Does a disconnect exist between the purpose and the outcomes of the Army's suicide prevention program?

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 02 Apr 2017 04:26:12 -0400

I don't understand suicide prevention in the military. Why does the military try to prevent someone from killing themselves then when all is said and done then they throw the person out. It defeats the whole purpose of suicide prevention. Then when that person's employer sees their medical history they are out of a job and possibly screwed for life. I just don't understand the purpose.

Response by PFC Jonathan Albano made Apr 2 at 2017 4:53 AM

PFC Jonathan Albano — Sun, 02 Apr 2017 04:53:30 -0400

Suicide prevention doesn't automatically get somebody kicked out of the military. I've seen it end with soldiers being retained a few times. Typically, when an SM is kicked out in these instances, what you are really seeing is an underlying mental condition that renders them unfit for service. Often times, these situations end in medical retirement so a civilian career isn't always in the cards for them anyway.

Response by SGM Erik Marquez made Apr 2 at 2017 11:31 AM

SGM Erik Marquez — Sun, 02 Apr 2017 11:31:17 -0400

A: suicide prevention resourcing training is just that prevention of suicide

B: mental and medical condition of suicidal ideation's or attempts are incompatible with retention and continue service so the soldier is then separated if the issues can't be resolved through counseling and mediation.

No different then if you broke your tibia after healed and rehabilitated if you can continue your duties you remain in the service if not you're medically discharged

After having a suicidal ideation if you can work it out through counseling relieve yourself of the issues that caused you to be suicidal then you can stay otherwise it's a medical discharge

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 2 at 2017 12:27 PM

Capt Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 02 Apr 2017 12:27:14 -0400

Priority one - save a life.

Priority two - help that life continue without further suicide issues.

Hopefully there is success in these.

Response by SPC Erich Guenther made Apr 2 at 2017 8:39 PM

SPC Erich Guenther — Sun, 02 Apr 2017 20:39:48 -0400

I'm probably going to ruffle the feathers here but if someone wants to commit suicide.......nothing much you can do to stop it. period and full stop. It is a individual decision that is very selfishly made. Yes the suicide candidate blames others or situations beyond their control for their actions. It's kind of a ruse though because when you get right down to it the person committing suicide is the same person that pulls the trigger, overdoeses, etc (the perp). You can study the environmental conditions that lead to suicide decisions but even if you eliminate those environments........suicide will still exist because depression will still exist. So you won't necessarily eliminate suicide but instead the people that are prone to it will find new justifcations. I do think we need to as a society not embrace suicide or euthenasia so freely as a solution when so much is not known medically. I think it's stupid to say to people in society that suicide is OK in some cases but not in others. It's either always OK or it is NOT always OK. So as a society I think we need to make some changes as to what is acceptable and what is not..... if we really want to reduce the suicide rates.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 2 at 2017 10:42 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 02 Apr 2017 22:42:32 -0400

yes, they want to try and cure it at the final levels almost a stop before it happens when they should be focusing on what is causing it to come about. The army needs things to get down and you cant make everyone like each other so there is some personal ownership in it but "suck it up and drive on" is really what the army lives by so there is already a flawed starting point.