European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 11, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 8 the stars and stripes wednesday. December 11. 1985 suicide in the military military suicides Down emphasis up first in a two part series by  Tom i. Slaff  h the  t. Of   Nel who Bomnin Suic ii e. A  i loner than  of tile civilian population in the i ruled Stales   Are Irv Inelo prevent Llie suicide epidemic tin you up civilians from spreading to service members our concern is a preventive one. A d pan of the increased concern is for the Quality Ollile ,."  army or. Col Robert j. Sokol. Isyol Narv consultant to the 7lh medical come. If we can prevent one  la incident it would have been Worth the  to keep the number of i Harv suicides a no. J Enla Aon officials Are pushing for More and bet a prevention priv Grams. Army Hospital officials this  have been asked to develop plans for suicide prevention programs for their communities. Army officials also arc distributing a videotape and pamphlets designed to Alert commander and unit supervisors to suicide signs and to acquaint them with prevention techniques and helping agencies Hie air Force and Navy Are continuing established programs including those  help supervisors spot peo ple with problems reduce stress and improve communication parenting skills and the Quality of marital if. Other programs help teens adjust to growing up traumas and adolescent mood swings. Traditional army. Navy and air Force helping pro Grams Range from chaplains to Telephone hotlines. They include mental health clinics air Force family support centers Navy family service centers and army Community service Short term counselling and family advocacy programs the 1985 army s Civje prevention plan stresses the importance of leadership in preventing a Soldier family member or civilian employee from reach ing the stage of feeling suicidal. The army will be successful at significantly reducing suicides Only if leaders at All Levis actively care for their troops military families and civilian employees the plan says air Force col. Ronald a. Redman wrote in an Over View of a july defense department report thai while Overall civilian suicide rates have been increasing slightly during the past several decades currently military rates arc slightly lower and exhibit a slight downward trend during the same  we conclude suicide is not a major problem among Active duty  said Redman director of the health studies task Force in the office of the assistant Secretary of defense for health affairs. While the military experiences fewer is Ici r5 when compared to the civilian population it is not immune tothe tragedy. Suicide is the third ranking cause of death in the military. According to Redman s Dod report. 212 military people killed themselves in 1984, and All but 15 were enlisted people. Fifty four percent or 115. Killed them selves with gunfire. Another 53 died by Hansine or strangulation. E tT,204 a a and l7 women who committed suicide in 1983 represented a Rale of 10.5 per 100.000 people compared to a Rale of 12.4 percent per 100,000 civil lans. The military suicide Rale for 1984 dropped to for thai year. " Ciu Lan Rales Are not 2,01 enl St people and 20 officers or on have doubled in -0 years for people Between the Ages l Nul --4. Victim ire also Likely to be drunk  . Art c Peri in the identification and treatment no substance abuse problems and on suicide  visited in Many in october in conduct workshops for so far this year Usa eur has reported 17 Sui ode me Udog three family members. Safe has had one military member suicides and Nav eur to Sui scr cell Cal in the a military in thes. When alcohol and drug abuse was greater Amon. Sokols he Ali Tir hcs Lac Abigill Tith stress a Al is our con Rou off a emotions i he increase among the Young should be of real concern to  old vials Given the Large numbers of military people Ages 17 to 24 and emotionally younger he said. Ape has not vet been a predictor of suicide in Mill.  Hie As it is in civilian Lile. We re not finding he same clustering of Ages Ai found in civilian  Sokol said. Part of that recon is in the unit cohesive Ness that acts As an extended family. Our commanders arc doing a Good Job at get Ting their people the help they need to Deal with various problems. And that s the Good  Mim a health , said military arid civilian suicide cases can be dissimilar although 8 leading cause for both is the loss of a loved one Throat death separation or rejection. Civilian suicides for example burgeon during be holidays but the season apparently docs not become Lime of acute crisis for military members. We have not had that experience in the military Sokol said. Military life officials also said is a mixed bag. While some aspects of military life can make a person More vulnerable others actually protect one the one hand a military member in Europe Wio is Cut off from family and friends in the United Suta May feel isolated and alone. There arc prolonged absences from his or her spouse or children because of Field and temporary duly. There Are fewer Opportunity a to relieve tension by taking a Day off work or a Lon lunch hour. But the military Community also can be close knit with families supporting and helping each other in a cry Day life and during crisis. Also the Active duty Force is a  group of generally healthy Young people who arc All employed. Mental health workers would expect a Low suicide rate in such a group. In Usa eur research is underway to deter mine if there is anything about the military Environ ment that might cause a person to kill himself. The one year study which is being conducted by lie . Army medical research unit Europe began set. 1. A final report is expected by february. Sokol said the research included psychological Autop-5 in each of the 13 suicides that occurred in usar four this year before his interview with the Surj Mlls tripes. Suicide investigations began within 48 hours of the incidents and entered on the victim s relationship with Otis unit. Commanders first line supervisors and Ottar unit members close to the individual were interview i heir cooperation was voluntary. Not one of these cases appears to have been tax result of any primary command related stress or Frob anything that the command could have detected or pre Mem cd Sokol said. All appear to be sudden in a gestures or the result of an immediate loss the act usually related to the use of  air Force or. Maj Tommie c. Cayton said the air Force Lias conducted psychological a�10p-sies for several years. The professional military Educ Tob of air Force both officer and enlisted super Vum Hughl the importance of knowing their sub Orduba being sensitive to their needs and being available Thyri i problems said Cayton assistant chef of car Medicine div office of he Suffat Safe. Our mental health personnel Are Laughl to Lake tit code potential very seriously As Weli As How to Leach patients that there arc always better ways Oul of their present situations than suicide he said. Cayton pointed out that suicides in the military cd problems not obvious in civilian life. Cayton said. Not Only do the family and friends have a to of i jul the nil loss a productive member Phe ing additional Strain on the unit and having sign incl ii acts on readiness for locations with minimal  he said. And such losses often can be prevented experts a �  watch for warning signs thai is 1dcpr"s or considering suicide