Air Force Surgeon General speaks to House sub-committee about suicide prevention

Published Oct. 16, 2015
By Kevin M. Hymel
Air Force Surgeon General Public Affairs

FALLS CHURCH, Va. -- "Last year 62 Active Duty Airmen took their lives, a rate of 19 per 100,000,” Air Force Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Mark Ediger told the House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee of Military Personnel on October 8, at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C.

The subcommittee met to hear testimony on the efforts by the Department of Defense and the military services to prevent suicide by service members, family members and civilian employees.

"We are committed to prevention across the total force,” Ediger said.

Gen. Ediger appeared before the subcommittee along with Dr. Keita Franklin, the Director of The Suicide Prevention Office for the Office of the Secretary of Defense; Army Lt. Gen. James C. McConville, the Deputy Chief of Staff, G1; Navy Rear Admiral Ann M. Burkhardt, the director of the 21st Century Sailor Office; and Marine Maj. Gen. Burke Whitman, the Director of Marine and Family Programs. All explained their efforts on suicide prevention.

In his opening statement to the subcommittee, General Ediger listed several Air Force initiatives to prevent suicide:

Providing “Live” small group discussion instead of computer-based training for suicide prevention;
Developing specific vignettes and discussion guides to address different Active Duty, reserve component and DoD civilian employee demographics and circumstances.
Requiring annual refresher courses for frontline supervisors in career fields with the highest incident of suicide;
Updating the Airman’s Guide to Assisting Personnel in Distress, a web-based tool to help commanders and other leaders on effective intervention for an array of challenging problems;
Releasing the Air Force Family Members’ Guide to Suicide Prevention;
Training more than 200 key spouses this year as Resilience Training Assistants; and
Continued screening of Airmen for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Citing that improvement “rarely happens in a silo,” General Ediger explained that the Air Force is actively engaged with the Defense Suicide Prevention Office to help shape suicide prevention efforts across the DoD. He also highlighted a recent Air Force Suicide Prevention Summit, which included representatives from the DoD, sister services, CDC/NIMH and academia as well as a wide cross section of AF leaders subject matter experts and key stakeholders. The Summit’s purpose was to reduce AF suicides by generating innovative solutions to optimize prevention efforts.

Responding to a question about the relationship between combat and suicides from Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO), General Ediger explained, “We actually found suicide rates among Airmen who have deployed is low.”

According to Air Force Surgeon General surveys, a history of combat exposure was only noted for 1.7 percent of all Air Force suicides in 2014 and less than 5 percent in the previous year. While deployments may increase some types of stressors, there is no clear association between history of deployment and/or combat exposure and suicide risk in AF members.

In terms of means, and generally consistent with US civilian data, deaths by firearms accounted for 70 percent of AF deaths in 2014.

General Ediger may have put it best when he explained to the committee: “We have a responsibility to help our youngest members of the military,” adding, “We need to do a better job of connecting them with help.”

For more resources on how to support military members and veterans in crisis, visit veterancrisisline.net or the Air Force Suicide Prevention website at http://www.airforcemedicine.mil/SuicidePrevention. Service members and veterans who need help can call the Military Crisis Link and speak to a counselor by dialing 800-273-TALK and pressing 1.

If overseas, you can get help by calling:

In Europe: 00800 1273 8255 or DSN 118*
In Korea: 0808 55 118 or DSN 118
In Afghanistan: 00 1 800 273 8255 or DSN 111

“Last year 62 Active Duty Airmen took their lives, a rate of 19 per 100,000,” Air Force Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Mark Ediger told the House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee of Military Personnel on October 8, at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C.

The subcommittee met to hear testimony on the efforts by the Department of Defense and the military services to prevent suicide by service members, family members and civilian employees.

"We are committed to prevention across the total force,” Ediger said.

Gen. Ediger appeared before the subcommittee along with Dr. Keita Franklin, the Director of The Suicide Prevention Office for the Office of the Secretary of Defense; Army Lt. Gen. James C. McConville, the Deputy Chief of Staff, G1; Navy Rear Admiral Ann M. Burkhardt, the director of the 21st Century Sailor Office; and Marine Maj. Gen. Burke Whitman, the Director of Marine and Family Programs. All explained their efforts on suicide prevention.

In his opening statement to the subcommittee, General Ediger listed several Air Force initiatives to prevent suicide: