Army Forced Suicidal Soldiers To Wear Orange Vests That Advertised Their Depression

babylonsister

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Mon May-18-09 05:26 PM
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Army Forced Suicidal Soldiers To Wear Orange Vests That Advertised Their Depression

Jeebus. How about an honorable discharge and some psychiatric help? This is beyond the ken. And the fact that this general, vice chief of staff, was unaware of the practice?

Suicidal Soldiers

by Elspeth Reeve

The U.S. Army has changed its policy on treating suicidal soldiers in response to an article on The Daily Beast. Read the Army's comments and Elspeth Reeve's original story below.

UPDATE, MAY 18: On Tuesday, May 11, The Daily Beast ran Elspeth Reeve's article detailing the Army�s humiliating treatment of suicidal soldiers. Among Reeve�s most troubling discoveries was that the Army sometimes forced suicidal soldiers to wear an orange vest that advertised their depression.

In response to the article, the Army has banned the use of the orange vest to single out suicidal soldiers. Under the comments to Reeve�s article, General Pete Chiarelli, the vice chief of staff to the U.S. Army, wrote:

I would like to personally thank Elspeth for writing this post and bringing the issue to our attention. We are committed to caring for our Soldiers and their Families, and her article has helped us do better. I have been working the stigma issue hard since January when I was designated to lead the Army's suicide prevention efforts. Because of Elspeth's posting, we identified a very few leaders who were using orange vests to identify soldiers that might harm themselves.

While the intent of using orange vests was isolated, she was correct in stating that it contributes to the problem of stigma; therefore, it has been stopped. Commanders will identify Soldiers needing help through other, more discreet, methods. To ensure everyone "gets the word", I have communicated this guidance throughout the Army. Reducing the stigma that keeps many Soldiers from asking for help is one of the most important things we can do as we implement measures to reduce suicides.

GEN Pete Chiarelli, Vice Chief of Staff, U.S. Army

ORIGINAL STORY, POSTED MAY 11: It was graduation day at U.S. Army basic training at Georgia's Fort Benning last fall, and families were milling around the post, congratulating the new soldiers on their achievement. At a charge-of-quarters desk (a sort of barracks reception), two privates were signing in and out fellow recruits who had day passes to leave post for celebratory dinners with their families. The two privates weren't able to graduate themselves. Both had been injured, were put on medical retention, and would be recycled through basic training. In the evening, after hours of watching their buddies prep for graduation, one private told the other, "I've had enough of this shit," and went up to his room. At around 8 p.m., the second recruit went up to the private's room to get him to come back to the desk and help sign in people due back the next hour. The room was empty, but a light was on in the bathroom. It was there that the recruit found his buddy dead. He had hanged himself with 550 cord, an all-purpose green string that looks like a shoelace and can hold 550 pounds.

The surviving recruit's superiors were concerned about him. For two weeks, he was put on suicide watch, a common but not entirely standard procedure for at-risk soldiers. "Two battle buddies watch you 24/7," the recruit, who is still in training to become a radio operator, says. "You have to wear a road guard vest�there's no shoelaces, no bedsheets, no belt." On an Army base, where everybody is wearing the same digitized camouflaged uniform�and everybody is trained to spot small differences, like rank and unit, from a distance�just wearing boots held together by rubber bands instead of laces would draw attention. But a road guard vest is bright, construction-zone orange. In a sea of green, you can't miss it.

"You're in an isolated state," the recruit says. The orange vest makes you a pariah. "You've got the reason you're on suicide watch to begin with on top of the fact that you stick out like a sore thumb," he says. "It's like you're walking around in a zoo, and you're the animal."

As of April 10, 56 soldiers had reportedly committed suicide this year�about the same number of American soldiers who have died in Iraq since President Obama was inaugurated. In 2008, the Army suicide rate climbed above that of the civilian population (it has historically been lower because people with certain mental problems are screened out and few military members are over 65�the most at-risk age group for suicide).

more...

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-05-11/suicidal-soldiers/full/