According to the Pentagon, the Air Force is currently dealing with an epidemic of suicide. There have been thirty more suicides among airmen so far this year than there were by this same time last year.
Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Kaleth Wright said:
“We lose more airmen to suicide than any other single enemy. Even more than combat. Seventy-eight of our brothers and sisters have given up on life this year alone.”
“If we don’t do something, we could lose up to 150, 160 airmen in 2019.”1
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In a compelling video, Wright explained why the Air Force is implementing what they call a suicide stand down. They are providing a day off from training to focus on the epidemic of young people taking their own lives. Airman Zinhua Mesenberg is one such individual who took his own life. Right before he shot himself, he texted his parents and said:
“The stress life has given me finally broke my will to live.”1
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2018 was the worst year ever in the Marine Corps, with 77 suicides and 354 attempts. Retired air commandant Gen. Robert Neller recently wrote that in four years he had lost only four Marines to combat while he lost 224 Marines to suicide. Neller said in a Facebook post, “let us help each other.”1 He also reflected that social media might play a part in the crisis. But he seemed to doubt taking to social media himself would make much of a difference.
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This is not just happening in the military. It is also happening in the civilian world. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that since 2001 suicide rates across the country have gone up 31%. After accidents, it is the second leading cause of death among young people.
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