ARLINGTON, Va. - Ending a policy where Citizen-Soldiers were excused monthly drills for 90 days after deployment helped the Army Guard better take care of its troops, the Army's deputy chief of staff for personnel said here Monday.
Lt. Gen. Michael D. Rochelle said the policy was a "very bad idea." He made his remarks to program managers, trainers, gatekeepers and support personnel from across the nation attending three days of suicide prevention training hosted by the Army National Guard's Soldier Family Support and Services Division (SFSS).
"What they thought they were doing was protecting the Soldier from the chain of command," he said. "They did reverse the policy. That was the beginning of us, protecting Soldiers, prevention of crisis."
Rochelle was speaking at the Army National Guard Readiness Center, Arlington Hall, on Monday against a background that Maj. Gen. James W. Nuttall, deputy director of the Army National Guard, characterized: He said suicides in the military now surpass the suicide rate in the general population; the Army has the highest rate in the military - and the Army National Guard has the highest rate of the Army's three components,
"It's critical for us to get our arms around this," Nuttall said.
Soldiers need to have contact with colleagues in their unit, and NCOs and officers in their chain of command need to be able to look them in the eye to keep track of possible personal issues, Rochelle said.
"We all know that a senior or a subordinate needs to look every one of us in the eye within a period of time after redeployment - just do that gut-check [and ask] "˜Is everything going O.K? Is everything all right?' " he said.
Leaders at all levels need to be educated in suicide warning signs, Rochelle said, especially at the company level and below. "Platoon sergeants, squad leaders, team leaders, company commanders and first sergeants are missing the signs," he said.
The training here this week focuses on developing state suicide prevention programs that include prevention, intervention and something presenters call "postvention," meaning responding to the aftermath of a completed or attempted suicide.
Drawing on a study conducted after a wave of suspected suicides at an Army post, Rochelle suggested other improvements:
- More resources: "We don't have enough behavioral help at the brigade level," he said, quoting from the study.
- More counselors: "We can't hire enough Army substance abuse counselors and, specialists to meet the demand," he said.
Suicide is a long-standing challenge, Rochelle said. Another study found that the average age of suicides in the military during World War II was 22; the average age today is 22, he said.
During World War II, "The likelihood increased with time in service," he said. "Responsibilities as they increase with time in service and grade heightens the level of stigma associated with seeking help. That's the same problem we are confronting today."
Making it socially acceptable to get help is the No. 1 priority to reducing suicide, he said. "Our biggest challenge is reducing the stigma," he said. A bright spot: Rochelle said he was encouraged by a visit to Afghanistan where he saw Soldiers openly lining up to talk with a counselor after a mission.
Rochelle and his colleagues studied the facts surrounding 15 confirmed servicemember suicides. Some of what they found defied stereotypes:
- Never deployed: "Sixty percent of the individuals had no deployment history," Rochelle said. "That's causing us to go back and ask some questions about the enlistment history - the behavioral health history - of new, junior-level individuals."
- Relationships: "Relationships were a contributing factor in 75 percent of the, cases," Rochelle said. "That doesn't mean that that was the major contributing factor. It may have been an aggravating factor - but it was a factor."
- Integration: Fifty percent of the cases involved some unit integration or reintegration issues. "We all know how important that is," he said. "In [the continental United States], it's important. It's doubly important for a junior enlisted Soldier forward-deployed."
- Substance abuse: "Fifty percent of the cases involved some substance abuse," he said, noting that prescription medication was a more significant issue than abuse of illegal substances. "And it's most especially alcohol," he said.
That's another case of history repeating itself, Rochelle noted. "There was a high, high correlation of alcohol abuse in the suicides from World War II," he noted. "Very high."
Soldiers need to be able to seek help with alcohol issues without fear, Rochelle said. "This is another area where we're having a challenge reducing stigma," he said.
During his stint as commanding general of U.S. Army Recruiting Command, Rochelle said he lobbied to prevent past Ritalin-use from being a disqualifying factor for recruitment. "There are too many people taking it," he explained.
But past history may become a more important factor in recruitment decisions as the Army drives to slash the suicide rate, he said.
"We are bound and determined to lick this problem," Rochelle said, urging local National Guard leaders to take initiative at the state level because a local success could be picked up as a model by the entire Army.
He said reducing suicides involves three things: "One is removal of the stigma of seeking professional help, the stigma also associated with substance abuse; two, getting our junior level leaders [involved]; and, three, intervening.
"There's a phenomena today, a little bit of reluctance to reach out and touch somebody, to get inside someone's personal space, we have to help our junior-level leaders understand that in this particular dilemma, we have to get inside that space, we have to reach out and touch someone, and we have to be willing to intervene on their behalf in order to prevent the next suicide."
The SFSS is the Army National Guard directorate's newest division, created to improve the quality of life of Citizen-Soldiers and their families by providing services that promote self-sufficiency, resiliency, well-being and prosperity, according to Erin Thede, division chief.