Trump's Afghan War: No Mission, No Margin

More U.S. military dead in Afghanistan this year, and more U.S. troops are deploying to the world's most inhospitable place for foreign armies. /AP photo

With the Trump administration sending more U.S. troops to fight in Afghanistan, America's longest war is getting longer.

The commander-in-chief has yet to offer the country an explanation why Americans are dying under his watch during in the latest interminable Afghan war.

Borrowing and inverting a business-world motto that could appeal to President Trump, America's war in Afghanistan is now a "no-mission, no-margin" scenario. In business, even the best-intended enterprises are doomed unless they can turn a buck, generating the marginal income necessary for long-term financial survival. No margin, no mission.

It is impossible to turn a buck--or generate any other gain--if there is no mission to execute at the outset of any enterprise.

What is the U.S. mission in Afghanistan under President Trump?

Trump loves to win. If winning is the mission, then Americans should brace for a long struggle and consider making Afghanistan the 51st state.

Editor's Note: More to come

Journalist death toll rises in 2015

Last year, 69 journalists were killed with the motive linked to the performance of their professional duties. Another 25 journalists lost their lives in killings with unconfirmed motives. /Committee to Protect Journalists

The number of journalists killed in the line of duty ticked upward last year, rising from 61 dead in 2014 to 69 lost.

In 2015, the bravery required to work as a journalist in countries engulfed in war or riddled with corruption is evident in the statistics:

• In the 47 journalist murders last year, no one has been brought to justice in 83% of the cases
• In the murder cases, 60% of journalists were threatened prior to their killings, 21% were taken captive before they were killed, and 15% were tortured
• Politics was by far the most dangerous beat to cover in 2015, accounting for part or all of the motivation behind 68% of journalist killings
• Political groups (52%), military officials (16%) and government officials (12%) were the leading suspects in orchestrating journalist killings

A free press is a bulwark of democracy, and journalists continue to man the front lines in the struggles against tyranny around the world.

Terrorists exploit US gun culture in San Bernardino

On Dec. 2, 2015, a husband-and-wife duo killed 14 people in San Bernardino, Calif. The couple was armed with semi-automatic assault rifles and semi-automatic handguns. /San Bernardino Police Department image

You had to see this coming.

In America, easy access to firearms provides terrorists with an easy pathway to unleashing murderous hails of gunfire in the U.S. homeland.

Wednesday's apparently ISIS-inspired mass shooting in San Bernardino shines light on a glaring terrorism vulnerability in the United States: easy access to semi-automatic firearms.

ISIS, or any other terrorist foe, does not have to invade the U.S. homeland to inflict deadly damage. Whether they are lone wolves, cells or duos, as in the case of the San Bernardino shooters, easy access to semi-automatic firearms makes mass shootings easy for terrorists to execute.

You have to see more of this coming.

Bullwork of democracy never rests

North Korea hacks Sony, November 2014 - January 2015

With the launching of a blatant cyber attack on Sony over the release of "The Interview," Kim Jong-un's regime revealed its greatest weakness: the truth.

North Korea took a significant risk hacking Sony, weighing exposure of the country's cyber warfare capabilities against the threat to Jong-un's cult of personality. The inevitable retaliation from abroad was a built-in bonus for the pariah country's Stalinist government.

ISIS poses grave threat

The aftermath of George W. Bush's war in Iraq was always a matter of how bad the outcome would be for the United States and the Middle East. This is about as bad as it gets.

The most prescient critics of the Iraq War compared the U.S.-led invasion to plunging a fist into a hornets nest. Now, Iraq is a nearly failed state, with a dysfunctional army; Iran is ascendant; and the region is buzzing with violence and reeling under the crushing weight of religious extremism reminiscent of The Crusades.

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, aka Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, is so vicious that even disgraced Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is a palatable partner in the fight to defeat them. Mass executions and immolation of prisoners are never good hallmarks of social movements.

Rudy Giuliani plays with weapon of mass political destruction

It's like the script to an apocalyptic science-fiction movie about a society developing weapons of mass destruction that careen out of control. Republican should be careful what they ask for, they just might get it.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani beat the lowest drum of Republican politics last week, accusing President Obama of lacking love for his country and harboring hostile intent in his heart for America because of his upbringing.

Socialism reality check: Obama has been as friendly to Wall Street as any Republican president. The Hawaii native let the perpetrators of the 2008 financial meltdown skate.

Benghazi, dead diplomats and scoring political points

The April 1983 U.S. Embassy bombing in Beirut, Lebanon, killed 63 people.

Politics can get ugly, but the partisan bluster over Benghazi is revolting.

U.S. embassies and consulates are among the most dangerous places on Earth ... easy and frequent targets for the enemies of America.

U.S. diplomatic missions have been flash points for assassination attempts and bombings for decades. The April 1983 bombing of the U.S. embassy in Beirut is among the deadliest attacks, with 63 killed including 17 Americans. The Beirut embassy bombing was followed in October 1983 by suicide bomber attacks on U.S. Marine and French paratrooper barracks in Beirut, with 241 U.S. troops killed.

For those keeping track of the political points, Ronald Reagan was president in 1983.

In Benghazi, four Americans were killed at the U.S. consulate on Sept. 11, 2012.

It's a tragedy whenever lives are lost.

It's a farce to play politics with casualties at U.S. diplomatic missions.

American troops suffered heavy losses during the 1968 Tet Offensive in Vietnam, including a deadly attack on the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. /Image via historyimages.blogspot.com

U.S. consulate building in Benghazi, Libya, September 2012. /Image via amnesty.org

Al-Qaida-linked Egyptian Islamic Jihad bombed the US. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, in August 1998. About 212 people were killed and more than 4,000 were wounded. /Image via www.newstimeafrica.com

9/11 scam: The death of shame in America

Firefighters help an injured comrade at the World Trade Center in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001. /Image via nationalgeographic.com

One of my best friends has a dire view of modern America: The only way you can get ahead is to do something illegal or unethical.

Is this how the American Dream ends?

More than 100 New York City police officers and firefighters have been accused of gaming the pension system for benefits linked to the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

Have we truly no shame?

Army tackling leadership's role in soldier suicides

Army Spec. Christopher Journeau died by suicide less than six months after his honorable discharge in 2010. He was 23. /Family photo

"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo

In a heartening development in the U.S. Army's efforts to combat suicide in its ranks, steps are being taken to address "toxic" leaders who torment troubled subordinates.

While I found no evidence of toxic leadership playing a role in the 2010 suicide of retired Army Spec. Christopher Journeau, his parents are convinced that callous leadership contributed to his descent into isolation and desperation.

In early 2009, Journeau completed a nine-month deployment to Iraq that included many combat missions in Baghdad. When he returned to the United States, his Stryker unit was sent to Schofield Army Base in Hawaii.

"Apparently, that's when things started surfacing," his mother, Jo-Ann Clark, told me during an interview at her Stratham, N.H., home. "He was having a hard time with coming back."

Before receiving his honorable discharge and coming home to Stratham in January 2010, Journeau was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and was directed to attend counseling sessions. But his commanding officers were unsympathetic, Clark said.

"The chain of command wanted him on duty," she said. "They didn't want him to keep his counseling appointments."

In taking measured steps to examine how officers and other leaders may be contributing to suicides, the Army has made a leap forward in addressing problem. It will not be an easy or quick process, but this kind of self examination shows the Army is recognizing there are complexities involved in every suicide.

VETERANS CRISIS HOTLINE
800-273-TALK (8255)
Press 1 for veterans

Mental health resources for NH and US veterans

FEATURED CONTENT: Military suicide and invisible wounds of war. 

Army Spec. Christopher Journeau died by suicide in June 2010. Post-traumatic stress disorder, isolation and alcohol abuse played major roles in his death. /Family photo

VETERANS CRISIS LINE

800-273-TALK (8255): Press 1 for veterans

Send text message: 838255

Online: veteranscrisisline.net

_____________________________________________________________

MILITARY-AFFILIATED RESOURCES IN N.H.

Manchester VA Medical Center

718 Smyth Road, Manchester, 624-4366

Mental Health Clinic: Karen Brown, ext. 2151; Loren Haberski, ext. 2150

TBI coordinator: Judy Kowalik, ext. 6455

White River Junction VA Medical Center

215 North Main St., White River Junction, Vermont

802-295-9363 or 866-687-8387

Initial Mental Health Patient Intake, ext. 6132

Anne Martis, ext. 5632

VA Vet Centers

Berlin: 515 Main St., Gorham, 752-2571

Keene: 640 Marlboro St., Keene, 358-4950

Manchester: 1461 Hooksett Road, Hooksett, 668-7060

Sanford, Maine: 628 Main St., Springvale, 207-490-1513

Lowell, Mass.: 10 George St., Lowell, 978-453-1151

White River Junction, Vt.: 222 Holiday Drive, White River Junction, 802-295-2908

VA Combat Call Center (24 hours, manned by Vet Center counselors): 877-WARVETS or 877-927-8387

Online: www.vetcenter.va.gov

         

Chris Journeau's high school and Army buddy, MP Kevin Lapointe, served two tours in the Iraq War. At the urging of his wife, Donna, he is receiving treatment and recovering from PTSD and traumatic brain injury. /Don Himsel photo, The Nashua Telegraph

New Hampshire National Guard

1 Minuteman Way, Concord

• Lisa Aldridge, transition adviser, 225-1309, lisa.a.aldridge.ctr@mail.mil
• Susan Brown, director of psychological health, 227-1497
• SFC Dale Garrow, suicide prevention program manager, 227-1450, dale.e.garrow.mil@mail.mil
• Lt. Col. Richard Oberman, deputy state surgeon, 227-1457
• Chaplain Steven Veinotte, 227-1560

Care Coordination Program New Hampshire

Intake coordinator, Jeanine Merrill: 888-989-9924

Warrior Health Clinic/Naval Branch Health Clinic

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine, 207-438-6961

Before he received treatment Lapointe said he had "a never-ending amount of anger" linked to his PTSD and TBI. Now he is able to interact positively with his family. /Don Himsel photo, The Nashua Telegraph

_____________________________________________________________

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE-AFFILIATED COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH CENTERS

Region I: Northern Human Services, Conway, 447-3347
Region II: West Central Behavioral Health, Lebanon, 448-0126

Region III: Genesis Behavioral Health, Laconia, 524-1100

Region IV: Riverbend Community Mental Health Center, Concord, 228-1551

Region V: Monadnock Family Services, Keene, 357-4400

Region VI: Greater Nashua Mental Health Center at CommunityHealth, Nashua, 889-6147

Region VII: Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester,Manchester, 668-4111

Region VIII: Seacoast Mental Health Center, Portsmouth, 431-6703

Region IX: Community Partners, Dover, 749-4015

Region X: Center for Life Management, Derry, 434-1577

_____________________________________________________________

OTHER RESOURCES

Brain Injury Association of New Hampshire

109 North State St., Concord, 225-8400 or 800-773-8400 

Wounded Warriors @45 North

Pittsburg, 566-8450 

Chris Journeau on patrol in Iraq. /Family photo

The media and suicide prevention: An open letter

Jo-Ann and Merrill Clark lost their son, Army Spec. Christopher Journeau, to suicide in 2010. /Rich Beauchesne photo, seacoastonline.com

Open letter:

The media and suicide prevention

When Jo-Ann Clark invited me into her Stratham home in September to share the story of her soldier son, her first words could have come from any mother who lost a child to suicide: "I don't want him forgotten."

I’ll never forget Army Spec. Chris Journeau. His story was a worst-case scenario for veterans who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan with PTSD and TBI.

I’ll also never forget the level of cooperation achieved in the seven-week Portsmouth Herald effort to report on suicide among N.H. veterans. Members of the N.H. suicide prevention community inside and outside the military were active participants in the project. I was handed all of the information needed to write compelling, informative and valuable stories.

One of the top lessons of the Portsmouth Herald project is the need for the media to play a constructive role in suicide prevention. An informed and engaged media could significantly reduce stigma about mental illness and educate the public about suicide prevention.

Amber Alerts transformed the relationship between the media and public safety officials in missing children cases. A similar spirit of partnership between the media and suicide prevention officials would help address this gravely serious mental health challenge.

In the Portsmouth Herald’s military suicide project, the essential elements that fueled cooperation were time and trust. I had the time to speak with many people and learn the complexities involved in suicide. A shared commitment to helping prevent suicide made creation of partnerships based on trust easy to build.

Other lessons and recommendations

• Journalists should be familiar with the media guidelines for reporting on suicide available at www.ReportingOnSuicide.org. The guidelines include a concise “factbox” on suicide prevention including warning signs that should be part of in-depth media reports on suicide.
• The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline contact information (800-273-8255) should be included as a “tagline” at the end of most media reports on suicide. In many media outlets, this kind of information is routinely provided for good causes and as part of crime coverage.
• Media reports should avoid glamorizing, normalizing or sensationalizing a suicide.
• Suicides are the result of a complex set of circumstances. It takes time to unravel the individual strands that snare someone in suicide. Media reports should avoid portraying suicides as linked to a single cause or moment where someone “snapped.”
• Maintaining periodic and constructive coverage of suicide should be part of prevention officials’ outreach and education efforts. Steps include developing media contacts who are experienced in reporting on suicide; providing timely notice of accomplishments, initiatives and new information linked to suicide prevention; and building partnerships with media outlets.

A complex set of circumstances drove Chris Journeau to take his life in June 2010, including PTSD, isolation, the Great Recession and alcohol abuse. /Rich Beauchesne photo, seacoastonline.com

VETERANS CRISIS HOTLINE
800-273-TALK (8255)
Press 1 for veterans

Military suicide: Parting words

Army Spec. Christopher Journeau died by suicide in June 2010. /Family photo

This last pair of perspectives from my recent research on suicide in the military community sheds light on the hidden wounds of war:

Jon "Chief" Worrall served in the military for 28 years. He was a Navy chief petty officer until he mangled his leg in a motorcycle accident, then he returned to the military through the National Guard.

In 2003, Chief was an Army Guard sergeant and 49 years old when he got orders to join the Mountain Infantry and deploy to Iraq.

Chief fought in Iraq for 11 months until an improvised explosive device exploded next to his Humvee. "The impact of a bomb when you're in a vehicle -- it turns things to jelly," he said. "The bomb that hit me was six feet away."

Chief and the other three soldiers in the Humvee survived but they all suffered severe injuries. The Brentwood resident has endured 12 surgeries, most recently a reconstruction of one of his shoulders.

He has also suffered ongoing effects from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. A trip to pick up pizza in town can end up in the next county with no recollection of the take-out mission.

"Losing my noggin was not easy," he said, listing mental health issues including memory loss, dizzy spells and confusion. "You try to make yourself as good as possible -- then you move on."

"...Out on the road, we didn't know who's who. We were out on the road surrounded by cars. We didn't know who was there to help us and who was there to kill us."


Ken Norton is president of National Alliance on Mental Illness-New Hampshire and has adopted safe messaging as one of his suicide prevention missions.

"We don't have a solution for suicide," said the advocate who helped create the New Hampshire Suicide Prevention Council, noting a complex mix of factors are almost always at play.

Norton said the biggest danger in media coverage of suicide is the risk of glamorizing or normalizing suicide. He put a scare in my journalistic nerves when he shared how there were about 200 more U.S. suicides than "normal" in the weeks after Marilyn Monroe's death. I didn't want any part of that kind of media coverage of suicide.

There is no doubt that TBI is a signature injury of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. But Norton shares my concern that facets of the asymmetric warfare fought in those conflicts has put troops at high risk of PTSD as well.

"Unlike previous wars, there is no clear ID'd enemy," he said. "When they were inside the wire, they weren't particularly safe, either."

Norton said serving in Baghdad must have been particularly unnerving: "They're in the middle of a civilian community and they don't know who the threat is."

And America's technological advantage was not always a strength. "In many ways, instant communication can be a curse," he said. "Earlier, communications took days, mostly by mail. Now people talk on Skype or Facebook just hours off a mission. Home life can seem close by, but they're really not a part of it."

"...Cell phones and Facebook can get word out fast," Norton said. "Family members know when someone in the unit has been harmed."

In states such as New Hampshire, where 10 percent of the adult population has served in the military, he said there needs to be a broad approach to mental health services for veterans. "Public and private agencies need to get involved in supporting military members," Norton said. "Veterans need to be able to access community resources."

The Veterans Crisis Line is a key resource for those who have served in the military, he said. The National Suicide Prevention Hotline (800-273-8255) is composed of 150 call centers nationwide. By pressing 1, calls are sent to a facility in New York with staff trained to work with veterans and their family members.

"The Veterans Crisis Line has saved a lot of lives," Norton said.

He stressed that 90 percent of people who attempt suicide do not die by suicide.

"They really didn't want to die. They just wanted the pain they were living with to stop," Norton said. "The reality is most people really don't want to die. If people were just as concerned about the effects of suicide as heart attacks, we could save more lives."

VETERANS CRISIS HOTLINE
800-273-TALK (8255)
Press 1 for veterans

Saving the lives of troubled veterans

Army Spec. Christopher Journeau takes a break during a patrol in Baghdad. Journeau came back from Iraq with post-traumatic stress disorder and died by suicide in 2010. /Family photo

"I'm grateful to this nation. It's done a lot better job than past generations in terms of taking care of veterans."

That is the hopeful message from C.R. Marchi, a former Army sergeant who was shot through the pelvis while serving his second tour of duty in Iraq.

There are lessons to be learned across the country from efforts to combat suicide among veterans in New Hampshire. Find out what's being done to save the lives of those who put everything on the line for their country.

VETERANS CRISIS HOTLINE
800-273-TALK (8255)
Press 1 for veterans

Connecting veterans with mental health services

Exeter High School graduate Kevin Lapointe has struggled with the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury since he deployed to Iraq more than seven years ago. This summer, his wife, Donna, compelled him to seek mental health treatment at a VA medical center. "The anger has totally decreased," he said of the rage that dogged him every day. "I'm more approachable and reachable." /Don Himsel photo, The Nashua Telegraph

When veterans seek treatment for the psychological wounds of war, it can heal not only their troubled minds but also the rifts that are created between them and their loved ones.

This Veterans Day weekend, the Portsmouth Herald and The Nashua Telegraph will be running a story I wrote about connecting New Hampshire veterans with the mental health services they need. This story is part of a seven-week investigation of suicide in the Granite State's military community and follows a story published last weekend on the suicide of Army Spec. Christopher Journeau. The mental health services story will run Sunday, Nov. 10, on the Portsmouth Herald's website at www.seacoastonline.com and Monday on The Nashua Telegraph's website at www.nashuatelegraph.com.

Dozens of sources contributed to this project. So many people had so much to say about suicide prevention in the military community that I couldn't squeeze all of them into the newspaper stories. But all of these sources informed my understanding of the complex array of issues at play. I will share a couple of these missing voices on the Bullwork of Democracy blog.

First up is Al Porsche, a Vietnam War Army veteran who served as a peer counselor at the Vet Center in Manchester, N.H., for 10 years:

"We're at least naive to send people to wars and think they won't come back with emotional and psychological issues. There is no magic bullet to solve this problem. ... The solution is not to send folks off to war in the first place."

When it comes to bridging the gap between troubled veterans and the available mental health services, "we continue to reach out to these people in any way we can."

The VA-affiliated Vet Centers, which offer confidential counseling services, are among the most vital resources for veterans. "It's easier for combat veterans to speak with other combat veterans. ... We do a lot of community building. ...

"As a country as a whole, we are doing nearly everything we can to help these veterans heal. But some of these veterans make the decision to end their lives. Part of the solution is not to be so quick to send these men and women to war. There's a price to be paid. ...

"PTSD isn't just a problem with the soldiers, it's a problem for the entire society. There are consequences down the road" every time the country goes to war.

"The communalization of of their sacrifices helps the individual veterans. ... It's helpful for the veterans to share their stories with broader society. But unfortunately, we won't be able to connect with all of them."

Many veterans suffer "cognitive dissonance" when they come home from wars like the Iraq conflict that end up unpopular among citizens across the country. "Civilians are proud of their service, but too often the country uses their service in a situation that was foolish or unnecessary."

VETERANS CRISIS HOTLINE
800-273-TALK (8255)
Press 1 for veterans

A soldier's suicide: Invisible wounds of war

Spec. Christopher Journeau is surrounded by camouflage during his deployment to Iraq. The New Hampshire native died by suicide less than six months after leaving the Army. /Family photo

The parents of Chris Journeau had already given too much to their country when I knocked on their door in Stratham, N.H., in early October 2013.

Jo-Ann and Merrill Clark lost their only child to suicide after he returned from the Iraq War with post-traumatic stress disorder. They could have mourned their loss in lifelong silence. Instead, the Clarks have shared their family's tragedy in hopes of saving the lives of other troubled veterans.

Read their story at seacoastonline.com.

VETERANS CRISIS HOTLINE
800-273-TALK (8255)
Press 1 for veterans

Military suicide: 'I don't want him forgotten'

Spec. Christopher Journeau of Hampton, N.H., died by suicide less than six months after leaving the Army in 2010. The Iraq War veteran was 23. /Family photo

When Jo-Ann Clark invited me into her Stratham, N.H., home six weeks ago to share the story of her soldier son, her first words could have come from any mother who lost a child to suicide: "I don't want him forgotten."

I will never forget Army Spec. Christopher Journeau, and I doubt many readers of the Nov. 3 edition of Seacoast Sunday and seacoastonline.com will forget him, either.

Thousands of U.S. troops and veterans have post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries as a result of their experiences in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Journeau's PTSD-fueled descent into suicide is a cautionary tale for every one of them, their families and the country.

Since that first interview in Stratham with Jo-Ann Clark and her husband, Merrill, I have spoken with dozens of Journeau's friends and family members as well as many N.H. suicide prevention officials. Their collective story is not what many citizens would assume.

Like any sprawling bureaucracies, the U.S. government and military have their faults. Veterans do fall through the cracks. But when it comes to suicide among vets, there's no shortage of blame to spread around:

• Many employers discriminate against veterans who have sought psychological treatment, which compels vets to shy away from getting help. 
• Longstanding stigma surrounding mental illness fuels shame and embarrassment, which are the top reasons cited by N.H. veterans polled about why they often avoid seeking treatment.
• There is a widespread lack of awareness about the signs of PTSD and TBI. Many veterans are suffering unseen before our eyes. Friends, family and other members of a troubled vet's community often do not see the warnings of a brewing mental health crisis. When they do, intervening to connect a vet with help can be daunting or come too late.

In short, suicide among veterans is not just a problem for the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs. It is a problem facing nearly all U.S. citizens, businesses and institutions.

Next Sunday, Nov. 10, www.seacoastonline.com and Seacoast Sunday will publish a second story inspired by Journeau's suicide. This story will focus on the challenge of connecting as many troubled veterans as possible to mental health services.

Many N.H. suicide prevention officials, veterans and family members of vets who died by suicide contributed to the mental health treatment story. So many had so much to say, it was impossible to fit all of them or all of their insightful comments into even a long-form newspaper story. To each and every one of these people: This entire project could not have been possible without your contributions. Suicide is a complex, emotionally charged and taboo topic.Many of the contributors to this project showed extraordinary courage and selflessness.

One of the beauties of Bullwork is bountiful space. Coming soon on Bullwork of Democracy, hear more voices and see more perspectives about veterans who die by suicide.

VETERANS CRISIS HOTLINE
800-273-TALK (8255)
Press 1 for veterans

U.S. military suicide by the numbers

Former Army MP Kevin Lapointe was best friends with Chris Journeau, an Army infantryman who died by suicide in 2010. The MP came back from Iraq with post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. /Don Himsel photo, nashuatelegraph.com

GENERAL SUICIDE STATISTICS

90 percent of people who attempt suicide do not die by suicide.

80 percent of people who die by suicide give some warning signs in advance.

U.S. MILITARY SUICIDE STATISTICS

349 active-duty military service members died by suicide in 2012.

50 percent of active-duty armed service members who die by suicide never serve in a combat zone.

U.S. civilian vs. armed services suicide rates:

• General population: 11 suicides per 100,000
• Armed services: 19 suicides per 100,000

Note: Several factors contribute to the elevated suicide rate in the U.S. armed services, including age, gender, PTSD, TBI, substance abuse and suicide risks associated with "military life" such as moving on a yearly basis.

SOURCES: NAMI-NH, TAPS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE



VETERANS CRISIS HOTLINE
800-273-TALK (8255)
Press 1 for veterans

Military suicide: Statewide media coverage model

Former Army MP Kevin Lapointe is receiving treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries linked to his military service in Iraq. "The anger has totally decreased," he said of one disturbing symptom. "I'm more approachable and reachable." /Don Himsel photo, nashuatelegraph.com

Veterans Day is a month away.

Media challenge: Present a couple stories that could save thousands of military community members' lives now and in the years ahead.

Professional proviso: Despite my old-school, competitive journalism instincts, I'm not only sharing this story weeks before publication, but also urging my journalism colleagues to take on this topic.

N.H. Military Suicide Media Project

Objectives: 

• In-depth, statewide analysis of New Hampshire's suicide prevention services for active-duty armed services members and veterans
• Assessment of the complex set of factors that are inhibiting treatment for armed service members and veterans at risk of suicide

Nutgraph: While there are commonalities in instances of suicide in the U.S. military community nationally, research indicates there is a unique set of circumstances in most states that should be driving the agenda for how this problem is addressed. Particularly when it comes to the cases of PTSD and/or TBI prevalent in the veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, psychological illnesses are treatable in the majority of cases and suicide is a misguided permanent solution to a temporary problem.

MILITARY SUICIDE - PORTSMOUTH HERALD STORY BUDGET

Day 1: Military suicide profile

• Army Spec. Christopher Journeau of Hampton, N.H., an Iraq War combat veteran who had his name added to the Global War on Terrorism Memorial in Hampton on Sept. 11. Journeau received a PTSD diagnosis from the Army soon after returning from Iraq. He committed suicide less than six months after leaving the Army in 2010.
• Closing portion of profile relates the perspective of loved ones on the circumstances and contributing factors to Journeau’s suicide. His family’s tragedy provides insight into warning signs, situations that elevate suicide risk, and missed opportunities to intervene.

Day 2: Military suicide prevention in N.H. (Embargoed until Sunday, Nov. 10)

• Two key questions: (1) What is being done to serve active-duty armed service members and veterans who are at risk of suicide, focusing on N.H. Guard and the VA, civilian agencies, employers and community groups; (2) What is inhibiting N.H. active-duty armed services members and veterans who are at risk of suicide from getting treatment
• Gaps where military community members are falling through the mental-health safety net
• What more can be done?

Day 2 Graphics

-         “Getting Help” and “Getting Involved” factboxes

-         Depression primer: Symptoms and treatment options/resources

-         PTSD primer: Symptoms and treatment options/resources

-         TBI primer: Symptoms and treatment options/resources

-         Map showing geographic distribution of N.H. PTSD-affected veteran population

-         Key statistics such as the U.S. Army setting active-duty suicide record in 2012

Media Partners
Print: Newspaper partners write their own Day 1 profile, then pick up Day 2, statewide coverage
Online: Repackage newspaper content for online publication and produce original content
Broadcast: Military suicide profile, and/or examining gap between suicide prevention services and military community members who need services, and/or interviews with experts

VETERANS CRISIS HOTLINE
800-273-TALK (8255)
Press 1 for veterans

Call of duty: Preventing suicide in military community

Chris Journeau was 23 when he died by suicide in 2010. /Family photo

Every journalist has a dream: Working on a story that makes the world a better place. I am living that dream right now.

Like Martin Luther King's dream, which was born in the harsh realities of America's history of racial injustice, my dream story began in a dreadfully dark place.

In June 2010, a young U.S. Army veteran was alone in his apartment in Hampton, N.H. His world had melted down to the point where there was nothing left but his post-traumatic stress disorder, a bottle of alcohol and a handgun. This decorated combat veteran decided the best option available to him was to end his life with the pull of a trigger.

The torment this soldier endured, a barely imaginable pain that will haunt his family members the rest of their lives, has inspired me to do the best work of my 17-year journalism career.

With partners at a growing number of New Hampshire media organizations, I am working on a journalism project about suicide in the military community that will hopefully become a model for other journalists to follow across the United States and around the world. The project will come to fruition this Veterans Day weekend, but there is a message that needs to get out now.

One of my best sources for this project shared an undeniable truth with me this week: "We all need to play a part in suicide prevention."

Whether you are in the military, working for a civilian human services agency, employ members of the military community at your business, or have loved ones who have been in the military, look out for these men and women. If they are not discussing what happened during their tours of duty, do not assume that they are OK. Do not be afraid to ask how they are doing.

These are proud people who are often reluctant, even ashamed, to share their afflictions. But do not run the risk of losing them and wondering for the rest of your life if there was more you could have done to help. I have spoken with some of those people. You do not want to be one of them.

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Putin shameless at levers of propaganda machine

Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, was a flashpoint in both of the Chechen separatist wars with Russia that followed the fall of the Soviet Union. Street battles, artillery shelling and aerial bombardment in the mid-1990s, and again in 1999 and 2000, leveled the city. /Image via historyofrussia.org

I have lived in and around Boston for nearly all of my adult life, so I have nothing but scorn and disdain for the ethnic Chechen Tsarnaev brothers' attack on the Boston Marathon.

But Vladimir Putin's claim that the marathon bombing vindicates Russian actions in the North Caucasus, particularly his crackdown on Chechnya, is shamelessly self-serving propaganda. Speaking at an annual question-and-answer session on April 25, Putin said, "I was always appalled when our Western partners and the Western media called the terrorists, who did bloody crimes in our country, 'insurgents,' and almost never ‘terrorists.'"

Moscow has had a literally tortured relationship with Chechnya over the past 70 years, bookended by Stalin's deadly winter 1944 forced deportation of about 400,000 people from Chechnya and the brutal warfare Putin launched on the Chechens in 1999. There's a long history littered with the deaths of innocents that has turned Chechnya into a hotbed for terrorism.

Chechnya has been a blot on Russia's human rights record for the past 20 years. The U.S. State Department's 2012 annual survey on human rights released last month is highly critical of Russia's record in the North Caucasus:

• Rule of law was particularly deficient in the North Caucasus, where conflict among government forces, insurgents, Islamist militants, and criminal forces led to numerous human rights abuses, including killings, torture, physical abuse, and politically motivated abductions.
• There continued to be reports that security forces used indiscriminate force resulting in numerous deaths and that the perpetrators were not prosecuted.
• Armed forces and police units reportedly abused and tortured both rebels and civilians in holding facilities. Human rights groups noted that physical abuse of women was becoming increasingly common in the region.
• Government personnel, rebels, and criminal elements continued to engage in abductions in the North Caucasus.
• Burning the homes of suspected rebels reportedly continued. Memorial (a leading Russian human rights group) reported that on April 22, two days after a special operation in the village of Komsomolskoye in the Gudermes District of Chechnya, armed men in camouflage burned the house belonging to the grandparents of Akhmed Bantaev, one of the men killed in the special operation.

Acting President Vladimir Putin signs autographs for Russian troops outside Grozny in January 2000. Boris Yeltsin had resigned the presidency the day before. /AFP image

Democracy, civil liberty and the War on Terrorism

Heavily armed police set up a perimeter around an apartment building in Watertown, Mass., during the manhunt for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. /Image via deadspin.com

It appears Mayor Tom Menino and other top officials made good decisions in the manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombing suspects, including essentially declaring martial law in Watertown and "shutting down" Boston.

I don't know whether to feel deeply grateful or deeply troubled.

One of the legacies of 9/11 is an unprecedent capability for federal, state and local government to declare and enforce martial law. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of police officers and National Guard members on the streets of Watertown in less than 12 hours.

I hope our political leaders keep making good decisions with their new police state powers.

Chechen war children grow up to be monsters

Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, was a flashpoint in both of the Chechen separatist wars with Russia that followed the fall of the Soviet Union. Street battles, artillery shelling and aerial bombardment in the mid-1990s, and again in 1999 and 2000, leveled the city. /Image via historyofrussia.org

After variously simmering and exploding into violence over the past 20 years largely out of the media spotlight, the breakaway regions of the Russian Caucasus have become a focal point of the biggest story in the world.

It's too early to say whether the brothers accused in the Boston Marathon bombings, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, were radicalized by the fighting in their homeland. But it's unlikely they would have been in the United States were it not for the struggle between Russia and separatists in Caucasus regions such as Chechnya and Georgia.

Two wars have been fought in Chechnya since the fall of the Soviet Union. Russian President Boris Yeltsin waged the first from 1994 to 1996, and Vladimir Putin started the second as part of his rise to power in 1999. Intense fighting into 2000 was followed by years of Russian counterinsurgency warfare that ultimately led to relative stability under President Ramzan Kadyrov, who has been accused of running Chechnya as a brutal dictator.

Horrific warfare, human rights abuses and political assassinations have been hallmarks of Chechen life for the past two decades. Two children of this war-scarred generation apparently grew up to be the monsters of the Boston Marathon bombings.

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