Common Practices For Noncommissioned Officers

As a consequence of the stresses of war and inadequate job training, when they get out of the service many have fallen behind their contemporaries. If they are fortunate enough to become employed, many of them are unable to hold a job due to untreated PTSD and acquired addictions without services and counseling designed for them. These factors may place our returning veterans at a higher risk of suicide. In 2007, the US Army reported that there were 115 suicides among OIF/OEF veterans. This was the highest number of suicides reported since the Army started keeping track about 30 years ago. In general, the risk for suicide among these veterans was not higher than that found in the U.S. population (Tull). However, there are several programs and 24 hour suicide hotlines available for those that may contemplate committing suicide as an option.

Veterans, compared to the U.S. population, have a higher risk of suicide. Suicide is a major public health concern, with suicide being the 11th leading cause of death across all ages and the seventh leading cause of death in males. Depression, PTSD, substance use disorders, access to firearms, and a history of self-harm or suicide attempts are factors that place veterans at higher risk for suicide. The increased risk for suicide among veterans has been brought to public attention, which has lead The Department of Veteran Affairs to announce the prevention of suicide to be a major national priority. In response to the increase in suicide rates, the Department of Veteran Affairs has created a comprehensive suicide prevention efforts and has collaborated with the of Defense (DoD) to develop a clinical practice guideline based on best available evidence and expert consensus (Chapman & Ibrahim, 2015).

Sociologist Emile Durkheim believes that “the bond between one’s self and his or her country are crucial factors in suicide.” Others sociologist believe people commit suicide to escape from intolerable pain, feelings of hopelessness or depression and other mental disorders. After studies were completed, it was concluded that most people who think about committing suicide never actually try to kill themselves. Studies show that for every one person who attempts suicide, three consider it, but never act upon it. Soldiers kill themselves because military training following by combat, makes them sensitive to pain and finality. From 2009-2012, military suicides have increased from 18.5 to 22.7 out 100,000 active-duty service members. But, in 2013,

The highest rates of suicide in Veteran populations mimic those of the general population: being male, white, and elderly (York, Lamis, Pope & Egede, 2013). Currently, available literature agrees that the top influencing factors of Veteran suicide include depression, combat experience endured, and psychiatric disorders not previously diagnosed. Historically, the incidence of suicide has been 25% lower in military personnel than in civilian peers (Kane et al., 2013). However, with prolonged and repeated deployments seen in OEF/OIF/OND, the incidence of suicide has almost doubled among U.S. Marine and Army soldiers between 2005 and 2009. Firearms, the most frequent means of completed suicide in the general adult population, account for 41% of completed suicide of all military personnel, who are routinely trained in firearm use during basic training (Johnson et al., 2013).

2015Across the US, it is estimated that 22 veterans commit suicide a day. This is a shocking and disturbing number. And what is even more alarming is that this statistic doesn’t include active-duty members. Between January and March of this year 75 active-duty Soldiers have taken their own life. These numbers are from the Pentagon’s quarterly Suicide Event Report. Veterans are returning from an active combat theater and taking their own lives at an alarming rate.

Suicide in the United States is the 11th leading cause of death, with over 32,000 killing themselves per year. While some causes or explanations for suicide will never be known, depression or other diagnosable mental or substance abuse disorders top the list of more than 90 percent of why lives are torn from us. Over the last couple years around the military there has been much debate on whether this rate has been drastically affected by the increased military footprint from fighting two wars. Prior to the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the military suicide rate was well below the civilian rate. The sharpest increase started within the Army and Marine Corps shortly after 2001, as these services were the most involved in combat.

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

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.

Suicide was seen as a just way to die if one was faced with unendurable suffering - be it physical or emotional”. Throughout time, suicide has been viewed and dealt with in countless ways. Recently in America, the problem has grown increasingly. In the past decade, suicide rates have been on the incline; especially among men. According to the New York Times (2013), “From 1999 to 2010, the suicide rate among Americans ages 35 to 64 rose by nearly 30 percent… The suicide rate for middle-aged men was 27.3 deaths per 100,000, while for women it was 8.1 deaths per 100,000”. A 30 percent increase with an average of 19 more male suicides than female suicides is certainly an issue for both genders, and an epidemic for men. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (n.d.), found that in 2010, 38,364 suicides were reported, with 78.9% being men. The economic recession, unemployment, and various other factors are speculated to be responsible for this incline in male suicide. As of 2010, an estimated 30,308 men ended their own lives, and it seems as if there is a great risk of that number increasing each year.

Suicide attempters are ambiguous in their intent and less explicit in communicating their suicidal feelings. They seem to be seeking help, but either cannot communicate their message or others do not take it seriously because of its vagueness, which leads to more dramatic and dangerous methods to express their appeal for help. They use methods such as wrist cutting, but only 5 to 10 percent of attempters eventually kill themselves.

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

A report by the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center revealed suicide is now the leading cause of death among service members, surpassing deaths by war (MSMR, 2014). Historically, military suicide rates were lower than the rates found in the civilian population but since the start of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, military suicides have increased and rates have surpassed those of the civilian population (CDP, 2016). Over 3,392 service members including Reserves and National Guard have committed suicide with 4,807 attempting suicide (DoD, 2016). The Army continues to have the highest rates among the services with 24 suicides per 100,000 service members, followed by the Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy, respectively (DoDSER, 2015), in comparison to the rate of 10 suicides per 1000,000 service members across all services in 2001.

Suicide is the act of purposely killing of oneself and considered as a serious public health problem. Most often, suicidal individuals are trying to avoid emotional or physical pain that they cannot bear; sometimes, they are very angry and take their lives to last out others (Piotrowski, N. & Hartmann, P., 2016). According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that in 2012, approximately 40,000 suicides were reported in the United States, making suicide the 10th leading reported cause of death for persons aged ≥ 16 years. From 2000 to 2012, rates of suicide among persons in this age group increased 21.1% from 13.3 per 100,000 to 16.1. The World Health Organization reported that many millions of people are affected or experience suicide

Over the course of time, the non-commissioned officer (or NCO) in America has been given more and more power. There are three important factors that have caused this, including (a) increased responsibility, (b) discipline issues, and (c) an increased number of conflicts (Dupuy, 1992; Spade, 2011). In other words, NCOs have simply needed to take on more work, especially as more conflicts throughout the world have resulted in a military that is sometimes stretched thin where certain ranks are concerned. Not all NCOs were ready for their extra duties in the past, but times have changed and will continue to do so in the future (Green, 2010; Spade, 2011). Even though the non-commissioned officers (NCOs) involved in Task Force Smith and the 24th Division did not effectively prepare for war in Vietnam, U.S. military has prepared its NCOs for the ever-increasing burdens of responsibility that have transpired. In my opinion, this will continue because of significant improvement in NCOES and MTOE changes throughout history.

In the article “Suicidal Ideation and Mental Distress among Adult with Military Service History: Results from 5 US States, 2010,” the mental distress that Veterans go through is examined. The article states that since 2005 military veterans have made up about 20% of people who committed suicide. In the article they examined 26,736 individuals from five states (both veterans and civilians), put them into age categories, and examine any suicidal thoughts for the past year and past thirty days mental distress. The results of the article was that “people with military service history had higher odds of reporting past 30-days mental distress than those without a military service history” (S598). This article also found that there was no major difference of prevalence of past thirty day mental distress when it came to age groups except for the veterans 65 and older. They had only 7.5% prevalence while the others had 11.5% prevalence. The results also found that, concerning the past-year suicidal ideation, “When prevalence was stratified by age group, a higher proportion of people aged 40 to 64 years with military service history than people without military service” (S598). However; much of the same with the past thirty day distress, there no major difference in the prevalence of past year suicidal thoughts when divided by military service. The article