Army stands down to combat suicides

With soldiers taking their own lives at a record rate, the Army stopped all other normal activities Thursday to focus on suicide prevention.

In an interview with Seattle’s Morning News, retired Maj. Mike Lyons called it a critical step in countering what’s become an epidemic that’s seen at least 116 active-duty soldiers commit suicide this year.

In July, suicides outpaced combat deaths of active-duty soldiers.

“There’s got to be a heightened sense of awareness about it. The Army’s attacking it like it’s attacking every enemy it’s going after,” Lyons said. “And it feels that it’s an enemy in its ranks and it’s doing what it can to reduce it.”

The trainings at bases worldwide including JBLM emphasized what behavioral health programs are available to soldiers and helping them get over the embarrassment that keeps many from seeking help.

“Without someone stepping up and helping and encouraging this person it often doesn’t happen. You’re expected to have this certain level of grit and resiliency and somewhat of a being steeled to these kind of feelings but we’re seeing it just doesn’t work that way,” Lyons said.

The rampant rise in suicides is blamed in large part on the cumulative stress from combat duty as troops fought two simultaneous wars over the past decade. It also is believed linked to a range of other pressures such as marital and financial problems and health issues.

Still, military and defense leaders have been puzzled by the rise after years of working to blunt the problem with new programs such as a regime of resilience training starting at boot camp and the hiring of more psychiatrists and other mental health workers.

“We’ve got non-commissioned officers, officers, Army captains, West Point graduates that have committed suicide in the past 10 years. It attacks all walks, it cuts across all ranks, and it cuts across really every part of the Army and the military society,” Lyons said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report