From: rpattree2@gmail.com   
      
   At Least 22 Veterans Kill Themselves Every Day and No One Gives a Shit   
      
   April 1, 2014 | 1:25 pm   
   That's 1,892 former soldiers who have killed themselves since the beginning of   
   2014, according the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America organization   
   (IAVA). But even that is a conservative number, some say, as there is no   
   centralized system to track    
   veteran suicides.   
      
   A recent poll found that more than half of post-9/11 veterans know at least   
   one colleague who attempted or managed to kill themselves. For many, the list   
   of friends lost to suicide is much longer.   
      
   Mental health is one of the greatest challenges facing returning soldiers, but   
   a deadly combination of indifference, stigma, red tape, and government   
   dysfunction are to blame for the sobering numbers. Citing Department of   
   Veterans Affairs (VA) statistics,   
    the IAVA claims that 22 ex-service members die by suicide every single day.   
      
   That was the message brought to Washington last week by veterans of the Iraq   
   and Afghanistan wars and their supporters, in their annual "Storm the Hill"   
   campaign, which aims to raise awareness among lawmakers about the struggles of   
   returning service    
   members. This year, suicide topped the list.   
      
   As part of the campaign, the group took to the National Mall, where they   
   placed a flag for each vet lost to suicide this year.   
      
      
      
   Veterans and supporters placed a flag on the National Mall for every veteran   
   who committed suicide in 2014. Photo via Storm the Hill.   
      
      
   Veterans' campaigns often hit deaf ears. Many people like to nominally "stand"   
   with the troops, but when it comes to supporting -- and financing -- the   
   services they need after coming home from war, the backing is less firm.   
      
   IAVA, the largest network for veterans of the last two wars, hopes to change   
   that and last week turned their campaign to combat suicide into a proposed   
   bill, introduced on Thursday by US Senator John Walsh of Montana, the first   
   Iraq vet to ever serve in    
   the Senate.   
      
   "Far too often, we're leaving our veterans to fight their toughest battles   
   alone," Walsh said in a statement. "Returning home from combat does not erase   
   what happened there."   
      
   His "Suicide Prevention for America's Veterans Act" hopes to fight the problem   
   with large reform to veterans' access to care, including expanding special   
   combat eligibility from five to 15 years, and repaying the medical loans of   
   psychiatrists who sign    
   up for long-term service with ex-soldiers.   
      
   The bill would also require the military to review its practice of handing out   
   "bad conduct" discharges to members for behavior related to post-traumatic   
   stress disorder -- so disqualifying them from the little mental health   
   services available to them    
   under the VA system.   
      
   The department said it has taken steps to address the suicides, including by   
   asking for additional funding for mental health issues. The VA provided mental   
   health treatment to 1.4 vets last year -- up from 900,000 in 2007.   
      
   "We have made strong progress, but we must do more," a spokesman for the   
   department said in a statement.   
      
   But with a suicide happening almost every hour, veterans' advocates think they   
   should do a whole lot more -- though they add that suicide prevention is not   
   just the responsibility of the VA.   
      
   In the video below, Iraq and Afghanistan vets talk about coming home.   
      
      
   Video by IAVA features returning soldiers talking about the trauma of coming   
   home.   
      
   VICE News spoke with Paul Rieckhoff, the founder of IAVA. Here's what he told   
   us.   
      
   VICE News: This has been an issue for a long time. Why the focus on suicide   
   now?   
   Paul Rieckhoff: Our members told us it was their number one priority. We have   
   the largest network of post-9/11 vets in the country and every year they tell   
   us what they think we should focus on, and [this year] they said suicide. I   
   think the numbers tell    
   a pretty powerful story, but most folks think the numbers could be much   
   higher, there's not a lot of great research, there's no national registry.   
   It's clearly a matter of life and death and that's what's driving us, and the   
   broader veteran community, to    
   tackle this issue. I'm actually in Houston right now. I just left the family   
   of one of our leaders, a guy named Clay Hunt who died three years ago today.   
   We have been deep in this fight against suicide for years and it doesn't seem   
   to be getting any    
   better.   
      
   Are things getting worse for vets?   
   It looks like it's getting worse. We also expect increased demand [for mental   
   health services] in the coming years. Candidly, we expected a better national   
   response, sooner. These numbers are startling but they've been up there for a   
   while, and suicide    
   is an issue that has been on the national radar for a while. But the president   
   and Congress have been really mute on it, and we're losing buddies left and   
   right. It's got to be a public health priority. It's also a national security   
   imperative, and I    
   think it's a moral imperative.   
      
      
      
   Paul Rieckhoff, founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, speaks on   
   the National Mall. Photo via Storm the Hill.   
      
   But 22 suicides a day is crazy. Why is nobody talking about this?   
   Nobody is talking about the war either. Most people are personally   
   disconnected. Less than one half of one percent of the country serves, so most   
   people don't have this kind of personal connection to these wars and   
   definitely don't have a personal    
   connection to suicide. Folks care about what affects them personally and   
   unfortunately folks are largely disconnected from all our issues, but   
   especially this one.   
      
   What about the military itself and the VA system, why aren't they doing more?   
   That's a great question for the [VA] secretary. Give him a call and ask him,   
   he probably won't call back. I think the Department [of Defense] is moving   
   much more aggressively than the VA has, but I think we also have to appreciate   
   that they are only    
   components in this fight. About 45 percent of our members never go to the VA,   
   so it's got to be more comprehensive. We've got to work together like spokes   
   on the wheel. It's got to be VA, Department of Defense, community-based health   
   groups, hospitals,    
   churches, we all have to work together, especially at the community level,   
   because a lot of veterans, they're going to come for help in a variety of   
   different ways, a lot of folks won't go to the VA. Access is a huge problem,   
   quality is still a major    
   challenge, and continuity of care is usually very bad.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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