Understanding the Enemy Within: Suicide in the Army

Abstract

The Army has failed to curb the issue of suicide within its formations, despite a renewed focus on the topic and increased emphasis by senior leaders. The goal of this monograph is to explore the environment surrounding suicide to identify potential reasons for this failing. Numerous revisions of the Army's suicide prevention programs have had limited impact on the rate of suicide and understanding the issues around suicide in the Army could help understand why these programs have not succeeded. The information used throughout this monograph is based on existing data and analysis of great research as well as experience with suicides in the Army and numerous suicide prevention boards and working groups. With a new review of the available data through the lens of personal experience, the intent is to determine if there is a disconnect between suicide and suicide prevention. As the suicide rates in the Army continue to rise the Army must strive to develop a better understanding of the problem and how to address it.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 23, 2021
Accession Number
AD1161087

Entities

People

  • William Hurt

Organizations

  • School of Advanced Military Studies

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Active Duty
  • Civilian Population
  • Combat Operations
  • Combat Readiness
  • Demography
  • Department Of Defense
  • Families (Human)
  • Governments
  • Information Science
  • Medical Personnel
  • Mental Health
  • Military History
  • Military Personnel
  • Military Science
  • Military Training
  • National Security
  • Psychology
  • Public Health
  • Statistics
  • Training
  • United States
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Medicine
  • Psychology

Readers

  • Military Leadership and Professional Education.
  • Psychological Intervention/Treatment for Stress, Anxiety, PTSD, and Related Emotional and Cognitive Health Symptoms.
  • Strategic Security Studies