Drug Treatment Articles

Drug Treatment Articles

Army Finds Rise in Drug Abuse, Suicide among Soldiers

After nearly a decade of war, the Army is witnessing an unprecedented rise in risky behavior and mental health issues among its troops since initiation of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars in 2001. Not since the Vietnam War have there been so many soldiers lost to substance abuse, depressive and anxiety disorders, high risk behaviors, and suicide—with the military suicide rate now surpassing the civilian suicide rate. In response to its 15-month internal investigation into the problem, the Army reported Thursday that this surge in mental health problems is due to Army leaders’ degraded adherence to health policies and programs.

The report, “Health Promotion, Risk Reduction, and Suicide Prevention,” was released by Vice Chief of Staff General Peter Chiarelli at the Pentagon and sent out to Army leaders. The investigative report is intended to highlight the Army’s efforts to lower high risk behavior that may lead to suicide or accidental death, as well as removing the stigmatization of mental health issues and treatment.

Beginning in spring 2009, General Chiarelli visited six different Army installations to observe implementation of suicide prevention efforts among the units. As a result, Chiarelli found that soldiers were displaying higher tendencies to engage in risky behavior, such as alcohol and drug abuse, violence, and crime—all of which are contributing factors to increasing stress levels and suicide risk. Simply trying to fix the suicide problem alone is not enough, Chiarelli suggests, for the problem is stemmed from multiple behavior risks which are preventable but are yet being dismissed as "permissive" by Army leaders. The report notes that war was not the primary cause of suicide risk, as generally assumed, but rather soldiers’ propensity toward destructive behavior. The report summarizes that “less young men and women die in combat than die by their own actions. We are often more dangerous to ourselves than the enemy.”

Because of lack of strong leadership, risk-taking among soldiers is being allowed, such as illicit and prescription drug consumption that has caused more overdose, unintentional injury, accidental death, and criminal activity among the units. From October 2008 to September 2009, 160 active-duty soldiers committed suicide, and another 146 soldiers died due to high risk behavior; 74 of these deaths were caused by drug overdose. Furthermore, a total of 1,713 suicide attempts were made.

Regarding Army leadership, Chiarelli’s report finds that holes in the current health processes and programs that are intended to eradicate high risk behavior; failure to uphold current Army policy standards; neglectful supervision of insubordinate behavior among soldiers; and lack of accountability for reporting and administrative processes and disciplinary action have demonstrated insufficient coordination among Army leadership.

Even though the Army is exhausted from two wars with no predictable end, multiple deployments were not necessarily the primary cause of stress among these cases of suicide. Most Army suicides (79%) were by soldiers who only had had a single deployment or had not yet been deployed, whereas 21% of suicides were committed by soldiers with repeated deployments. Chiarelli notes that 60% of all Army suicides took place during a soldier’s first four years of enlistment, the majority of which occurred during the first year of service. Most new recruits belong to the age group that is statistically at highest risk of suicide, 18–21 years of age. Surprisingly, most of these first-year enlisted soldiers who committed suicide were in their late 20s; in fact, this age group had three times as many suicides as the younger age group. The Army is considered a reasonable sample of the general population, so statistics between soldier populations and the American public should essentially reflect one another. However, beginning in 2004, the Army’s suicide rate (20 out of 100,000 soldiers) began surpassing the civilian suicide rate (19 out of 100,000 citizens) for the first time in decades.

The report blamed commanders’ focus on constant deployment as leading to eroded health standards, heightened risk, and lack of discipline and order. Disregard for soldier accountability even resulted in the neglectful discovery of suicide victims who were “not being found until they had been dead for three or four weeks,” the report states. Furthermore, individuals who should otherwise be refused recruitment into the Army due to histories of mental illness, substance abuse, and criminal activity are instead making their way in, representing more than half of recruit waivers (47,478) since 2004. Meanwhile, those currently enlisted in the Army who are committing misconduct deemed for expulsion are not being disciplined as required (25,283 cases of misconduct retained).

The report calls for more coordination among unit commanders, medical personnel, garrison providers, and law enforcement on soldiers’ high risk behavior. The Army believes its current Community Health Promotion Council should continue use to help support and expand services for soldiers, including behavioral health screenings and services, confidential alcohol treatment programs, counseling, and leadership training on behavioral health issues.

The report is available at http://www.army.mil/hprrsp.

Sources: United States Department of Defense, Army Releases Health Promotion, Risk Reduction and Suicide Prevention Report, July 29, 2010

The New York Times, Elizabeth Bumiller, Pentagon Report Places Blame for Suicides, July 29, 2010

Psych Central, Army Suicides Due to Lack of Oversight?, July 29, 2010

RSS Subscribe to RSS

Drug Treatment Categories

Articles