The United States Army National Guard

There are an alarming number of veterans who suffer from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and depression. The suicide rate on returning veterans is on the rise. In California, service members were killing themselves and family members at an alarming rate. After an investigation, it was apparent that they do not have enough properly trained individuals to over see

Even though chaplains receive basic training on suicide intervention skills as told by the Army spokeswoman Tatjana Christian, there are gaps in practices that the Army Office of Chaplains are studying in

Serving in the United States Navy, Army, and North Carolina Army National Guard for a combined total of 21 years before honorably retiring in July 2013 has always been one of many life achievements that I have been profoundly fond of. During my Army tenure, I was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina as one of a few non-Special Forces support medics for the 3rd Special Forces Group. In order to stay assigned to 3rd Special Forces Group, it was highly recommended that all soldiers were Airborne qualified. So, I was able to overcome my fear of heights by successfully completing Airborne school at Fort Benning, Georgia and earning my parachutist’s badge before returning to Fort Bragg. While still assigned to 3rd Special Forces Group, I participated in the State Department’s African Response Crisis Initiative with assignments located in Northern Africa. I would accompany Special Forces operators and provide support as they would provide training based on a common peacekeeping doctrine and the supply of interoperable communications equipment, which would enable the units to work together more effectively.

What is a bureaucracy? Tolbert and Hall (2009) describe in the text, a large formal organization with the characteristics of having, a division of labor, a hierarchy of authority, a set of written rules, resources that are clearly separated from home and the organization, and group of members who are appointed according to qualifications (P. 22). These were the key elements Max Weber, a German scholar described for an ideal type of bureaucracy.

The U.S. Marine Corps’ is thought to be one of the five free standing military departments, but in all actuality there is only three departments. The U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Navy are the only branches of the military that are correctly recognized as their own departments. There are two other Branches of the military that are under the U.S. Navy, one is the United States Marine Corps’. They were created to protect, but now they need protecting from budget cuts and disbanding. In order to protect the Corps’, they need to become their own U.S. Department, with their own funding and supplies.

Following the year 2013, suicide rates amongst Active Duty personnel decreased, yet rose for Reserve and National Guard units across the United States (Baldor 2014). This was due in part to the lack of resources available to Reserves and Guard units that were called to serve in foreign lands. The Defense Science Board conducted their own internal investigation on Reserve and Guard suicide rates and concluded, “The task force was impressed with the dedication and professionalism of the members of the National Guard and reserves. They are performing to a very high standard under great strain. The task force is very concerned for their future if the strain is not relieved” (2007). The report further explains that active duty personnel work full time in their respective units, whereas reservists demobilize and lose the support from their command’s peers and that active personnel have more access to health facilities, compared to reserve personnel who can only have limited access. Reservists and Guardsmen often face other stressors, for example sudden change after a long and tedious deployment back to a civilian career.

The response to Hurricane Matthew was the largest National Guard response to a hurricane since 2012, when Hurricane Sandy struck New York and New Jersey. Nevertheless they stood firm and ready to take on what Hurricane Matthew had in store. Standing true to their motto “Always Ready Always There”. The events following October 6, 2016 would put the National Guard to the test. The National Guard response consisted of three phases: training, preparation, and execution. The stage was set for the National Guard’s plan to go into action.

The Pennsylvania Army National Guard is a branch of the United States Army that is mostly used today for homeland security. Although the National Guard is not active like the Reserves or Active Duty Army, they still have the same requirements and same responsibility. More than 22,000 men and women make up the Pennsylvania National Guard and Air National Guard today. They reach from state quarters at Fort Indian Town Gap in Lebanon County to about 100 comunities in the commonwealth. Like all National Guard members they share the same responsibilities. For their federal mission, they are trained and equipped to join the active forces in the time of war or a national emergency. For their

Suicide rates in the military are at twenty-two a day and that was in two thousand one (Dao and Lehren). In two thousand two suicides were at the rate of ten point three per one hundred thousand people (Dao and Lehren). Suicide rates in two thousand twelve were at three hundred and fifty (Dao and Lehren). In two thousand one there were two thousand seven hundred and maybe even more because this statistic did not include National Guard and reserve troops who were not on active duty (Dao and Lehren). However, studies are finding that eighty percent of soldier suicides were non-combat related (Dao and Lehren). This study is causing a concern to the military for the aspects of the background checks that the soldiers have to go through to get into the military. This is causing concern in the metal health part of the multiple series of test that these soldiers have to go through. Questions are arising like “Are the test becoming to easy and are we letting to many people in for not the right reasons?” This leads to looking farther into the causes of suicide in the military.

One great example is how the military has attacked a serious epidemic in the military today. Sui-cide prevention is at every leader’s doorstep. There are numerous programs the military adapted to combat suicides. One example is Ask, Care, Escort (ACE) , this programs is set for three hours, however it gives soldiers tools to help a soldier in need. Understanding what steps to take is significant in preventing suicides. The Army realized having the resources, knowledge and skill set to intervene in lowering suicides is the key to success. One example “Methods: Educa-tion, identification, and intervention programs were implemented at each phase of the deploy-ment cycle based on the specific unit activities and predicted stressors. Results: During the de-ployment, there was an annual suicide rate of 16/100,000 within the trial cohort, compared to a theater rate of 24/100,000. Peaks in suicidal ideation and behaviors occurred during months two, six, and twelve of deployment. Conclusions: A deployment cycle prevention program may de-crease rates of suicide in the combat environment. This program may serve as a model for other suicide prevention programs” (Warner,et al.,2011). With the training, the military provided a so-lution, asking a soldier directly how they are feeling when the see symptoms of suicide behavior. Army leaders called for the support and training resource for their soldiers due to a negative trend, commands at all levels to include the medical fields came together to form ACE. One of the key selection points on the training targets was a leader recommendation of eighteen to twen-ty five year olds. Leaders observed this was the target age, soldiers stay together in the same age groups, training that age group is key in combatting suicides. Military One Source is another program leaders asked for to support soldiers when they need to combat depression.

The amount of suicide in active duty soldiers rose from sixty-seven in 2004, to one hundred twenty-eight in 2008 (Kuehn 2009). Many mental health centers have tried to help, but when they do, it does not meet the criteria for the help the veterans need (Kuehn

The Air Force lost 38 airmen to suicide in 2008, a rate of 11.5 suicides per 100,000 airmen. The average over the past five years — since the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom — was 11 deaths per 100,000 annually. Of the airmen lost in 2008, 95 percent were men and 89 percent were enlisted. Young enlisted men with a rank of E1 to E4 and between the ages of 21 and 25 have the highest risk of suicide. Recently released data indicates that active duty males carry, for the first time in known history, a suicide risk greater than that of comparable males in the general population (Psychotherapy Brown Bag, 2009). This is particularly noteworthy considering that the military entrance process screens out serious mental illness prior to entry onto active duty, and that the rate of suicide in military males has historically been significantly lower than comparable civilian populations. To help

The problem that I am presenting is obviously the suicides in our military, but the solution I am proposing is not that of what the doctors and researchers are working towards. Instead of focusing on resiliency training that the Army STARRS has come up with, I think we should be focusing on building morale in the individual squadrons around the globe. When people go to work dreading what it about to come because they are sick of being in an environment that they have to be constantly worried about making one mistake that might end their whole career, some of them might in turn become suicidal. I’ve seen it. The solution I am proposing is that throughout all the branches, the units become more focused on the people’s well being rather than what kind of discipline they are going to give for someone making a mistake. Rather than burning people for making a mistake for the first time, they should provide them with the help they might need to get better. For lack of better words, they need to stop kicking people when they are down. All the branches are guilty of

It is stated in the Occupational Outlook Handbook and Goarmy.com that a military occupation requires fierce training and a highschool graduate degree. According to Today’s Military training can be received in a military bootcamp. Many physical and educational tasks can help prepare a future soldier in surviving the military. Activity and being attentive can help prepare men and women for the military. Preparing for this job and cause higher ranks and in turn causes a better

On the night of March 20th, 2012, a twenty-three year old veteran named William Busbee, locked himself in his car and shot himself in the head. His mother and two little sisters were standing just a few feet away (Multiple Deployments). A veteran commits suicide every eighty minutes. If that number is not shocking to hear then I don’t know what is. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, is a major factor in this mass suicide of veterans. Suicide among veterans is turning into an epidemic. An epidemic that can be stopped with the help of experienced and educated psychologists. Those psychologists are working hard everyday with veterans who are suffering from PTSD in an attempt to cure and potentially rid the patient of this disorder. Maybe