MILITARY: Four Marine suicides in February raise year's total to eight
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Eight active-duty U.S. Marines have taken their lives
this year, signaling that widespread efforts aimed at reducing troop
suicides in the service may not be working.
The latest Marine and Family Programs Suicide Prevention Program office report shows that four Marines killed themselves in February and an additional 15 attempted suicide.
That follows 12 attempts and four suicides reported in January, according to the report.
The numbers are some of the highest seen in the last several months and come after the Marine Corps saw the number of troop suicides decline last year and in 2010 after a record 52 recorded in 2009.
Marine Corps officials were not immediately available to comment on the latest numbers, but Bill Rider of the American Combat Veterans of War group in Oceanside said efforts launched by the service in recent years don't appear to be enough.
Some Marines who come to his group's weekly discussion and counseling sessions say the same, he said.
"What I hear from them is that the combat mentor programs and advocacy for those in trouble boils down to a lot of lip service," said Rider, a Vietnam War veteran.
The Marine Corps has instituted widespread efforts to train its troops about the dangers of combat stress and how to recognize and reach out for help if they are in distress.
When its suicide numbers peaked in 2009, all Marines underwent a presentation from peers and commanders designed to raise awareness and encourage those in need to get help.
Last year, the Marine Corps launched a toll-free number that troops or their family members can call for confidential counseling and recommendations on how to access mental health services.
Rider contends the "moral injury" troops are exposed to on the battlefield is a danger not only to active-duty troops but can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder long after military service.
"People need to know that there is a brotherhood and they are not alone and we can't allow people who have trauma to think they are weak," he said.
Nearly all those who come to the nonprofit group's meetings are active-duty enlisted Marines whose jobs in Iraq or Afghanistan regularly exposed them to battlefield violence, according to Rider.
All eight of the Marine suicides this year came from the enlisted ranks and seven were age 25 or under, according to the latest report.
Six used a firearm to end their life, the report said.
This year's 27 attempted suicides come after 171 such attempts were recorded in 2011, the highest number ever reported. Marine Corps officials attribute that in part to the growing awareness and recognition among its troops willing to intervene and report an attempted suicide.
Although the location of the Marine suicides are not reported, 11 of last year's suicides were troops assigned to Camp Pendleton-based units.
The rising suicide rates among troops from all the service branches continues to vex military officials and will be addressed when Navy and Marine Corps officials gather in San Diego for a "combat and operational stress control" conference taking place May 22-24.
Among the papers that will be presented is one that says troops exposed to five or more firefights have a nearly 20 percent greater chance of developing post-traumatic stress disorder.
Those identified as having some sort of combat stress reaction while in a war zone are 10 times more likely to develop the malady, according to the study that will be discussed at the conference.
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2012 North County Times. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.The latest Marine and Family Programs Suicide Prevention Program office report shows that four Marines killed themselves in February and an additional 15 attempted suicide.
That follows 12 attempts and four suicides reported in January, according to the report.
The numbers are some of the highest seen in the last several months and come after the Marine Corps saw the number of troop suicides decline last year and in 2010 after a record 52 recorded in 2009.
Marine Corps officials were not immediately available to comment on the latest numbers, but Bill Rider of the American Combat Veterans of War group in Oceanside said efforts launched by the service in recent years don't appear to be enough.
Some Marines who come to his group's weekly discussion and counseling sessions say the same, he said.
"What I hear from them is that the combat mentor programs and advocacy for those in trouble boils down to a lot of lip service," said Rider, a Vietnam War veteran.
The Marine Corps has instituted widespread efforts to train its troops about the dangers of combat stress and how to recognize and reach out for help if they are in distress.
When its suicide numbers peaked in 2009, all Marines underwent a presentation from peers and commanders designed to raise awareness and encourage those in need to get help.
Last year, the Marine Corps launched a toll-free number that troops or their family members can call for confidential counseling and recommendations on how to access mental health services.
Rider contends the "moral injury" troops are exposed to on the battlefield is a danger not only to active-duty troops but can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder long after military service.
"People need to know that there is a brotherhood and they are not alone and we can't allow people who have trauma to think they are weak," he said.
Nearly all those who come to the nonprofit group's meetings are active-duty enlisted Marines whose jobs in Iraq or Afghanistan regularly exposed them to battlefield violence, according to Rider.
All eight of the Marine suicides this year came from the enlisted ranks and seven were age 25 or under, according to the latest report.
Six used a firearm to end their life, the report said.
This year's 27 attempted suicides come after 171 such attempts were recorded in 2011, the highest number ever reported. Marine Corps officials attribute that in part to the growing awareness and recognition among its troops willing to intervene and report an attempted suicide.
Although the location of the Marine suicides are not reported, 11 of last year's suicides were troops assigned to Camp Pendleton-based units.
The rising suicide rates among troops from all the service branches continues to vex military officials and will be addressed when Navy and Marine Corps officials gather in San Diego for a "combat and operational stress control" conference taking place May 22-24.
Among the papers that will be presented is one that says troops exposed to five or more firefights have a nearly 20 percent greater chance of developing post-traumatic stress disorder.
Those identified as having some sort of combat stress reaction while in a war zone are 10 times more likely to develop the malady, according to the study that will be discussed at the conference.
Call staff writer Mark Walker at 760-901-4080.
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