[Vision2020] [CLEANED UP and RESENT] 17 Vets a Month Commit Suicide Under VA Care

[Tom Hansen]

This is only the tip of the proverbial 
iceberg.  Most of this information is being 
virtually swept under the rug and 
ignored.  Why?  Because the truth would adversely 
impact an administration that needs, so 
desperately, for the American people to believe 
that the war in Iraq is progressing nicely.

I have been following this topic ever since a 
V2020 subscriber explained to me that a member of 
the Second Stryker Brigade out of Fort Wainright, 
Alaska committed suicide while on duty in 
Baghdad, yet that death was not included among 
the numbers of those casualties identified by the 
Department of Defense as victims of war.

 From the Army Times -

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17 vets a month commit suicide under VA care

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer

After learning that more than 17 veterans per 
month commit suicide while under the care of the 
Veterans Affairs Department, senators accused VA 
of withholding information about suicide rates 
and demanded the removal of its mental health chief.

“The culture of the VA has to change,” said Sen. 
Patty Murray, D-Wash., after a Senate Veterans’ 
Affairs Committee hearing Wednesday.

To restore credibility, she said VA must take 
responsibility and dismiss Dr. Ira Katz, deputy 
chief patient care services officer for mental health.

“He clearly knew information and was holding it 
from us here in Congress,” Murray said.

Deputy VA Secretary Gordon Mansfield said he 
shared Murray’s concerns, but stopped short of taking responsibility for them.

“I apologize for the implications here,” he said, 
adding that he does not believe VA is engaged in 
a concerted campaign to withhold information.

Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, chairman of the 
committee, backed the call for Katz’s resignation.

The accusations began flying Monday after a 
lawsuit brought to light a series of e-mails 
about high suicide numbers from Katz.

Murray quoted Katz writing in one e-mail:

“Shh! Our suicide prevention coordinators are 
identifying about 1,000 suicide attempts per 
month among veterans in our medical facilities.”

Murray asked if VA should try to address the 
numbers in “some sort of release before someone stumbles on it.”

Katz had just appeared before Congress April 3 
and did not mention any problem like that.

Akaka said he was concerned about a potential 
“suicide epidemic” within the Defense Department and VA.

“We know information about suicides is being suppressed,” he said.

David Chu, undersecretary for personnel and 
readiness, said the military numbers have been 
fairly consistent. Although the number of 
suicides in the Army has gone up over the past 
year, the “good news” is that the rate is still below the national average.

However, several critics have called into 
question the value of comparing a generally young 
military force that has been screened for mental 
health ­ as well as general health ­ to the general population.

Mansfield said the number of veterans who commit 
suicide under VA care rose from 1,403 in 2001 to 1,784 in 2005.

He did not give recent figures. Although he said 
he is not the “expert on numbers ... I don’t know 
that I would call it an epidemic.”

He also said the numbers would be expected to rise slightly in wartime.

But some senators said they see a need for a better response.

“I don’t think there’s any attempt to 
intentionally not share information,” said Sen. 
Richard Burr, R-N.C. But he noted the importance 
of getting veterans into treatment programs ­ 
especially after a Rand report released last week 
estimated that 300,000 veterans have 
post-traumatic stress disorder or severe depression.

Murray, who clenched her jaw and seemed to shake 
with anger during the discussion, said she is 
tired of spending “every day for five-and-a-half 
years” trying to drag information out of VA.

She said a study showed 6,250 veterans killed 
themselves in 2005 ­ and in his e-mails, Katz 
“not only backed up those numbers, but said they were much higher.”

“I’m very upset,” Murray said. “In VA, everyone 
knew it was higher and there are e-mails showing 
us that. How do we trust what you’re saying ... 
if what you’re saying publicly is different from 
what you’ve said privately? How do we trust what you’re saying today?”

The officials were on the Hill to testify about 
simplifying the transfer of medical files between 
VA and the Defense Department.

Chu said they hoped to have most documents 
viewable ­ though not available in an interactive way ­ by September.

But the senators focused much of their time on 
the suicide issue in light of the newly discovered e-mails.

“The whole culture is repressing information,” 
Murray told the witnesses. “We are not your enemy. We are your support system.”

She said Congress can’t help VA with funding or 
legislation if it doesn’t get good information.

Mansfield said he would do all he can to get 
correct information to the senators.

“In the end, [lying] bites you every time,” said Rep. Jon Tester, D-Mont.

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Pro patria,

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst 
of emotion but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime."

-- Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr.