30,177 Military Members Have Died by Suicide since 9/11. Why?

[douglas9]

in the 20 years since the September 11 terror attacks, four times as many deaths among members of the military have been caused by suicide compared to those killed in action.

That’s 30,177 active duty personnel and veterans of the post-9/11 wars who have taken their own lives.

While these high suicide rates can partially be attributed to the mental health toll of participating in war—exposure to trauma, stress, access to guns, difficulty returning to civilian life after duty—there are additional factors, one of the biggest being traumatic brain injury, unique to the wars stemming from 9/11, that contribute to the rising suicide rates among military members, says Thomas “Ben” Suitt, who earlier this year earned a PhD from Boston University’s graduate program in religion, specializing in the sociology of religion in the military and social ethics.

“Among the demographic of veterans aged 18 to 34, who most likely served in post-9/11 conflicts, the suicide rate per 100,000 was 25.5 in 2005. Today, that rate is 45.9 per 100,000,” Suitt says.

While pursuing his doctorate, Suitt was studying moral injury and the role of faith in 9/11 veterans. Talking with them for his research, he was struck by their stories of trauma.


https://www.govexec.com/defense/2021/09/30177-military-members-have-died-suicide-911-why/185445/

[captain queeg]

1. Traumatic brain injury is pretty common nowadays

Not s many killed due to all the armor, but being inside a vehicle that gets hit by an IED rattles the brain. I know a veteran who had been involved in 4 blasts. He wasn't a combat soldier, he was a medic. To talk to him you wouldn't really think there was anything wrong with him but he had a partial disability. I don't know the long term effects and I don't think the army really does either.

[NQAS]

2. Maybe this?

Is it possible it has something to do with screening incoming troops?

[Anon-C]

3. Thank you, douglas9!

[captain queeg]

4. I was a civilian employee for the army. They had mandatory anti suicide training annually

I was sitting thru one one time with both civilian and active duty personnel. The guy who gave it kept making comments about how he knew none of us present were screwed up enough to commit suicide. All I could think was good going asshole, you’ve reinforced the idea that it’s something that should be hidden. I guess the one thing I got out of it is when you start planning how you’d do it you were on dangerous grounds.

[DashOneBravo]

5. Here is a good article

And the site is free.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/taskandpurpose.com/news/veteran-suicide-deaths-post-9-11/%3famp