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http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/663192
War at Home: Military rethinks suicide tally
War at Home: Military rethinks suicide tally
Broader count of ex-soldiers who have killed themselves part of a push to better gauge the mental toll of service
July 09, 2009
Allan Woods
Ottawa Bureau
TheStar.com - Canada
OTTAWA–The defence department is overhauling the way it tracks military suicides to give a more accurate – and likely darker – accounting of the mental toll Canadian soldiers are suffering, the Toronto Star has learned.
The project, to be completed by next spring, will record the self-inflicted deaths of former soldiers and reservists going back to 1972. Up to now, only the suicides of actively serving, full-time soldiers have been registered, and the military has prided itself for having a suicide rate below that of the larger Canadian population.
But adding tens of thousands of new death records into the mix will likely inflate that proportion by including soldiers deployed in the Korean War and conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, the Middle East and Africa, as well as Afghanistan.
Many of those who have killed themselves will have been released from the military for reasons of mental health, substance abuse or misconduct, and may have gone on to a lonely end far from the view of the defence department.
A Toronto Star investigation last month found a growing problem of post-tour violence that is landing soldiers in jail and their victims in hospital.
Many of the soldiers featured in the Star series War at Home went to war without a criminal record but now report to a probation officer or child services worker, or both. The problem is escalating, presenting police, lawyers, judges and psychologists with a new and dangerous class of offender.
A new committee examining the mental health of members of the military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police and among veterans of the two forces was told of the undertaking at its maiden meeting in February by Lt.-Col. Stéphane Grenier, special adviser on operational stress injuries to the military's chief of personnel.
"Lt.-Col. Grenier commented that it was difficult to fully understand the scope of (Canadian Forces) suicide as the CF lacks visibility on suicides among former personnel," a defence department spokesperson said.
The new cases risk making the military's statistics "muddy" because it may be tough to say whether military service or some other factor led to the suicide.
"If some people happened to commit suicide 14 or 18 years after leaving the (armed forces) it would be interesting to see what proportion of that is related to (military) experience," said Lt.-Col. Rakesh Jetly, a Canadian Forces psychiatrist in Ottawa.
There are three military departments that track suicides. None has complete cause-of-death records for part-time reservists, whose suicides go unrecorded unless they occur while on duty.
Veterans Affairs Canada provides health services to retired Mounties and soldiers, but doesn't track the number of self-inflicted deaths, and provincial health authorities make no mention of military service when logging statistics on suicides.
The last known military suicide was that of Maj. Michelle Mendes, an intelligence officer who killed herself in her sleeping quarters at Kandahar Airfield in April.
On the same day as Mendes's death, the defence department released a document on suicide in the Canadian Forces claiming the rate has been "generally decreasing."
In 2008, 15 soldiers took their own lives, the most since 2002, when the military launched combat operations in Afghanistan. From 2002 to 2007, that figure ranged from 11 to 13 a year.
Attempts to more accurately depict the military suicide rate are part of a larger effort to more aggressively identify and treat mental health problems among Canadian soldiers.
As in Canada, the United States Army now trains new recruits in the signs and triggers of psychological problems. This fall, though, the U.S. military is launching a program that allows soldiers to test their mental fitness every two years and to seek help if signs of illness appear.
Documents obtained by the Star under the Access to Information Act show Canadian Forces officials know there are issues to address, but the extent of the problem appears to be the subject of debate.
At the February meeting of the mental health advisory committee, Maj.-Gen. Walter Semianiw, chief of military personnel, said up to 16 per cent of Canadian Forces members could be suffering from mental health issues.
The Afghan mission is a major source of psychological problems. The war has claimed the lives of 124 soldiers so far, and up to 65,000 Canadian soldiers will have served in the country by the time the current mission wraps up in 2011.
Still, only about 9 per cent of men and 6 per cent of women in the military with mental health problems can trace it back to their deployments, said Col. Allan Darch, director of the Canadian Forces' mental health services.
For cases of post-traumatic stress disorder, less than half of the men and about a quarter of women can link their condition to overseas service, he said.
Dr. Don Richardson, who works with veterans at an operational stress injury clinic in London, Ont., noted at the meeting that his anecdotal experience suggests a stronger link between PTSD and overseas operations, according to a written summary.
Jetly said it is difficult to compare mental health statistics in the military with those for veterans.
Former soldiers receiving services from Veterans Affairs, by definition, have been injured as a result of their service, while many of those in the Canadian Forces are never deployed or face combat.
© Copyright Toronto Star 1996-2009
A brilliant step forward. However, will they review those that have died that "Fell asleep at the wheel" and wrapped they car around a tree? Or what about the Vet that veered into incoming traffic?
Suicide, can be done in many manners...
dileas
tess
War at Home: Military rethinks suicide tally
War at Home: Military rethinks suicide tally
Broader count of ex-soldiers who have killed themselves part of a push to better gauge the mental toll of service
July 09, 2009
Allan Woods
Ottawa Bureau
TheStar.com - Canada
OTTAWA–The defence department is overhauling the way it tracks military suicides to give a more accurate – and likely darker – accounting of the mental toll Canadian soldiers are suffering, the Toronto Star has learned.
The project, to be completed by next spring, will record the self-inflicted deaths of former soldiers and reservists going back to 1972. Up to now, only the suicides of actively serving, full-time soldiers have been registered, and the military has prided itself for having a suicide rate below that of the larger Canadian population.
But adding tens of thousands of new death records into the mix will likely inflate that proportion by including soldiers deployed in the Korean War and conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, the Middle East and Africa, as well as Afghanistan.
Many of those who have killed themselves will have been released from the military for reasons of mental health, substance abuse or misconduct, and may have gone on to a lonely end far from the view of the defence department.
A Toronto Star investigation last month found a growing problem of post-tour violence that is landing soldiers in jail and their victims in hospital.
Many of the soldiers featured in the Star series War at Home went to war without a criminal record but now report to a probation officer or child services worker, or both. The problem is escalating, presenting police, lawyers, judges and psychologists with a new and dangerous class of offender.
A new committee examining the mental health of members of the military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police and among veterans of the two forces was told of the undertaking at its maiden meeting in February by Lt.-Col. Stéphane Grenier, special adviser on operational stress injuries to the military's chief of personnel.
"Lt.-Col. Grenier commented that it was difficult to fully understand the scope of (Canadian Forces) suicide as the CF lacks visibility on suicides among former personnel," a defence department spokesperson said.
The new cases risk making the military's statistics "muddy" because it may be tough to say whether military service or some other factor led to the suicide.
"If some people happened to commit suicide 14 or 18 years after leaving the (armed forces) it would be interesting to see what proportion of that is related to (military) experience," said Lt.-Col. Rakesh Jetly, a Canadian Forces psychiatrist in Ottawa.
There are three military departments that track suicides. None has complete cause-of-death records for part-time reservists, whose suicides go unrecorded unless they occur while on duty.
Veterans Affairs Canada provides health services to retired Mounties and soldiers, but doesn't track the number of self-inflicted deaths, and provincial health authorities make no mention of military service when logging statistics on suicides.
The last known military suicide was that of Maj. Michelle Mendes, an intelligence officer who killed herself in her sleeping quarters at Kandahar Airfield in April.
On the same day as Mendes's death, the defence department released a document on suicide in the Canadian Forces claiming the rate has been "generally decreasing."
In 2008, 15 soldiers took their own lives, the most since 2002, when the military launched combat operations in Afghanistan. From 2002 to 2007, that figure ranged from 11 to 13 a year.
Attempts to more accurately depict the military suicide rate are part of a larger effort to more aggressively identify and treat mental health problems among Canadian soldiers.
As in Canada, the United States Army now trains new recruits in the signs and triggers of psychological problems. This fall, though, the U.S. military is launching a program that allows soldiers to test their mental fitness every two years and to seek help if signs of illness appear.
Documents obtained by the Star under the Access to Information Act show Canadian Forces officials know there are issues to address, but the extent of the problem appears to be the subject of debate.
At the February meeting of the mental health advisory committee, Maj.-Gen. Walter Semianiw, chief of military personnel, said up to 16 per cent of Canadian Forces members could be suffering from mental health issues.
The Afghan mission is a major source of psychological problems. The war has claimed the lives of 124 soldiers so far, and up to 65,000 Canadian soldiers will have served in the country by the time the current mission wraps up in 2011.
Still, only about 9 per cent of men and 6 per cent of women in the military with mental health problems can trace it back to their deployments, said Col. Allan Darch, director of the Canadian Forces' mental health services.
For cases of post-traumatic stress disorder, less than half of the men and about a quarter of women can link their condition to overseas service, he said.
Dr. Don Richardson, who works with veterans at an operational stress injury clinic in London, Ont., noted at the meeting that his anecdotal experience suggests a stronger link between PTSD and overseas operations, according to a written summary.
Jetly said it is difficult to compare mental health statistics in the military with those for veterans.
Former soldiers receiving services from Veterans Affairs, by definition, have been injured as a result of their service, while many of those in the Canadian Forces are never deployed or face combat.
© Copyright Toronto Star 1996-2009
A brilliant step forward. However, will they review those that have died that "Fell asleep at the wheel" and wrapped they car around a tree? Or what about the Vet that veered into incoming traffic?
Suicide, can be done in many manners...
dileas
tess
