Pentagon Report Says Military Bases Should Stop Selling Guns To Soldiers Under 25 To Prevent Suicides

FOX News: Pentagon panel recommends bases stop selling guns to troops under 25 to fight suicides  

Independent Pentagon panel also recommends creating national database tracking firearm purchased on Defense Department property 

An external evaluation of suicide in the U.S. military has produced a report calling for greater gun control restrictions for troops. 

The Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee (SPRIRC) was formed by the Department of Defense in March 2020 to help combat the rising rate of suicides among servicemembers. 

In the committee's report, released Friday, the independent body recommends, "On DoD property, raise the minimum age for purchasing firearms and ammunition to 25 years."  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: Firearms are used in 66% of suicides among active duty troops, 72% among reservists and 78% in the National Guard. 

Also from the report .... The suicide rate for active-duty service members in 2021, the most recent data available, was 24.3 per 100,000 people, which was down from 28.7 in 2020, the highest active-duty suicide rate since the Defense Department started tracking the data in 2011.  

The report is here ... Preventing Suicide in the U.S. Military: Recommendations from the Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee. 

Pentagon Report Says Military Bases should Stop Selling Guns To Soldiers Under 25 To Prevent Suicides 

Pentagon's suicide prevention committee recommends age limit and waiting period for on-base gun purchases -- CNN  

Slowing down access to firearms could prevent more suicides in the military, panel finds -- CBS  

Pentagon panel says military bases should stop selling guns to troops under 25 to prevent suicides -- NYPost  

Keeping firearms out of easy reach key to preventing military suicides -- Military Times

Why Did This U.S. Navy SEAL Commander Commit Suicide?

Commander Price, left, in Afghanistan with Cmdr. Mike Hayes, who led another SEAL team.

Nicholas Kulish and Christopher Drew, New York Times: A Deadly Deployment, a Navy SEAL’s Despair

It was his last night of what his men were already calling a cursed deployment in Afghanistan.

Cmdr. Job W. Price had signed off on the final report on the ambush killing of an enlisted Navy SEAL team member. His staff had completed a plan to turn over American military outposts to their Afghan partners, and Commander Price had given an unusually emotional thanks to his team for its service.

His executive officer noticed that the commander’s Sig Sauer pistol was out on his desk that night, Dec. 21, 2012, where he had never seen it before. By the time Commander Price went back to his room, the photograph of his 9-year-old daughter was gone from his desk. In his trouser pocket was a report on the recent death of an Afghan girl in an explosion near an American base.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Our prayers are with the family and loved ones.

The Untold Story Of Army Wives Now Committing Suicide

Suicide On The Homefront In Military Families -- Kristina Kaufmann, CNN

CNN) -- When I married a soldier in June 2001, I knew my life was going to change. I moved from Berkeley, California, to Fort Sill, Oklahoma -- talk about a culture shock. But I was in love, and enthusiastically dove head first into a military life I knew nothing about.

And then 9/11 happened, and my husband went to war.

And then he went again, and again ... and again.

After more than 12 years of sustained war and multiple deployments borne by less than 1% of the population, we now have an entire generation of military families that know nothing but war. And war comes home. I've known three Army wives who've taken their own lives.

Read more ....

My Comment: What caught my attention in this report (and the whole post is a must read) was this sobering stat ....

.... We can't fix what we don't acknowledge. We do know that one active duty service member and 22 veterans take their own lives every day. Neither the Departments of Defense nor Veterans Affairs tracks the number of family members who die by suicide.

U.S. Military's Suicide Rate Surpassed All Combat Deaths In 2012

Military Suicides Rise To A Record 349, Topping Number Of Troops Killed In Combat -- Washington Post

The U.S. military lost more service members to suicide than combat last year as the number of troops who took their lives rose to a record high.

The 349 active-duty suicides in 2012 underscored the toll a decade of wars has taken on the all-volunteer force and the extent to which the Pentagon continues to grapple with an issue senior leaders have called an epidemic. Comparatively, 229 troops were killed in combat in Afghanistan last year, according to a Washington Post tally.

Read more ....

More News On The U.S. Military Suicide Rate In 2012

2012 military suicides hit a record high of 349 -- AP
18% More U.S. Troops Committed Suicide Than Died in Combat Last Year -- The Atlantic
Military suicides hit record in 2012, outpace combat deaths -- Reuters
US military suicide in 2012 at record high -- BBC
Military suicide rate hit record high in 2012 -- NBC
U.S. Military's Suicide Rate Surpassed Combat Deaths In 2012 -- NPR
2012 military suicides hit a record high of 349 -- Politico
Military Suicides in 2012 Tops Military Deaths in Afghanistan -- ABC News
Military suicides hit record high -- The Hill
More soldiers died by suicide than in fighting in Afghanistan, AP reports -- al.com
US Military Suicides Hit Record High In 2012, Surpassing Combat Deaths -- IBTimes

Commander Of US Navy Seal Team 4's 'Apparent Suicide' In Afghanistan Under Investigation

Photo: Cmdr. Job W. Price, 42, died Saturday, Dec. 22, of a non-combat-related injury while supporting stability operations in Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan. US Navy handout

US Navy Seal's 'Apparent Suicide' In Afghanistan Under Investigation -- The Guardian

Commander Job W Price died from non-combat related injury while supporting operations in Uruzgan province.

US military officials are investigating the apparent suicide of a Navy Seal commander in Afghanistan.

Navy Seal Commander Job W Price, 42, of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, died on Saturday from a non-combat-related injury while supporting stability operations in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan.

A US military official said the death "appears to be the result of suicide". The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the death is still being investigated.

Read more ....

More News On The Apparent Suicide Of The SEAL Team 4 Commanding Officer

SEAL Team 4 commanding officer dies in Afghanistan -- NBC
Official: Beach-based SEAL died of apparent suicide -- Pilot Online/AP
Navy SEAL Commander’s Death Investigated as Possible Suicide -- ABC News
Suicide suspected in death of Navy Seal, Pottstown native -- Philly.com

My Comment: He leaves a wife and daughter ..... and all of this before Christmas. Our prayers are with his family and loved ones.

U.S. Soldier Suicides Reach New High

While the number of Army suicides each month makes for a jagged line, the trend is clearly upward.

Grim Record: Soldier Suicides Reach New High -- Time

A record number of soldiers – 38 – are suspected of killing themselves in July, the Pentagon said Thursday. It marks a startling jump in the suicide epidemic that has been frustrating Army leaders for years.

The total included 26 active-duty soldiers – under the Army’s control 24/7 — also an apparent record, and a 117% jump from June’s count of 12 active-duty suicides.

Read more ....

More News On U.S. Military Suicides

Army suicides doubled last month from June's total - AP
July marked worst month for Army suicides -- Washington Post
Army reports grim milestone in troop suicides -- Politico
Army Suicides Double From June to July -- Military.com
Army Suicides: July Deaths Set A Tragic New Record -- Forbes
US Army reports spike in suicides -- AFP
Monthly Army suicides reach all-time high in July with 38 suspected -- NBC
38 suspected suicides in July may mark grim record for Army -- Stars and Stripes
Army sees highest suicide rate in July -- CNN
Military suicides creating an unsettling record -- Examiner
Army suicide widows: Too little, too late -- CBS/AP

One a Day: Soldiers And Suicide In The U.S. Military (Video)

A Family Tries To Cope With A Military Suicide

Danelle Hackett, 46, holds a Christmas ornament with a photo of her late husband, Maj. Jeffrey Hackett, at her home in Bethany, W.Va., on Feb. 3. Mrs. Hackett had the ornament made in remembrance of her husband of 22 years on the first Christmas after his death. The inscription reads, “1st Christmas, Jeff, 28 June 1964 - 5 June 2010, Love You.” Joe Appel/For The Washington Post

Marine’s Suicide Is Only Start Of Family’s Struggle -- Washington Post

For most of his 26 years in the military, Maj. Jeff Hackett was a standout Marine. Two tours in Iraq destroyed him.

Home from combat, he drank too much, suffered public breakdowns and was hospitalized for panic attacks. In June 2010, he killed himself.

Hackett’s suicide deeply troubled Gen. James Amos, the commandant of the Marine Corps. Hackett had been plucked from the enlisted ranks to lead Marines as an officer. He left behind a widow, four sons and more than $460,000 in debts. To Amos, Hackett was a casualty of war — surely the family deserved some compensation from the federal government.

Read more ....

My Comment: It is a family struggle that will last a lifetime. My godfather was a Second World War Two vet who committed suicide when I was very young. Even though the war had ended 17 years earlier for him .... as my mother put it to me .... he could not get rid of the nightmares and the trauma that he had received from that war. As for my godfathers familiy .... his suicide occurred 49 years ago .... but they live with that loss as if it had happened yesterday.

Should The President Send Condolence Letters To Military Suicide Families?

Petition: Barack Obama, seen here departing for France today, is under renewed pressure to ditch the controversial practice of not sending letters to suicide soldiers

Obama Urged To Ditch Policy Of Not Sending Condolence Letters To Military Suicide Families -- The Daily Mail

President Barack Obama is under pressure to scrap the policy of not sending condolence letters to the families of servicemen who commit suicide.

Currently military men and women who kill themselves receive full military honours, but their families are not sent the traditional condolence letter from the President.

But in a petition signed by 10 democrats and one Republican senator, the President was urged to drop 'this hurtful policy'.

The call comes as military officials told a U.S. Senate committee the suicide hotline got its highest number of calls ever in April, a total of 14,000.

Read more ....

My Comment: I have mixed feelings on this issue. On the one hand I believe that there should be two letters .... one for those who are killed in combat, and another for those who committed suicide and/or non-combat death. On the other hand, a person who is killed in an accident in a combat zone should receive the same full honors as one who was killed by the enemy.

As I said .... I have mixed feelings (and ideas) on this topic.

Suicide Toll Fuels Worry That Army Is Strained

Photo from Welt Online

From The Wall Street Journal:

Sixteen American soldiers killed themselves in October in the U.S. and on duty overseas, an unusually high monthly toll that is fueling concerns about the mental health of the nation's military personnel after more than eight years of continuous warfare.

The October suicide figures mean that at least 134 active-duty soldiers have taken their own lives so far this year, putting the Army on pace to break last year's record of 140 active-duty suicides. The number of Army suicides has risen 37% since 2006, and last year, the suicide rate surpassed that of the U.S. population for the first time.

Read more ....

My Comment: Usually it is the vets who are out of the military that commit suicide. This focus on actively serving personnel illustrates what many psychiatrists have been fearing for a long time .... prolong active duty in war zones carries with it a cost in terms of family disruption, stress, and depression, culminating for some in suicide.

Soldier Suicide Rates Were Higher When President Clinton Was In Power Than During President Bush's Years

More Soldiers Commit Suicide Under Obama -- Gateway Pundit

Remember how the state-run media would pound George W. Bush every few months over soldier suicides to score political points?

The state-run media didn't tell you that more soldiers committed suicide during the Clinton years than during the Bush years:

Well, don't expect this news to make to many headlines...
More US soldiers are committing suicide now that Barack Obama is president.
France 24 reported:

Suicides in the US Army are on the rise with 88 suspected cases in the first six months of the year, compared to 67 in the same period in 2008, according to Pentagon figures issued.

The latest figures confirmed warnings from top US military officers that the number of suicides among active-duty soldiers this year was on track to surpass a record level set in 2008.

Read more ....

My Comment: As regular readers of this blog know, this is a sensitive topic with me. My Godfather committed suicide (16 years after the war), and our family had to help (in the subsequent years) his wife and children.

The stats from President Clinton's years are surprising, the only major conflict that most of these soldiers experienced was the Iraq/Kuwait conflict 19 years ago, and most soldiers did not see actual combat.

President Bush's years are not surprising .... most soldiers are always thinking of their colleagues during war, and the focus was always on the ongoing conflict. But as more soldiers leave the military to pursue civilian lives, this psychology will start to change.

The stats under President Obama will (sadly) probably going to go up, and will surpass President Clinton's "average". The impact of combat sometimes takes years to make itself evident, and with the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan now approaching 7 and 9 years respectively, soldiers who initially served are now dealing with the psychological and stress related problems today.

Still .... the stats under President Clinton are surprising, and I do not have a good explanation for it. As for our veterans who are going through difficult times today .... we must always be vigilant and we must always show them the compassion and respect that they deserve. My father .... before he past away .... deeply regretted in not seeing the signs in his best friend (my Godfather) before he committed suicide. It is an experience that is unfortunately happening everyday .... and what I learned from my own experience is that if it happens its impact will last a lifetime.

Generals Find Suicide a Frustrating Enemy

From The Washington Post:

As Numbers Continue to Climb, Top Officers Meet Monthly to Look for Answers

It was just past midnight in Afghanistan when Brig. Gen. Mark Milley appeared on the video screen in the Pentagon conference room to brief some of the Army's top generals on a sobering development: his unit's most recent confirmed suicide.

A 19-year-old private, working a night shift at his base, had shot himself a few weeks earlier. "There was no indication that he would harm himself, he had not been seen by the chaplain, no intimate relationships," Milley said, running through warning signs.

In the Pentagon, Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, the Army's vice chief of staff, homed in on one detail. The soldier worked a job that often entailed long, solitary hours. In scouring the Army's suicide statistics, Chiarelli had noticed a slight suicide increase among those who worked such positions. Milley said that going forward none of the 20,000 soldiers under his command would routinely work by themselves.

Read more ....

My Comment: I cannot imagine what goes through a person's mind when he/she is contemplating suicide. My Godfather was a World War 2 vet who committed suicide 18 years after the event. The official record was that he shot himself by playing Russian roulette .... but everyone knew that it was because of his experience in the the war that made him take his life. This tells me that the problems of Iraq and Afghanistan .... and who knows where else .... these problems will be with us for a very very long time.