America's military veterans are among its treasures. Citizens willing to put the defense of the nation above themselves demonstrate a nobility of character worth cherishing. That so many veterans reach the point where their lives are not worth preserving and see suicide as the way out is a national tragedy. The release of the Veterans Administration's (VA) annual study on suicide prevention sheds some light on the national problem.
Many high-stress, life-threatening professions face suicide among its members. However, the publication of the "National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report" provides insight into the tragic problem. "The report shows that there were 6,407 suicides among Veterans in 2022, lower than 12 of 14 previous years but three more than in 2021. Among non-veterans, there were 41,484 suicides in 2022, 1,476 higher than in 2021," the VA explained. However, this two-year statistical snapshot paints only a partial picture.
Digging into the statistics shows that, from 2001 through 2022, there was an annual average of 6,383 veteran suicides, with a high of 6,722 in 2018 and a low of 6,005 in 2001. Men commit suicide more frequently than women, and since there are significantly more men in the military than women, raw numbers showing more male suicide victims to women among veterans make sense. To make the comparison more apples to apples, the VA statistics compared annual age-adjusted rates per 100,000 and found that the incidence of male veteran suicide was an average of 33.7 while the rate for women was 12.9. More than two and a half times more men took their lives than women.
The Grim Statistics of Suicide Among Veterans
The worrisome figures come from comparing veterans to the US population as a whole. On average, veterans committed suicide nearly one and half times more than non-veterans using age- and sex-adjusted rates per 100,000. Very concerning is that those in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) or VA-funded community care seemed more likely to end it all. The data showed that the average for male veterans during the years 2001 and 2022 in the VHA system committed suicide at a rate of 44.0 per age-adjusted data per 100,000 and women at a rate of 15.2.
That seems counterintuitive: It would seem that VA medical practitioners would be sensitive to the signs of suicidal behavior. However, those in VHA facilities or treatment are more likely "to be unmarried, to use tobacco, to have received less formal education, have lower incomes, poorer self-reported health status, more chronic medical conditions, and self-reported disability due to physical or mental health factors, greater depression and anxiety, and greater reporting of trauma, lifetime psychopathology, and current suicidality," according to the VA.
As disturbing as the recent report is, some believe it undercounts the suicide data. A Real Clear Defense explanation of the VA's 2023 annual report raised concerns published by America's Warrior Partnership (AWP), a non-profit organization focused on suicide prevention. In its "Operation Deep Dive" study of veterans, AWP found higher incidences of suicide than the VA reported:
"Operation Deep Dive states that our actual Veteran suicide rate is 37% greater than the rate reported by the VA, and we have 24 confirmed suicides each day, not the 18 as reported by the VA. More concerning is a second revelation by AWP that there were 20 additional suicides each day not counted by the VA because they are listed as 'accidents' or 'undetermined' causes."
With the world in turmoil, the US Armed Forces will be releasing warfighters as veterans into civilian communities in increasing numbers. It's not clear Americans fully appreciate what the young men and women in the military have been doing. Since the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein's Iraqi Army in August 1990, US armed forces have been in constant conflict somewhere on the globe: like the US Air Force flying daily missions over Iraq during Operations Northern and Southern Watch from 1992 to 2003, US Army special forces engaged in the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993, the Gulf wars, Afghanistan, and now US Navy operations in the Red Sea. That's 34 years of perpetual fighting.
Military men and women live in a culture with, for many, life and death stresses not found among their civilian counterparts. Leaving the service is a cultural transformation for which too many are not prepared. During a Daily Signal Podcast, Jim Lorraine, veteran and president of AWP, made this observation: "In the military, one of the things that I always love was that we were all in it together and we were focused on the mission, and you knew everyone was moving in that direction. The civilian world isn't quite that way. And as I said, it's a cultural change that happens, not just a job change."
Veterans returning from fighting our wars are among us. Having information like the VA suicide prevention report is useful. Understanding the magnitude of the problem among veterans may help employers and families make civilian life a more welcoming opportunity.
The views expressed are those of the author and not of any other affiliate.
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