By: Tom Perry, CBC News
A new report by the Canadian Forces shows that soldiers who have been deployed overseas are at a higher risk of taking their own lives.
The Canadian Forces annual report on suicide reveals that 18 military members committed suicide in 2015. While the report says the overall suicide rate within the military is not statistically higher than for the rest of the population, the risk for those serving in the army is much greater than it is for those serving in the navy or air force.
"The suicide rate amongst army personnel is about two to three times higher than it is compared to members who serve in other elements of the Canadian Forces and about 1½-times higher than males in the civilian population," said Col. Andrew Downes, director of mental health for the Canadian Forces.
Downes said the military's research also shows that the risk of suicide is higher for personnel who have been deployed overseas into places like Afghanistan.
"It's really not the deployment itself that's the risk for suicide. It's what happens on deployment," Downes said. "People, when they deploy, are exposed to more dangerous environments where they are at risk of physical injury and mental injury as well."
Despite the increased risk that goes along with overseas deployments, Downes said suicide is a complex matter. The military's report shows almost half of those who committed suicide in 2015 suffered from a documented depressive disorder. Nearly all were under stress in their personal lives, facing failed romantic relationships, legal problems or debt.
"All these people are human and they all have stressors," Downes said.
Time to do more
The government and the military have pledged to take action on suicide in the ranks. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said he is working with the chief of the defence staff on the issue as part of the government's defence policy review.
Sajjan said the goal is to find new strategies that can be put in place for future overseas deployments by the Canadian Forces.
"For example, building greater resilience in pre-deployment training, early on, so that we can help with some of the challenges that are faced and also other things, post-deployment," Sajjan said.
Randall Garrison, defence critic for the NDP, questions the government's resolve, saying it has already taken far too long to come up with any answers about a continuing crisis.
"You know, in 2013 we had a rash of suicides that first brought this to the public attention and to the minister's attention. Now, here we are, three years later, and no one has done a thing," Garrison said.
One family's hope
The family of one Canadian soldier who took his own life says that if the military wants to improve suicide prevention, it needs to listen to Canadian Forces personnel and their families.
Sheila Fynes's son, Cpl. Stuart Langridge, committed suicide at CFB Edmonton in 2008.
"I think they need to go back to the grassroots to do it. They need to talk more to the men, all the men," Fynes said.
"They need to talk to the families. I really wish somebody would say to me, 'You were with Stu, you talked to Stu, is there anything that we could have done differently that might have had a different outcome for him?'"
Showing posts with label CAF Suicide. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CAF Suicide. Show all posts
Thursday, November 24, 2016
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Ottawa to Track Veteran Suicides
Ever since the Globe and Mail investigation; The Unremembered which conclusively showed that 54 CAF members committed suicide following deployments to Afghanistan, nearly 1/3 of all combat related deaths within Afghanistan - there has been a greater call for Veterans Affairs to take a closer look at Veterans and current serving CAF members following deployments.
The Globe and Mail released today that Ottawa will now regularly track veteran suicides.
Here is the article written by RENATA D’ALIESIO
Veterans Affairs is taking steps to solve a crucial statistical gap by planning to report on suicides of former military members annually starting in late 2017 – a move that will disclose, for the first time, how many vets are taking their lives each year in Canada.
While the coming change is taking too long for some veterans advocates, it will mark a milestone when implemented: Suicides of released military members have never been regularly tracked in Canada, even after intense combat missions, such as the Second World War and Korea.
INVESTIGATION
The Unremembered
158 Canadian soldiers died in the Afghanistan mission. But the losses did not end there. A Globe and Mail investigation reveals a disturbing number the military has kept secret: that at least 54 soldiers and vets killed themselves after they returned from war
In a statement Tuesday, Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr said that “better tracking and reporting on suicides will help inform our suicide prevention actions.” He added that the Canadian Forces and Veterans Affairs must continue to address the stigma of mental health and encourage those in need to seek treatment.
“Even one soldier, sailor, airmen or women suffering from the invisible wounds of a mental health injury or committing suicide, is one too many,” Mr. Hehr said.
The lack of monitoring was one of several failings highlighted in a Globe and Mail investigation of suicides of soldiers who died after serving in the 13-year Afghanistan war. Through an Access to Information request to National Defence and poring over more than a decade’s worth of death notices, The Globe found that at least 48 active-duty soldiers and six veterans had taken their lives after returning from the Afghanistan operation.
The Canadian Forces released an updated number soon after The Globe’s investigation was published in late October, raising the suicide count to at least 59 military members and veterans – more than one-third of the number of soldiers who died in the war. There were 158 Canadian military deaths in theatre during the NATO-led combat operation that began in 2001 and ended last year.
Since The Globe’s series of stories, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has instructed the ministers of Veterans Affairs and National Defence to make a new suicide-prevention strategy a priority. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, a veteran of the Afghanistan war, has directed the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Jonathan Vance, to examine the military’s mental-health services and efforts to reduce suicides.
The Globe’s series also drew attention to the fact that soldiers who died by suicide after returning from Afghanistan are not recognized in the same way as those who perished in the mission, even when their suicides were deemed attributable to military service. On Remembrance Day, Mr. Hehr, who is also associate minister of national defence, told The Globe he wants to ensure these soldiers and vets are commemorated.
The minister is meeting with representatives of about 30 stakeholder groups in Ottawa on Wednesday. The groups have been asked to provide him with feedback on priorities outlined in Mr. Trudeau’s mandate letter.
Gen. Vance applauded the department’s plans to improve the monitoring of former military members. In a statement, he said: “I remain committed to ensuring the well-being of all members of the Canadian Armed Forces, whether they are currently serving or veterans.”
Veterans advocates have long vented frustration at Canada’s lack of suicide tracking of former soldiers. The Canadian Forces keeps tabs on the number of active-duty military members who kill themselves, although its data on reservists are incomplete. A recent report released by the military’s surgeon-general revealed that suicides have increased in the army in recent years and the impact of overseas deployment may be emerging as a risk factor.
Canada’s only comprehensive look at veterans’ suicides showed that former members make up the lion’s share of military suicides in Canada. The Canadian Forces Cancer and Mortality Study, released in 2011, was done in partnership with Statistics Canada, National Defence and Veterans Affairs. It revealed that 78 per cent of 934 military suicides documented from 1972 to the end of 2006 involved vets. Male veterans were 1.5 times more likely to die by suicide than Canadian men of the same age – an increased risk that translated into 231 more vet deaths than expected.
David Pedlar, director of research for Veterans Affairs, said the department will be watching to see if vet suicides remain elevated. Officially known as the Veteran Suicide Mortality Study, the examination will involve linking National Defence data – which includes whether a member was released from the military – with Statistics Canada’s database of deaths from all provinces and territories. (Names of military members will be removed after the data are linked.)
Dr. Pedlar, who is leading the project that began late last year, said the methodology is still being ironed out. At the moment, it’s unclear how far back the first annual suicide report will go. Initial analysis will not include deployment history, Dr. Pedlar said, but both vets who were clients of Veterans Affairs and those who were not will be captured in the study.
“Right now the focus is on being able to get a high-quality suicide number and rate for release to Canadians on an annual basis,” Dr. Pedlar said. The study, he added, will give “us trends over time, which is something we don’t have right now. … That will be important information for us.”
The study has taken a lot of time to put together because it involves two departments and a federal agency, Dr. Pedlar said. Data quality has been an issue, too. The 2011 study that showed an increased suicide risk among veterans relied on National Defence human-resources information that did not accurately capture deployment history, said Elizabeth Rolland-Harris, a senior epidemiologist with the military’s directorate of force health protection.
“It was clear that we needed to find better data,” she said in an interview at a military health-research conference in Quebec City last week.
Dr. Rolland-Harris is leading the second run of the Canadian Forces Cancer and Mortality Study, which will produce a separate report from the veteran suicide study. She said the new examination will use member pay data, which is more reliable, and include those who enrolled in the military between January, 1976, and mid-2015.
The pay data will allow researchers to look at deployment and occupational history and to include Class C reservists who served full-time at some point during the nearly 40-year period. Class C designations are applied when reservists deploy to missions such as Afghanistan. Reservists were excluded in the 2011 study.
Initial results from the new cancer and mortality study are expected in 2017. Dr. Rolland-Harris said the examination will be one of the most comprehensive military suicide studies ever done in the world.
Still, former veterans ombudsman Pat Stogran is frustrated that the public will have to wait another two years to get a clearer picture on how many vets are taking their lives annually. He believes regular tracking of vet suicides could already be happening, if there had been a will to do so.
“This is a demographic that the federal government has complete control over,” said Mr. Stogran, a retired colonel. “We got to start demanding transparency and accountability and value for money.”
Follow Renata D’Aliesio on Twitter: @renatadaliesio
The Globe and Mail released today that Ottawa will now regularly track veteran suicides.
Here is the article written by RENATA D’ALIESIO
Veterans Affairs is taking steps to solve a crucial statistical gap by planning to report on suicides of former military members annually starting in late 2017 – a move that will disclose, for the first time, how many vets are taking their lives each year in Canada.
While the coming change is taking too long for some veterans advocates, it will mark a milestone when implemented: Suicides of released military members have never been regularly tracked in Canada, even after intense combat missions, such as the Second World War and Korea.
INVESTIGATION
The Unremembered
158 Canadian soldiers died in the Afghanistan mission. But the losses did not end there. A Globe and Mail investigation reveals a disturbing number the military has kept secret: that at least 54 soldiers and vets killed themselves after they returned from war
In a statement Tuesday, Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr said that “better tracking and reporting on suicides will help inform our suicide prevention actions.” He added that the Canadian Forces and Veterans Affairs must continue to address the stigma of mental health and encourage those in need to seek treatment.
“Even one soldier, sailor, airmen or women suffering from the invisible wounds of a mental health injury or committing suicide, is one too many,” Mr. Hehr said.
The lack of monitoring was one of several failings highlighted in a Globe and Mail investigation of suicides of soldiers who died after serving in the 13-year Afghanistan war. Through an Access to Information request to National Defence and poring over more than a decade’s worth of death notices, The Globe found that at least 48 active-duty soldiers and six veterans had taken their lives after returning from the Afghanistan operation.
The Canadian Forces released an updated number soon after The Globe’s investigation was published in late October, raising the suicide count to at least 59 military members and veterans – more than one-third of the number of soldiers who died in the war. There were 158 Canadian military deaths in theatre during the NATO-led combat operation that began in 2001 and ended last year.
Since The Globe’s series of stories, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has instructed the ministers of Veterans Affairs and National Defence to make a new suicide-prevention strategy a priority. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, a veteran of the Afghanistan war, has directed the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Jonathan Vance, to examine the military’s mental-health services and efforts to reduce suicides.
The Globe’s series also drew attention to the fact that soldiers who died by suicide after returning from Afghanistan are not recognized in the same way as those who perished in the mission, even when their suicides were deemed attributable to military service. On Remembrance Day, Mr. Hehr, who is also associate minister of national defence, told The Globe he wants to ensure these soldiers and vets are commemorated.
The minister is meeting with representatives of about 30 stakeholder groups in Ottawa on Wednesday. The groups have been asked to provide him with feedback on priorities outlined in Mr. Trudeau’s mandate letter.
Gen. Vance applauded the department’s plans to improve the monitoring of former military members. In a statement, he said: “I remain committed to ensuring the well-being of all members of the Canadian Armed Forces, whether they are currently serving or veterans.”
Veterans advocates have long vented frustration at Canada’s lack of suicide tracking of former soldiers. The Canadian Forces keeps tabs on the number of active-duty military members who kill themselves, although its data on reservists are incomplete. A recent report released by the military’s surgeon-general revealed that suicides have increased in the army in recent years and the impact of overseas deployment may be emerging as a risk factor.
Canada’s only comprehensive look at veterans’ suicides showed that former members make up the lion’s share of military suicides in Canada. The Canadian Forces Cancer and Mortality Study, released in 2011, was done in partnership with Statistics Canada, National Defence and Veterans Affairs. It revealed that 78 per cent of 934 military suicides documented from 1972 to the end of 2006 involved vets. Male veterans were 1.5 times more likely to die by suicide than Canadian men of the same age – an increased risk that translated into 231 more vet deaths than expected.
David Pedlar, director of research for Veterans Affairs, said the department will be watching to see if vet suicides remain elevated. Officially known as the Veteran Suicide Mortality Study, the examination will involve linking National Defence data – which includes whether a member was released from the military – with Statistics Canada’s database of deaths from all provinces and territories. (Names of military members will be removed after the data are linked.)
Dr. Pedlar, who is leading the project that began late last year, said the methodology is still being ironed out. At the moment, it’s unclear how far back the first annual suicide report will go. Initial analysis will not include deployment history, Dr. Pedlar said, but both vets who were clients of Veterans Affairs and those who were not will be captured in the study.
“Right now the focus is on being able to get a high-quality suicide number and rate for release to Canadians on an annual basis,” Dr. Pedlar said. The study, he added, will give “us trends over time, which is something we don’t have right now. … That will be important information for us.”
The study has taken a lot of time to put together because it involves two departments and a federal agency, Dr. Pedlar said. Data quality has been an issue, too. The 2011 study that showed an increased suicide risk among veterans relied on National Defence human-resources information that did not accurately capture deployment history, said Elizabeth Rolland-Harris, a senior epidemiologist with the military’s directorate of force health protection.
“It was clear that we needed to find better data,” she said in an interview at a military health-research conference in Quebec City last week.
Dr. Rolland-Harris is leading the second run of the Canadian Forces Cancer and Mortality Study, which will produce a separate report from the veteran suicide study. She said the new examination will use member pay data, which is more reliable, and include those who enrolled in the military between January, 1976, and mid-2015.
The pay data will allow researchers to look at deployment and occupational history and to include Class C reservists who served full-time at some point during the nearly 40-year period. Class C designations are applied when reservists deploy to missions such as Afghanistan. Reservists were excluded in the 2011 study.
Initial results from the new cancer and mortality study are expected in 2017. Dr. Rolland-Harris said the examination will be one of the most comprehensive military suicide studies ever done in the world.
Still, former veterans ombudsman Pat Stogran is frustrated that the public will have to wait another two years to get a clearer picture on how many vets are taking their lives annually. He believes regular tracking of vet suicides could already be happening, if there had been a will to do so.
“This is a demographic that the federal government has complete control over,” said Mr. Stogran, a retired colonel. “We got to start demanding transparency and accountability and value for money.”
Follow Renata D’Aliesio on Twitter: @renatadaliesio
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