An article in the Great Falls Tribune this week caught my attention.  By Tom Spoth of the Air Force Times, the piece reported that the suicide rate among Air Force personnel had risen 37% since 2007.   The Air Force has had 11 suicides so far this year, just through the middle of March.  

Some people don’t give our airmen enough credit.  They assume that Air Force personnel are not on the frontlines, don’t see combat up close and aren’t in any real danger, even when deployed to war zones.  Some people don’t understand why airmen are suffering from combat stress, and depression.  

Multiple deployments are a significant factor in the mental health issues that service men and women from all branches of the military are facing.  Many have been through three or four deployments to the Middle East and some as many as five times.  With every additional tour of combat duty these service members face, their risk of being killed or wounded increases dramatically.  So does their risk of PTSD, drug and alcohol abuse and suicide. 

Reservists also face a unique challenge that isn’t talked about.  Yes, these men and women signed up to serve their country in time of war, but this has been one of the most extended foreign conflicts in American history.  Most of them never expected that this level of sacrifice would be asked of them. These are people with careers, mortgage payments, and families left behind. The constant disruption of their lives and the absence from their families for multiple, extended periods takes its toll, emotionally and psychologically. 

Another factor that Air Force personnel face in Iraq and Afghanistan is that you don’t have to be a rifleman to be in danger.   Military service members in the war zones are at risk just traveling from one place to another.  IEDs, suicide bombers, rocket propelled grenades and mortars can find them anywhere in Iraq.  And most airmen don’t travel as heavily armed as soldiers and Marines.  

Last year, I spoke at the Air Force Reserve Annual Retreat Conference on Deployment and the Lessons Learned for the Future.  I was asked to be Keynote Speaker on Compassion Fatigue (or secondary Post-Traumatic Stress) for the entire group, for 500 plus who were involved with the treatment and evacuation of casualties on both war fronts. Many military caregivers like these, including doctors, nurses, and therapist, are exposed to trauma situations that can lead to Compassion Fatigue, the symptoms of which are very similar to PTSD, including suicidal behavior. 

The Air Force suicide prevention program is one of the best in the military. For 15 years they have had a model of education, intervention and therapy that significantly reduced the rate of suicide in the Air Force ranks.   This recent rash of suicides is very concerning, and, I believe, is directly related to extended, multiple combat deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Read the entire article in the Great Falls Tribune.