Assessment and management of high-risk suicidal states in postdeployment operation enduring freedom and operation Iraqi freedom military personnel.

Abstract

Between 2000 and 2006, 53% of all suicides in the general U.S. population were committed with firearms, and 80% of all suicide decedents were men (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2009). Although the U.S. military is largely populated by men living under stressful conditions with ready access to guns, military suicide rates have traditionally been lower than corresponding civilian rates (Eaton, Messer, Garvey Wilson, & Hoge, 2006). However, 2008 U.S. Army rates surpassed corresponding civilian rates for the first time ever and were more than double those occurring before initiation of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) in 2001 (Suicide Risk Management & Surveillance Office, 2008; see Figure 5.1). Suicide is currently the second leading cause of death in the Marine Corps (U.S. Marine Corps, 2009), second also among young, enlisted Army men (Inspector General, U.S. This chapter was coauthored by an employee of the United States government as part of official duty and is considered to be in the public domain. Any views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the United States government, and the author's participation in the work is not meant to serve as an official endorsement.

The combat veteran paradox: Paradoxes and dilemmas encountered with reintegrating combat veterans and the agencies that support them.

“…Although there is nothing inherently wrong with carrying a knife or gun, given the combat veteran's tendency to act quickly, almost on instinct, to perceived dangerous situations, unforeseen misinterpretations could arise resulting in unnecessary serious injury or death, causing the combat veteran serious problems. Additionally, a high number of suicides occur each year by combat veterans who used an accessible gun (Claassen & Knox, 2011). It is critically important for the combat veteran to fully understand the complexities of this dynamic.…”