VFW Applauds White House Efforts to Stop Military Suicide

The national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S., the nation’s largest organization of combat veterans, applauded the president’s signing of an executive order this morning designed to curb military and veteran suicide and improve the delivery of mental health resources to our nation’s heroes.

“Today, more American service members die by their own hands than at the hands of our enemies, which is why the VFW is proud to see our commander-in-chief taking action to address this national crisis,” said VFW National Commander John E. Hamilton. “Long, repeat deployments through more than a decade of war have taken an immeasurable toll on our nation’s newest generation of heroes. We have an obligation to care for these brave men and women when they return from the front lines, and we think this executive order will be a critical step in fulfilling that obligation.”

The executive order, “Improving Access to Mental Health Services for Veterans, Service Members and Military Families,” which President Obama announced during a visit to Fort Bliss in Texas, includes nearly a dozen specific initiatives designed to improve mental health resources and intervention tools.

Among the initiatives included in the executive order, VA and its partner agencies are directed to increase the capacity of the veteran crisis line, 1-800-273-8255; leverage training initiatives to hire 800 peer-to-peer counselors and 1,600 mental health professionals by June 2013; ensure veterans in crisis receive care within 24 hours; develop a National Research Action Plan across federal agencies to improve early intervention for those suffering from invisible wounds; and create an Interagency Task Force reporting directly to the White House on strategies to improve outreach and intervention for veterans, service members, and their families.

The VFW fully supports the president’s vision to prevent military suicides and improve mental health care delivery, but Hamilton also expressed concerns about potential funding shortfalls to accomplish the president’s goals.

“We hope that as VA and the Pentagon work with their partner agencies to deliver on these initiatives, that a comprehensive plan is in place to fund it without negatively affecting the continuum of care that our veterans rely on,” said Hamilton, who received three Purple Hearts for wounds sustained as a Marine Corps rifleman in Vietnam. “This morning the president pledged to help the brave military men and women who continue to suffer in silence, and the VFW stands ready to assist the Administration in delivering on this pledge.”

To read the executive order, click here.

VFW Hears From Marine Commandant

The VFW Washington Office attended a luncheon yesterday afternoon at the National Press Club to hear Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos speak on a number of issues important to the Corps. Leading the list was the continuing success of combat operations in Afghanistan and the transfer of responsibilities over to Afghan national security forces, as well as the ongoing concern over recent "green on blue" attacks.

To view C-SPAN’s coverage of the luncheon in its entirety, click here.

Twelve American service members have been killed by members of the Afghan National Army in the last month alone. Amos said that on a recent trip to Afghanistan, he spoke about the incidents with his field commanders and his Afghan military counterparts.

Both American and Afghan commanders acknowledged to Amos that as the ranks of the Afghan National Army grew, so did incidents of “green on blue” attacks. However, the Marine commanders responsible for those serving alongside Afghan troops reassured Amos that despite the incidents, they continued to have confidence in the capabilities of their fledgling Afghan allies.

Following his remarks, Amos fielded questions from the audience on a variety of military quality-of-life and force readiness issues ranging from fiscal responsibility and budget constraints on the Marines Corps, to women serving in combat, suicide, and sexual assault.

When asked about potential across-the-board cuts to the Defense budget, Amos said he believed the Marine Corps would be hit disproportionately hard, considering the size of the force and the value it delivers to the U.S. military. Amos also said that the greatest challenge for the Corps moving forward would be ensuring the force remains balanced through a period of fiscal austerity.

When discussing women serving in combat roles, Amos clarified that the Marine Corps’ plans to integrate certain military occupations, but unit leaders must set the conditions allowing women to meet the Marine Corps standards, and that any planned integration demanded facts; rather than “hyperbole, intuition and instinct.”

Amos also took the time to address the issue of military suicide, pointing out that Marine Corps initiatives implemented by non-commissioned officers at the ground level had a positive impact, but more work needed to be done.

Amos is the 35th Commandant of Marines and the first aviator to hold the post. He commanded the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing in Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2003-2004, and served as Assistant Commandant prior to becoming Commandant in October 2010.

(Image: Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos speaks at the National Press Club during yesterday's luncheon. Photo by Ryan Gallucci.)

VFW Joins Defense and VA Officials to Discuss Suicide Prevention

This week, the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs hosted their joint annual suicide prevention conference in Washington, D.C. VFW Senior Legislative Associate Shane Barker was on hand for a number of presentations, including this afternoon's intriguing remarks about post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

“Secretary Panetta reinforced many of the hallmarks of our public message” said Barker, who handles military health policy issues for the VFW Washington office. "To the VFW, the alarming suicide rates we've seen among today's veterans indicate that we still haven't done enough to properly identify and treat invisible wounds. It will take a concerted effort on the part of the military, VA, Congress, and veterans' advocates to sufficiently address this issue, and we are encouraged to see so many agencies coming together to discuss this issue."

Panetta discussed his four pillars for addressing the mental health challenges our military personnel and veterans endure: Improving leadership, ensuring access to quality treatment; achieving parity between mental and physical health in all aspects of military culture, and emphasizing research into the brain within DoD.

“Secretary Panetta referred to PTSD as ‘the signature unseen wound’ of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Barker. “This is an important distinction, as it brings into focus the importance of actively going out and identifying mental health challenges within the ranks without minimizing the need to address the multitudes of other very serious injuries in these conflicts, such as traumatic eye injury, traumatic brain injury, and serious hearing loss.”

Secretary Panetta and others stressed the importance of working more closely with VA, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the private sector.

Your VFW will continue to watch the changing approach to mental health services very closely to ensure improved services and outcomes for all military personnel and veterans. In the meantime, If you are a veteran in crisis, help is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week though the Veterans Crisis Line. Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) and press “1” to speak to someone now. You can also log on to www.veteranscrisisline.net for confidential chat or text a message to 838255.