scholarly journals Occupational differences in US Army suicide rates

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (15) ◽  
pp. 3293-3304 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. C. Kessler ◽  
M. B. Stein ◽  
P. D. Bliese ◽  
E. J. Bromet ◽  
W. T. Chiu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Suicide Rate ◽  
Us Army ◽  
Suicide Rates ◽  
Administrative Dataset ◽  
Occupational Differences ◽  
The Us ◽  
Regular Army ◽  
Military Suicide ◽  
The Military ◽  
Joint Associations

BackgroundCivilian suicide rates vary by occupation in ways related to occupational stress exposure. Comparable military research finds suicide rates elevated in combat arms occupations. However, no research has evaluated variation in this pattern by deployment history, the indicator of occupation stress widely considered responsible for the recent rise in the military suicide rate.MethodThe joint associations of Army occupation and deployment history in predicting suicides were analysed in an administrative dataset for the 729 337 male enlisted Regular Army soldiers in the US Army between 2004 and 2009.ResultsThere were 496 suicides over the study period (22.4/100 000 person-years). Only two occupational categories, both in combat arms, had significantly elevated suicide rates: infantrymen (37.2/100 000 person-years) and combat engineers (38.2/100 000 person-years). However, the suicide rates in these two categories were significantly lower when currently deployed (30.6/100 000 person-years) than never deployed or previously deployed (41.2–39.1/100 000 person-years), whereas the suicide rate of other soldiers was significantly higher when currently deployed and previously deployed (20.2–22.4/100 000 person-years) than never deployed (14.5/100 000 person-years), resulting in the adjusted suicide rate of infantrymen and combat engineers being most elevated when never deployed [odds ratio (OR) 2.9, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.1–4.1], less so when previously deployed (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.1–2.1), and not at all when currently deployed (OR 1.2, 95% CI 0.8–1.8). Adjustment for a differential ‘healthy warrior effect’ cannot explain this variation in the relative suicide rates of never-deployed infantrymen and combat engineers by deployment status.ConclusionsEfforts are needed to elucidate the causal mechanisms underlying this interaction to guide preventive interventions for soldiers at high suicide risk.

scholarly journals Understanding the elevated suicide risk of female soldiers during deployments

2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 717-726 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. E. Street ◽  
S. E. Gilman ◽  
A. J. Rosellini ◽  
M. B. Stein ◽  
E. J. Bromet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Suicide Rate ◽  
Administrative Database ◽  
Survival Models ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Risk And Resilience ◽  
Us Army ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
The Us ◽  
Regular Army ◽  
History Of

BackgroundThe Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS) has found that the proportional elevation in the US Army enlisted soldier suicide rate during deployment (compared with the never-deployed or previously deployed) is significantly higher among women than men, raising the possibility of gender differences in the adverse psychological effects of deployment.MethodPerson-month survival models based on a consolidated administrative database for active duty enlisted Regular Army soldiers in 2004–2009 (n = 975 057) were used to characterize the gender × deployment interaction predicting suicide. Four explanatory hypotheses were explored involving the proportion of females in each soldier's occupation, the proportion of same-gender soldiers in each soldier's unit, whether the soldier reported sexual assault victimization in the previous 12 months, and the soldier's pre-deployment history of treated mental/behavioral disorders.ResultsThe suicide rate of currently deployed women (14.0/100 000 person-years) was 3.1–3.5 times the rates of other (i.e. never-deployed/previously deployed) women. The suicide rate of currently deployed men (22.6/100 000 person-years) was 0.9–1.2 times the rates of other men. The adjusted (for time trends, sociodemographics, and Army career variables) female:male odds ratio comparing the suicide rates of currently deployed v. other women v. men was 2.8 (95% confidence interval 1.1–6.8), became 2.4 after excluding soldiers with Direct Combat Arms occupations, and remained elevated (in the range 1.9–2.8) after adjusting for the hypothesized explanatory variables.ConclusionsThese results are valuable in excluding otherwise plausible hypotheses for the elevated suicide rate of deployed women and point to the importance of expanding future research on the psychological challenges of deployment for women.

Human Performance Optimization

Head Strong ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 78-98
Author(s):  
Michael D. Matthews
Keyword(s):  
Human Physiology ◽  
Performance Optimization ◽  
Human Performance ◽  
Substantial Reduction ◽  
Leader Development ◽  
Us Army ◽  
Military Forces ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Military ◽  
Near Future

Budgetary constraints and emerging advances in weapons technology have resulted in a substantial reduction in the sizes of contemporary military forces. The US Army, at less than 500,000 soldiers, is a fraction of its size of a generation ago, yet the demands for it to deploy in a variety of missions around the globe have only increased. This chapter reviews current and emerging strategies that may aid in optimizing soldier performance. Developments in human physiology, genetics, nutrition, neurotechnology, sleep, noncognitive amplifiers, and leader development are described. Currently available strategies are identified, as are approaches to human performance optimization that are likely to emerge in the near future. Extrapolations of human performance optimization protocols to other contexts beyond the military are considered.

Edward M. Almond and the US Army

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E. Lynch
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Japanese American ◽  
World War ◽  
Us Army ◽  
Greatest Generation ◽  
Virginia Military Institute ◽  
The Us ◽  
Military Institute ◽  
The Military

This biography examines the long career of Lt. Gen. Edward M. Almond, who was born to a family of modest means in rural Virginia. His early education at the Virginia Military Institute, steeped him in Confederate lore and nurtured his “can do” attitude, natural aggressiveness, demanding personality and sometimes self-serving nature. These qualities later earned him the sobriquet “Sic’em, Ned,” which stuck with him for the remainder of his career. Almond commanded the African-American 92nd Infantry Division during World War II. The division failed in combat and was re-organized, after which it contained one white, one black, and the Army’s only Japanese-American (Nisei) regiment. The years since that war have seen the glorification of the “Greatest Generation,” with all racist notions and ideas “whitewashed” with a veneer of honor. When war came to Korea, Almond commanded X Corps in the Inchon invasion, liberation of Seoul, race to the Yalu. When the Chinese entered the war and sent the US Army into retreat, Almond mounted one of the largest evacuations in history at Hungnam -- but not before the disaster at Chosin claimed the lives of hundreds of soldiers and marines. This book reveals Almond as a man who stubbornly held onto bigoted attitudes about race, but also exhibited an unfaltering commitment to the military profession. Often viewed as the “Army’s racist,” Almond reflected the attitudes of the Army and society. This book places Almond in a broader context and presents a more complete picture of this flawed man yet gifted officer.

The Heringen Collection of the US Geological Survey Library, Reston, Virginia

2008 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 242-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Hadden
Keyword(s):  
Third Reich ◽  
Russian Language ◽  
Geological Survey ◽  
Terrain Analysis ◽  
Us Army ◽  
German Army ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Third Reich ◽  
Private Homes ◽  
The Military

A special collection of German, Polish, and Russian language books, maps and reports in the US Geological Survey Library has an interesting and unusual history. The so-called ‘Heringen Collection’ came from Nazi Germany. Many of these items were captured from libraries, offices and even private homes as the German Army advanced into neighboring countries. In the last days of the war, these maps, reports, photos and other records were sent from the Military Geology offices in Berlin to the safety of a deep potash mineshaft in Heringen (Werra), in Hessen, Germany. A group of US Army soldiers found these lost records of the Third Reich. When removed from the Heringen mine, those records that dealt with the earth sciences, terrain analysis, military geology and other geological matters were sent to the USGS, and eventually came to reside at the USGS Library. The printed papers and books were mostly incorporated into the main collection, but a portion of the materials have never been cataloged, calendared or indexed. These materials have many current uses, including projects of value to citizens in their nations of origin.

Interview with Brigadier General Richard C. Gross

2014 ◽  
Vol 96 (893) ◽  
pp. 13-27
Keyword(s):  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Us Army ◽  
Special Operations ◽  
Joint Chiefs Of Staff ◽  
The Us ◽  
Virginia School ◽  
Scope Of Application ◽  
Army War College ◽  
The University ◽  
The Military

Brigadier General Richard C. “Rich” Gross is the US Army Legal Counsel to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He attended the Military Academy at West Point and was commissioned in the US Army as a second lieutenant in the Infantry. He also attended the University of Virginia School of Law and the US Army Judge Advocate General's Corps. He holds a Master's degree in strategic studies from the US Army War College. Prior to his current position, he served as the Chief Legal Adviser for the Joint Special Operations Command, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), US Forces-Afghanistan (USFOR-A) and at US Central Command.The scope of application of international humanitarian law (IHL) is a deceptively simple concept; broadly speaking, it is where, when and to whom the IHL rules apply. Although this has always been a precondition for discussing IHL issues, the outer limits of the law's applicability remain unsettled. To open this issue on the nuances of the scope of the law's application, Brigadier General Gross gave the following interview providing the US perspective on the circumstances in which IHL applies, and the challenges that lie ahead in light of the ongoing evolution of the way war is waged.

High Stakes in Ohio

Peacemakers ◽  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
James W. Pardew
Keyword(s):  
Air Force ◽  
Military Power ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Us Army ◽  
Major Point ◽  
Us Military ◽  
The Us ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
The Military

The Dayton proximity talks are a vast diplomatic undertaking. Holbrooke is the ringmaster of this unwieldy operation with no guarantee of success. Attendees perceive a dinner at an Air Force museum as a show of US military power. Talks happen on many levels in the first two weeks, but key issues remain unsolved. Neoconservative Richard Perle arrives to assist the Bosnian Muslim delegation. The military annex becomes a major point of negotiations between Washington and the US negotiators at Dayton. Milosevic assures Pardew’s spouse that their son, an officer in the US Army, will be safe in Bosnia.

The Spider Web Chart

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Fischer
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Needs ◽  
Chemical Warfare ◽  
Big Business ◽  
Us Army ◽  
Spider Web ◽  
Connected Network ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Military ◽  
Unique Power

This chapter examines how the anticommunist movement created the so-called Spider Web Chart that articulated its narrative of a vast and deadly conspiracy against America mounted from within by Bolshevik spies, agents, and dupes. Representatives of government, big business, high finance, and the military were linked ever tightly by the rallying cause of anticommunism. The anticommunist movement sought to coherently define their cause and promote it in the wider community. Soon enough, the movement produced its ideal propaganda in an image that satisfied its members' political and psychological needs: the Spider Web Chart. Produced by the Chemical Warfare Service of the US Army, the chart proved to be a scheme of unique power, ideal for spreading the message of anticommunism. This chapter first considers how the Spider Web Chart was conceptualized before discussing its enduring effects. It shows that the Spider Web Chart encouraged anticommunists to develop an extensive and highly connected network of kindred associations and a monolithic ideology.

Wars of Civilization: The US Army Contemplates Wounded Knee, the Pullman Strike, and the Philippine Insurrection

2011 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priscilla Murolo
Keyword(s):  
Military History ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Us Army ◽  
State Action ◽  
The Us ◽  
Wounded Knee ◽  
The Military

AbstractThis article explores the military history that links federal suppression of the Pullman Strike in 1894 to the massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890 and the US conquest of the Philippines in 1899–1903. Military men expressed remarkably similar understandings of their targets in the three campaigns, and in each case they paired condemnations of the enemy with many of the same positive stereotypes of soldiers like themselves. Analysis of this imagery offers new perspectives on the US Army's role in imperial projects as well as state action against labor. If strikers resembled unruly colonial subjects in the military mind, the reverse also held true; and soldiers' self-representations reveal that their goals did not necessarily match the state's agenda.

The Military Participation Rate and Suicide Rates in Austria, 1873–1913

1994 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 894-894 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Lester
Keyword(s):  
Suicide Rate ◽  
Participation Rate ◽  
Suicide Rates ◽  
The Military

In Austria from 1873 to 1913, the proportion of men in the military was not associated with the suicide rate.

scholarly journals Military Bands and Government Documents

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Daniel E. Ray
Keyword(s):  
Wind Band ◽  
The United States ◽  
Military Bands ◽  
Us Army ◽  
Government Documents ◽  
British Military ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
The Military ◽  
Over Time

Since before the founding of the United States, musicians have been an integral part of the military. Throughout history armies have used trumpets and drums to enhance communication and assist the movement of mass forces. Over time, the military has influenced both the makeup of musical ensembles, and styles of popular music. The modern American wind band featuring brass, woodwinds and percussion, is modeled after British military bands. And the marches of John Phillip Sousa, who served as the director of the President’s Own Marine Band for twelve years, remain popular to this day. His “Stars and Stripes Forever” is considered our national march. Today, the US Army declares itself “the oldest and largest employer of musicians in the world.”

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