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The Latest Military Suicide Spike Is Hitting Unlikely Places

Reservists and National Guard soldiers are now more likely to kill themselves than their active duty peers.
Image: New Jersey National Guard troops during Hurricane Sandy/Fotopedia

New numbers from four military services show 289 suicides among active duty troops last year, which is actually a decrease from 343 in 2012, according to the Associated Press. As VICE News reported earlier this month, the numbers for veterans are even higher, averaging 22 suicides a day.

While it may appear that suicides are trending downward, going by the active duty troop counts, the trend changes when reflecting National Guard and Reserve members. According to the new data, the National Guard and Reserve counted 152 suicides last year, which is up from 140 in 2012. These numbers are now beating the Army’s numbers, which counted 151 suicides last year.

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This data may all be skewed, according to Rick Collins, founder and executive director of the veteran’s organization Veterans 360. He points out that when you’re looking at numbers of veteran suicides, “[The numbers] only take into account the veterans they’ve identified as taking their own lives. The only way they’re often able to do that is to count the veterans in particular who have registered with the VA [Veteran’s Affairs].” He believes the same kind of issue occurs with counting National Guard or Reserve suicides. Collins also notes that many soldiers are proud people and attempt to make their suicide appear to be an accident.

The other thing these numbers fail to represent is the reason this trend is occurring overall.

“These guys don’t have a lot of support structure that regular personnel have. They get pulled from a civilian life, thrown into a combat situation as Guardsmen or Reservists and then they get kicked back to civilian life,” Collins says.

National Guard and Reserve members do have access to mental health treatment, but they don’t have the same kind of environment that encourages them to use it. National Guardsmen and Reserve members are often not protected with the same level of attention that active troops might get. After they’re out, “They don’t get the long-term benefits of VA support that active duty folks get,” Collins says.

The kinds of problems these Guardsmen and Reservists face can be dire. “Their previous employers are supposed to hire them back, but often times they don’t,” he says. Collins explains that Reservists and Guardsmen returning to civilian life are often left jobless, broke, and suffering from PTSD.

Even if these soldiers do seek out mental health attention, “The ability to get access to [mental health care] is often very time consuming, and if you have a suicidal ideation and need support, then you need it now,” Collins says. The VA provides the best mental health attention they can, but it’s no good if it’s too late. A study released in 2013 showed that the VA was not providing adequate mental health care for 44 percent of troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan that reported mental health issues.

With the suicides of hundreds of active military soldiers, hundreds of National Guard and Reserve members, and thousands of veterans a year, it's clear the military isn't doing enough. We live in a nation where the politicians are quick with the trigger finger but slow with the helping hand.