Inhofe can lead push to prevent military suicides
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, has an opportunity to save the lives of veterans and service members who are perilously disconnected and pondering suicide. As the most senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee and a veteran himself, he can provide support for a growing grassroots effort to designate Nov. 21 “National Warrior Call Day.”
The inaugural National Warrior Call Day would mark a coast-to-coast call to action to connect with vets and service members. It asks that all Americans make a call to a warrior, with someone who has worn or is currently wearing the uniform and connect them with support if necessary.
All living former secretaries of Veterans Affairs recently endorsed this effort, underscoring the importance of action. What is driving the push for the annual designation is the troubling fact that as many as two-thirds of the veterans who take their own lives are terribly disconnected and have had no contact with the VA network of services and supports. Researchers have identified social isolation as “arguably the strongest and most reliable predictor of suicidal ideation, (suicide) attempts and lethal suicidal behavior,” according to the VA.
House lawmakers have attached the National Warrior Call Day measure to the House version of the annual defense authorization bill. And Inhofe, with his important work on military and veterans’ issues, can make all the difference in the Senate.
The need for a National Warrior Call Day has never been greater.
The rapid unraveling of Afghanistan has spurred h anguish and frustration among the 700,000 service members who served there. As the Military Times reported last month, “Calls and texts to the Veterans Crisis Line have increased significantly amid the end of U.S. operations in Afghanistan in recent weeks.”
The suicide rate for active-duty troops rose to h 28.7 per 100,000 in 2020, up from 26.3 the previous year, according to a new Defense Department report — the highest rate since the Pentagon began keeping detailed records in 2008.
Veteran suicide has steadily increased since h 2014, though it declined modestly in 2019. Still, more U.S. veterans have died by suicide in the last 10 years than service members who died from combat in Vietnam. And after adjusting for sex and age, the rate of veteran suicide is much higher than the rate among all United States adults.
A large segment of those who are disconnected h and die by suicide may have undiagnosed brain injuries from their service that may present as mental illness but require an entirely different approach.
Veteran suicide is a serious problem in Oklahoma, where the state is suffering among the highest rates in the nation. As a point of comparison, the suicide rate for vets in Oklahoma is 36.9 deaths per 100,000 people, where the national suicide rate for veterans is 31.6 deaths per 100,000. A comparison to civilian death rates is even more stark. The suicide rate among Oklahoma civilians is much lower at 25.7 deaths per 100,000, and the national suicide rate among civilians is lower still at 18 deaths per 100,000 people. The data are all for 2019, the most current year of aggregated data.
Inhofe and his colleagues have an opportunity to make National Warrior Call Day a reality. Greater connection is what is going to turn the tide and save our nation’s bravest in Oklahoma and across the country.
Frank Larkin and Leroy Petry are co-chairs of the Warrior Call initiative. Larkin is a former Navy SEAL, 40th U.S. Senate sergeant at arms and father of a Navy SEAL son who died by suicide. Petry is a 2011 recipient of the Medal of Honor.