The Army released suicide data today for the month of April. Among active-duty soldiers, there were 16 potential suicides: none have been confirmed as suicide, and 16 remain under investigation. For March 2011, the Army reported seven potential suicides among active-duty soldiers. Since the release of that report, no cases have been confirmed as suicide, and seven cases remain under investigation.
During April 2011, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were nine potential suicides: none have been confirmed as suicides, and nine remain under investigation. For March 2011, among that same group, there were twelve total suicides (three additional suicides for March were reported after the Feb. 28 cutoff date). Of those, two were confirmed as suicide and 10 are pending determination of the manner of death.
The Army continues to improve avenues to seek help. "When a soldier is in a personal crisis and would like to reach out, location should not be the determining factor," said Brig. Gen. Colleen McGuire, director of the Army Health Promotion and Risk Reduction Task Force. "Now, soldiers everywhere can use the services offered through the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline using a Defense Switched Network (DSN) access code, available at military installations around the world."
Soldiers and families in need of crisis assistance can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Trained consultants are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year and can be contacted by dialing 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or by visiting their website athttp://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org .
Army leaders can access current health promotion guidance in newly revised Army Regulation 600-63 (Health Promotion) at:http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/r600_63.pdf and Army Pamphlet 600-24 (Health Promotion, Risk Reduction and Suicide Prevention) athttp://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/p600_24.pdf .
The Army's comprehensive list of Suicide Prevention Program information is located at http://www.preventsuicide.army.mil .
Suicide prevention training resources for Army families can be accessed at http://www.armyg1.army.mil/hr/suicide/training_sub.asp?sub_cat=20 (requires Army Knowledge Online access to download materials).
Information about Military OneSource is located at http://www.militaryonesource.comor by dialing the toll-free number 1-800-342-9647for those residing in the continental United States. Overseas personnel should refer to the Military OneSource website for dialing instructions for their specific location.
Information about the Army's Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program is located at http://www.army.mil/csf/.
The Defense Center for Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) Outreach Center can be contacted at 1-866-966-1020, via electronic mail at Resources@DCoEOutreach.org and at http://www.dcoe.health.mil .
The website for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is http://www.afsp.org/, and the Suicide Prevention Resource Council site is found at http://www.sprc.org/index.asp .
The website for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors is http://www.TAPS.org, and they can be reached at 1-800-959-TAPS (8277).
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