{"id":52696,"date":"2021-11-17T22:10:49","date_gmt":"2021-11-17T22:10:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/11\/17\/preventing-suicides-in-military-and-veteran-communities\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T09:05:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T09:05:09","slug":"preventing-suicides-in-military-and-veteran-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/11\/17\/preventing-suicides-in-military-and-veteran-communities\/","title":{"rendered":"Preventing suicides in military and veteran communities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When Marine Sgt. Christopher McDonald was injured, he was prescribed opioids, but when he had mental health issues, he was not treated, said his friend, retired Staff Sgt. Johnny Jones at a House oversight subcommittee hearing Wednesday<\/a>. McDonald died by suicide in 2012.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChris was four years removed from a combat deployment, where he suffered both physical and mental injuries. He was prescribed \u2026 hydrocodone for a hip injury he suffered in Iraq in 2008, but received no treatment for his mental trauma,\u201d said Jones, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Wednesday\u2019s National Security Subcommittee of the House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing was to address military and veteran suicide prevention and how to support military families after the loss of a loved one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report<\/a> in 2021, on average more than 6,300 veterans have died by suicide every year from 2001 to 2019. The report also says veterans aged 55 to 74, the largest population group, made up 38.6 percent of veteran suicide deaths in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jones said McDonald became addicted to opioids in the months before his suicide and later asked for help from his family and friends. Jones said the Department of Veterans Affairs did not offer significant help because McDonald\u2019s case was not severe enough for inpatient rehabilitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUltimately, he decided taking his own life was the only way to ensure he no longer hurt or let down those he loved,\u201d Jones said. \u201cWe can\u2019t stand by and allow those who serve to think this is the only option.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Stephen F. Lynch, D-Mass., said the VA has employed evidence-based clinical intervention strategies to prevent suicides and has encouraged partnerships with mental health organizations, while the Department of Defense has designed programs to better identify suicide warning signs on social media and has promoted the safe handling of firearms and other lethal means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The White House released a fact sheet<\/a> on Nov. 2 that lists strategies to reduce military and veteran suicide, which include educating veterans and their families on reducing access to lethal weapons or drugs, improving access to effective care, addressing risk factors that might lead to suicide and sharing data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe strategy outlines a government-wide, cross-section, and data-based approach to addressing the public health and national security crisis,\u201d Lynch said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t