Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
English 1010
IEP Essay
There is a problem in America. Every day approximately 22 United States veterans take their
lives. This has been a growing problem for years. In researching this subject I have come across a lot of
information about this. 22 veterans a day is unacceptable, why are the brave men and women who put
everything including their lives on the line for this country suffering to the point that they think suicide is
the only option? What is being done to stop this epidemic? Why in 2014 cant our brave men and women
get the help they need? These are some of the questions I plan on answering in this essay.
The military is struggling to stop the rise of suicide among its service members and veterans. In
2012 more service members died from suicide than in combat. The military has increased the training
they do on suicide prevention, and they let it be known that there is help, but they cant get control of
the suicide problem. In the article U.S Military struggling to stop suicide epidemic among war veterans,
journalist Ed Pilkington explores this issue. In 2012, for the first time in a generation, more active duty
soldiers committed suicide than died in combat. 177 soldiers committed suicide and 176 were killed in
the war zone. (Pilkington) In all branches of the military in 2012, 349 service members took their own
lives while 295 died in combat. (Pilkington)
Those are disturbing numbers. It is sad that we lose soldiers to combat, but it is even sadder that
more take their own lives. A person dying is never a good thing, but when a soldier goes to war, they
know that death is a possibility and it is a risk they are willing to take. What I cant wrap my head around
is why is the number of service members killing themselves higher than the number dying in combat?
Why are we losing more of our service members by their own hand than we are from combat? Lets
take a look at some numbers. In 2012 182 service members in the Army committed suicide, 60 from the
Work Cited
Pilkington, Ed. "Us Military Struggling to Stop Suicide Epidemic among War Veterans."
Http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/feb/01/us-military-suicide-epidemic-veteran. N.p., 1 Feb.
2013. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.
"DrugFacts: Substance Abuse in the Military."
Http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/substance-abuse-in-military. National Institute on
Drug Abuse, Mar. 2013. Web. 8 Nov. 2014.