-traumatic stress disorder turn to alcohol and drugs to self-medicate. However, drugs and alcohol only make those problems worse. It is estimated that 22 veterans commit suicide every

Statistics on suicide related behavior in the military are troubling. Following a stable suicide rate since 1977, military suicides increased in 2004 (Lineberry & O’Connor, 2012) and exceeded civilian rates in 2008 (Army STARRS). Current suicide rates per 100,000 among active duty (18.7), Reserves (23.4) and National Guard (28.9) remain significantly higher than that of the US civilian population (13.0) although more comparable to the US male civilian population (20.6). While accurate comparisons necessitate statistical adjustment to allow for the military’s disproportionately male population (Braswell & Kushner, 2010) the military increase is in sharp contrast to the stable civilian rate (Kessler, 2013). Active duty suicides (28.1%) further surpassed combat deaths (18.6%) in 2012 (MSMR, 2014). However, the decline of the OIF/OEF combat (Belasco, 2009) may provide a partial explanation.

In this short explanation, Kime explains the responsibility The Veterans Affairs Department has for our veterans, therefore has to come up with a better plan in order to decrease rate of suicide among veterans. Providing full attention and creating a strategy is the first step the author says. She also suggests providing “mental health experts, advocates and affected families to formulate and action plan in the coming months to reduce these preventable deaths” Kime 2016). She concludes that veterans should enroll into the VA, because most veterans that committed

Active Duty Service Members. Traditionally, the U.S. military has faced lower suicide rates compared to their civilian counterparts. However, the suicide rate among active duty military personnel has increased in the last decade, almost doubling in the Army and Marine Corps. Unlike the low active duty suicide rates of Vietnam, OEF/OIF active duty suicide rates are at near record highs (McCarl, 2013). Once again, it is believed that multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan is one of the culprits of this staggering statistic. Since operations has begun in the Middle East in 2001 through 2011, there have been 2,810 military personnel who have committed suicide while on active duty (McCarl, 2013).

This writing supplies statistical data in regard to veterans suicide, but also goes on to question not only why this is happening, but what is causing it. I found it very helpful for the purpose of my writing to draw on the information provided such as, “Army infantrymen and combat engineers killed themselves at substantially higher rates before and after deployment than while stationed overseas. A sensation-seeking personality or other background characteristics may serve these soldiers well in war zones, but boost the odds that they’ll become suicidal before and after their tours of duty, suggests Harvard psychologist and study coauthor Matthew Nock.” I located this article using the EBSCO Host web site academic search under “Veteran

Some people believe that there is enough help out there and that our veterans just need to get over their pride and just ask for help and that the programs out there work because the number of suicides may have gone down to 20 from 22 but the number is not for certain. According to an article on the Veterans Affairs’ (VA) website, “VA Suicide Prevention Program Facts about Veteran Suicide,” there are 20 veterans a day that commit suicide and 6 of the 20 seek help thorough the VA. For others on the other hand, however, these numbers are still too high and that the number needs to be down to zero. That veterans’ do not seek help for the feelings that they are experiencing because it scares them to ask for help because they do not

Suicide—a chaplains role. Nowhere are the services of chaplains needed more than in helping those veterans at-risk for suicide. The VA recognizes the important role of chaplains as front-line, mental-health providers for active-duty personnel and veterans, including the chaplain’s role in suicide prevention (Ramchand, Acosta, Burns, Jaycox, & Pernin, 2011). Recently, attention has been paid to the prevailing suicide rate of veterans. In order to combat these rates, the VA and public health professionals have dedicated considerable time and effort to designing and implementing suicide prevention initiatives targeting Veteran populations (Kopacz 2013).

Following legislation passed into law in 2008, veterans who have served in a combat theatre of operations are automatically eligible for enrollment in health care through the Department of Veterans Affairs for five years after separating from service. Under the current system those veterans must apply for VA health coverage themselves following separation from service. This process is complicated by a VA bureaucracy that is slow to enroll eligible veterans. In order to provide the best health care possible, a new policy of automatically enrolling eligible veterans in to the VA system should be implemented. This change would improve health outcomes, combat the trend in veteran suicides, and………

The number of American veterans returning from war with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a mental condition resulting from some form of trauma, is on the rise. According to the United States Department of Veteran Affairs, about 103,500 of the nearly 500,000, or 21% of post-9/11 American veterans who have returned from war have displayed symptoms of PTSD. With the recent prevalence of PTSD in veterans, the number of veteran suicides simultaneously increase, as a common symptom of PTSD is depression, which often leads to suicide. Despite the efforts of current treatments of medication and counselling for PTSD, suicide rates of American veterans still are high, significantly surpassing those of the general American population. However,

Every day, 22 veterans take their own lives, and 30 percent of all veterans have considered suicide (Hoffer, Elizabeth. F., Dekle, Judith. Ward., & Sheets, Carol., 2014).

Suicide is a critical mental health concern in the contemporary American society. In particular, suicide is among the top ten causes of death in the U.S. Approximately, more than one hundred suicides occur every day with over 30,000 Americans dying by suicide every year. Notably, Suicide is a national health concern among military personnel and veterans. In that case, the suicide rate in the veteran fraternity is approximated to be higher than in the general public domain. As such, the devastating suicide rate

At least twenty-nine U.S. soldiers stationed in Iraq and Kuwait committed suicide between March 2003 and March 2004. Even the Pentagon considers this an "alarmingly high" suicide rate. It lead the military to commission a morale poll to be completed by Stars & Stripes (August 2003) and to send in a special mental health advisory team to assess the situation. In April 2004, military officials reported the team's conclusion: while the suicide rate for soldiers overseas is almost double that of the civilian population, is not considered a "crisis". (1) Perhaps these suicides tell us more about how the implementation of "democracy" and "freedom" in Iraq is going than we learn from other

Naught but 14 years on the day the English parliament passed the Althorp’s Act in the Palace of Westminster as a part of the Child Labor Laws of 1833 in an effort to finally aid the oppressed and abused child laborers.

Today, the Army suicide rate is 20.2 per 100,000 personnel which is higher than registered civilian males ages 19 to 29. The shocking effects of this war are seen in these numbers; before 2001, the Army rarely suffered 10 suicides per 100,000 soldiers. The Marine suicide rate has soared since 2001 from 12 to at least 19.5 per 100,000 soldiers. For every death, at least five members of the armed forces were hospitalized for attempting to take their life (Cogan). About one third of last years’ service members had told at least one person they planned to kill themselves, as found in the report. According to the Navy Times, 2 percent of Army, 2.3 percent of Marines and 3 percent of Navy soldiers responded to a survey conducted by the military; a shocking 28,536 members from all branches reported they had attempted suicide at some point. These rapidly increasing fatalities are leaving military personnel scrambling for answers and solutions. However, through a multitude of research there has been some leeway on discovering the common variables amount soldiers committing suicide. The most commonly identified risk factors and "stressors", according to the leaders who testified, are relationship issues, work-related problems, financial pressure, legal concerns, alcoholism and substance abuse (Wong). As Army Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Thomas Bostick spoke, “Despite common knowledge, military suicides are not necessarily linked to overseas