On C-SPAN's Washington Journal, CNAS Senior Fellow and Director of the Joining Forces Initiative Margaret Harrell talks about military suicides and the availability of mental health programs for veterans.
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The military has been seeking the causes of a spike in military suicides for the last several years so it can begin knocking it down. New evidence just coming to light makes clear that the frequency of military deployments may play a role. John Nagl, of the Center for a New American Security, and I discuss this persistent challenge with Dr. Margaret Harrell, a CNAS military personnel expert who just co-wrote a study on the topic, and Dr. Elspeth "Cam" Ritchie, a Battleland contributor who recently retired as the Army's top psychiatrist.
The problem of suicides continues to haunt Pentagon personnel officials. After 10 years of war, the suicide rate has climbed and remains stubbornly high despite numerous initiatives to bring it down. What's behind the spike, and what -- if anything -- can be done to curb it? John Nagl, of the Center for a New American Security, and TIME Magazine's Mark Thompson discuss this vexing and tragic challenge with Dr. Margaret Harrell, a CNAS military personnel expert who just co-wrote a study on the topic, and Dr. Elspeth "Cam" Ritchie, who recently retired as the Army's top psychiatrist.
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The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) held an event, Losing the Battle, on November 1, 2011, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m., to discuss the issue of suicide in the U.S. military with a distinguished panel of experts, including the author of the CNAS report, Losing the Battle: The Challenge of Military Suicide, Dr. Margaret Harrell, who is a Senior Fellow at CNAS and Director of the Joining Forces Initiative; General Peter Chiarelli, Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army; Juliette Kayyem, national security columnist for The Boston Globe and a lecturer in public policy at Harvard University; and Dr. Jan Kemp, National Mental Health Program Director for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
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The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) held an event, Losing the Battle, on November 1, 2011, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m., to discuss the issue of suicide in the U.S. military with a distinguished panel of experts, including the author of the CNAS report, Losing the Battle: The Challenge of Military Suicide, Dr. Margaret Harrell, who is a Senior Fellow at CNAS and Director of the Joining Forces Initiative; General Peter Chiarelli, Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army; Juliette Kayyem, national security columnist for The Boston Globe and a lecturer in public policy at Harvard University; and Dr. Jan Kemp, National Mental Health Program Director for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
.JPG)
The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) held an event, Losing the Battle, on November 1, 2011, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m., to discuss the issue of suicide in the U.S. military with a distinguished panel of experts, including the author of the CNAS report, Losing the Battle: The Challenge of Military Suicide, Dr. Margaret Harrell, who is a Senior Fellow at CNAS and Director of the Joining Forces Initiative; General Peter Chiarelli, Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army; Juliette Kayyem, national security columnist for The Boston Globe and a lecturer in public policy at Harvard University; and Dr. Jan Kemp, National Mental Health Program Director for the Department of Veterans Affairs.