Suicides at JBLM for 2020 so far match last year’s total, records show. What’s to blame?
As of Sept. 3, 2020, Joint Base Lewis-McChord had registered nine suicides, the same number it recorded in all of 2019, according to data obtained by McClatchy.
Maj. Connie Thomas, division psychiatrist for the 7th infantry division, based on JBLM, said she couldn’t speak to the base-wide data but said she’s focused on getting platoon-level leadership the skills it needs to help soldiers. Part of that effort includes training leaders to identify behaviors that might indicate a soldier is struggling.
“We want our leaders to stay ‘left of the boom,’ which just means getting ahead of and preventing negative outcomes,” Thomas said. “We have support resources like the embedded behavioral health clinics and financial resources, but we just have to know where the soldiers are and how we can elevate their issues to the right people.”
Soldiers say they need more time to get to know their leadership and more time to seek the help they need, according to Thomas. One solution 7th ID is using is Foundational Readiness Day.
Once a month, units take a day off from regularly scheduled training to focus on group morale, physical fitness and counseling. The day is designed around a monthly theme. October’s is suicide prevention.
“By creating space on the calendar and having that as a priority it shows our units that we want to put their needs first,” Thomas said.
Earlier this month, the Department of Defense released its military-wide suicide report for 2019 and data for the first two quarters of 2020.
Across active-duty, National Guard and reserve forces, 501 service members died by suicide in 2019 — the lowest number since 2016.
During the second quarter of 2020 — between April and June when COVID-19 restrictions were at their strongest — 121 service members killed themselves. Compared to the second quarter of 2019 — when 105 service members died by suicide — the data reinforces concerns at the Defense Department about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the well-being of service members and their families.
During the annual Association of the U.S. Army event Tuesday, Gen. James McConville, the Army’s chief of staff, said while some scientists say they cannot find a connection between suicide and the coronavirus, he thinks it’s having an effect because it disconnects people.
At JBLM, it is up to unit leaders and the base’s chaplains to help soldiers through difficult times.
“Every soldier’s situation is unique, but we need leaders who are receptive and approachable so they can help figure out what our soldiers need,” said 7th Infantry Division Command Sgt. Maj. Robin Bomer. “The leadership’s responsibility is to try to relieve the soldier’s problems, so they can focus on the task at hand. We’re not perfect, but we’re doing pretty well in that regard.”
Bomer said that relief might come in the form of financial assistance, family counseling or behavioral health.
First Corps unit ministry teams used their October readiness day to train in a new kind of suicide prevention. The traditional Army suicide prevention training focuses on intervention. Instead, the chaplains used a “value of life” training model that emphasizes self-care and a soldier’s responsibility to value their own life.
Twenty JBLM ministry teams participated in a “Ruck March for Life,” where they carried bags of sand for three miles — adding 30 pounds for each mile.
Service members and veterans in crisis can call the Veterans Crisis Line at 800-273-8255 or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.
