JBLM SPOKESMAN: “We Take Suicide Very Seriously”

At least 12 JBLM soldiers died from suicide in 2011, an all-time high. An internal Army investigation, prompted by senator Patty Murray, into the ‘un-diagnosing’ of PTSD in as many as 400 JBLM soldiers found that at least half had their PTSD diagnosis reversed to reduce disability compensation costs to DoD. Suicide statistics for 2012 are mostly unknown and unreported. The Army is expected to publish its annual suicide report for 2012 sometime next month. Meanwhile, senior Pentagon leaders continue a campaign to minimize the connection between PTSD, war duty and suicide in the military. According to a Nov. 18 USA Today news report, DoD continues its PR effort to link the ongoing military suicide epidemic to a struggling U.S. economy, failed relationships and suicide increases in the general population. “This is not just a military issue or an Army issue,” said Gen. Lloyd Austin III, Army vice chief of staff. “Across the military, we’re a microcosm of what’s in the nation,” said Navy Vice Adm. Martha Herb, director personnel readiness. Above, JBLM soldiers assigned to the “The Ranger Battalion” conduct ceremonies Nov. 7, 2012, at Fort Lewis to mark the end of its 15th combat deployment in the post-9/11 era. According to recently published statistics on a JBLM photo website, the Rangers spent a total of 59 months deployed to combat zones overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan. (DoD)

For Tacoma Military Base, a Grim Milestone in Soldier Suicides

JBLM passed an unwelcome milestone in 2011, recording more soldier suicides than in any previous year. At least 12 soldiers took their own lives in 2011, up from nine in 2010 and nine in 2009, said Lt. Col. Gary Dangerfield, a Fort Lewis PR officer assigned to the Army’s ‘Most Troubled Post.’ Suicide death totals will likely grow as the Army completes investigations ahead of expected release of its annual suicide report next month. In June, a news report cited Fort Lewis claims that no JBLM soldiers had died from suicide in the first six months of 2012.

by Adam Ashton
Tacoma News Tribune, Nov. 27, 2012

Joint Base Lewis-McChord passed an unwelcome milestone in 2011, recording more soldier suicides than in any previous year.

JBLM spokesman LtCol Gary Dangerfield.

Twelve soldiers took their own lives in 2011, up from nine in 2010 and nine in 2009, Army I Corps spokesman Lt. Col. Gary Dangerfield said. The total could grow as the Army completes investigations ahead of its annual suicide report next month.

The toll at Lewis-McChord rose despite new efforts to counsel soldiers when they come home from war, including the creation of a suicide-prevention office.

Lewis-McChord leaders plan to apply what they learned from those programs to help soldiers cope with stress at home and in their work.

“We take suicide very seriously,” Dangerfield said. “We’re going to continue to push the envelope to make sure soldiers get the resiliency training they need.”

Lewis-McChord’s surge in suicides followed its busiest year of combat deployments. More than 18,000 soldiers from the base served in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2009-10.

The base is also larger than ever, with some 34,000 soldiers stationed there, up from 19,000 before the war in Iraq started.

Leaders at the base established plans to help soldiers readjust to stateside life as major homecomings took place in the summer of 2010. In early 2011, Madigan Army Medical Center reported a rising number of soldiers and military family members seeking behavioral health services, a trend officers interpreted as a sign that people were becoming more open about asking for help.

This is not just a military issue or an Army issue.

— Gen. Lloyd Austin III, Army vice chief of staff

Across the military, we’re a microcosm of what’s in the nation.

— Navy Vice Adm. Martha Herb, director personnel readiness

Read this story at its source:

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/12/30/2382161/for-tacoma-military-base-a-grim.html

Watch video news report about Fort Lewis as “most troubled” military base:

At Least 39 Fort Carson Soldiers Dead From Suicide Since 2008; Despite Army Prevention Efforts, Soldiers Just Keep Killing Themselves

Fort Carson officials report at least six soldiers have killed themselves so far in 2012 and several others are suspected of having died from suicide. In all of 2011, at least seven Fort Carson soldiers took their own lives according to post officials. Pictured above, soldiers of 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, celebrate homecoming May 14, 2012 after a year-long deployment to Afghanistan. Carson officials refuse to release details of suicide cases. (DoD)

Fort Carson Suicides Appear to be Rising
Post problem mirrors Army trend

by Jakob Rodgers
The Gazzette, Oct. 22, 2012

TO SEEK HELP: Anyone considering suicide can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

Fort Carson appears on track to tie or surpass the number of suicides its soldiers committed last year, according to statistics provided by the post last week.

Six Fort Carson soldiers have committed suicide in 2012 through Wednesday, one less than the post recorded in 2011, said Deon Cobasky, the post’s suicide prevention program manager. “Several” other deaths remain under investigation, said Dee McNutt, a post spokeswoman.

The rise in Fort Carson suicides mirrors an Army trend that has frustrated leaders and prompted a renewed focus on prevention. It also comes as the post battles persistently high suicide rates that traditionally surpass those for Colorado and El Paso County.

The post’s suicide rate in 2011 was nearly 27 per 100,000 soldiers — a double-digit drop from 2008.

We haven’t really done any analytical statistics on each of those [suicides]

— Deon Cobasky, the Fort Carson’s suicide prevention program manager

But Fort Carson’s figure still rose far above the rates in El Paso County and Colorado, which averaged nearly 18 per 100,000 people, according to the state’s Office of Suicide Prevention.

Fort Carson officials say they’ve implemented programs to get counseling for those who need it and to teach others to watch for warning signs.

The issue comes down to choice, said Maj. Chuck Weber, the post’s chief of behavioral health.

“We all have choices,” Weber said. “Those choices are what you’re going to do and the things that are going to happen. What you picked out. Why’d you pick that pen? I don’t know all those answers. That’s why there is so many feeder (programs). We’re going to get them the help.”

Friday, Fort Carson soldiers held a memorial service for a 21-year-old infantryman with the post’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team found dead Oct. 7 at a home in Colorado Springs.

Though his family initially believed his death to be an accident, Colorado Springs police suspect the soldier killed himself, said Barbara Miller, a police spokeswoman.

If an investigation confirms it was a suicide, the soldier’s death would bring to 39 the number of soldiers who have committed suicide on post since 2008.

Few details have been released about the deaths.

Read the rest of this story:

http://articles.springsmilitarylife.com/articles/fort-996-carson-post.html

Sheriff Suspects Suicide in Death of Senior Enlisted Airman With Multiple Deployments; 2nd Death at AZ Base in a Month

Authorities Identify AZ Airman Found Dead

By Phil Benson
KPHO, Aug. 1, 2012

DAVIS MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, AZ (CBS 5) – Authorities have identified an airman assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base who was found dead late Tuesday afternoon.

The 355th Fighter Wing Public Affairs office said Wednesday that Tech. Sgt. Steve Mangrum, 27, was found dead in his home around 5:30 p.m.

Mangrum was a native of Pflugerville, TX, and had been stationed at Davis-Monthan since April 2008. Mangrum had deployed in 2005, 2008 and 2011 in support of overseas contingency operations in the U.S. Central Command theater of operations.

“The Desert Lightning Team extends its condolences to the family and friends of the deceased airman,” said Col. James Meger, 355th Fighter Wing commander.

The 355th Fighter Wing spokesman A1C Michael Washburn said Pima County Sheriff’s Department has ruled the death an “apparent suicide.”

Read this story at its source:

http://www.kpho.com/story/19171886/authorities-identify-az-airman-found-dead