Defense Secretary Austin orders independent review of military suicide

WASHINGTON – Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday ordered the creation of an unbiased panel to assessment suicides within the navy specializing in 9 bases, together with three in hard-hit Alaska.

Congress required the Pentagon to create the committee, unbiased of the Protection Division, to assessment suicide prevention packages and discover methods to enhance them. The announcement, and the inclusion of bases in Alaska, comes after USA TODAY reported earlier this 12 months that there have been 17 suspected or confirmed suicide deaths in 2021 among the many 11,500 troopers based mostly within the state. That was extra suicides than the earlier two years mixed for U.S. Military Alaska.

“It’s crucial that we maintain all our teammates and proceed to strengthen that psychological well being and suicide prevention stay a key precedence,” Austin wrote to the Pentagon’s senior management. “One loss of life by suicide is one too many. And suicide charges amongst our service members are nonetheless too excessive.”

The committee will go to the 9 bases, interview troops and officers there and conduct a confidential survey, Austin’s memo stated. The bases embody three in Alaska: the Military’s Fort Wainwright, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and the Air Power’s Eielson. The others are Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Naval Station North Island, California; Nellis Air Power base, Nevada; Camp Humphreys, South Korea; and the North Carolina Nationwide Guard.

‘Psychological well being is well being. Interval.’:Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin decries stigma in message to troops

Austin directed the committee’s members be named inside 60 days and a timeline for his or her visits established. Their work will start no later than Might 14, and so they should file an preliminary report back to him by Dec. 20. Findings and suggestions are on account of Congress by Feb. 18, 2023.

“As I’ve stated many occasions, psychological well being is well being – interval,” Austin wrote. “I do know that senior leaders all through the Division share my sense of dedication to this notion and to creating positive we do all the things doable to heal all wounds, these you’ll be able to see and people you’ll be able to’t. We owe it to our folks, their households, and to honor the reminiscence of these we’ve got misplaced.”

The Pentagon’s newest annual report on suicide from 2020 discovered that for active-duty troops, the speed of suicide elevated from 20.3 per 100,000 in 2015 to twenty-eight.7 per 100,000 in 2020. The report famous that after adjusting for age and intercourse, the suicide charge for all troops, lively and reserve, was akin to the U.S. inhabitants in 2019, the final 12 months for which there’s related knowledge.

Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., who chairs the personnel panel of the Armed Companies Committee, efficiently amended the Nationwide Protection Authorization Act to require the unbiased assessment fee. It’s modeled on  the committee that investigated issues at Fort Hood surrounding the homicide of Military Spc. Vanessa Guillen.

If you’re a service member or veteran in disaster or having ideas of suicide (or know somebody who’s), name the Navy Disaster Line/Veterans Disaster Line for confidential assist 24 hours a day: 1-800-273-8255 and press 1; textual content 838255; or chat on-line at VeteransCrisisLine.web/Chat.

Extra:

The Military has an alarming suicide drawback in Alaska, regardless of flooding space with sources

‘Coronary heart-wrenching drawback’ for Military in Alaska: 2 bases. 5 months. 6 suicides.