El Paso Standard

Congressman Gonzales wants congress to pass his VA Zero Suicide Demonstration Project Act to continue to make progress on preventing military suicides.

Suicide rates among members of the U.S. military have been high for a long time. For active-duty service members, the additional stressors of being in the military on top of regular everyday stressors of life, such as marital stress and financial issues, may be to blame for them being at higher risk of suicide.

However, according to a new report from the Pentagon, military suicides have declined over the last 18 months. This decline may be due to new programs available to service members aimed at providing support and suicide prevention. These programs range from required counseling to stress relief education and recreational outings.

Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims has been requiring soldiers at the base to meet with a counselor once a year. “I can’t order anybody to talk to a counselor,” Lt. Sims said. “But I can tell you, listen, you’ve got to sit in a room for 30 to 60 minutes. And there happens to be a counselor in the same room.”