By: Joseph C. Geraci, Meaghan Mobbs, Emily R. Edwards, Bryan Doerries, Nicholas Armstrong, Robert Porcarelli, Elana Duffy, Colonel Michael Loos, Daniel Kilby, Josephine Juanamarga, Gilly Cantor, Loree Sutton, Yosef Sokol and Marianne Goodman
This article draws upon the legends of warriors from ancient Greece and other traditions to illuminate the journey of Modern Warriors (MWs) who have served in the United States military over the last century. It then turns to stakeholders that can assist current MWs in their reintegration to civilian life and mitigate suicide risk. Until this point, without an existing and coordinated local, federal, non-profit, and private system, rates of suicide for post-9/11 MWs after leaving the military have greatly increased, especially for young and women MWs. This is due in part to the military satisfying many of MWs’ needs by providing units, leaders, and a mission during the Departure and Initiation stages of the MW journey. However, as MWs exit the military and face the difficult task of reintegration, the absence of units, leaders, and mission leads to deteriorating psychological health and increasing suicide risk. Written primarily by post-9/11 MWs, this article proposes recommendations for stakeholders to better reintegrate MWs and mitigate suicide risk. The authors strive to develop a system that satisfies MWs’ reintegration needs and enables MWs to be well positioned to continue their next ‘mission’ – to serve and improve society.
Introduction
Jung (1960) and other scholars described how universal themes, or archetypes, within the collective unconscious help explain how human behavior and characteristics are shared across time and cultures. The warrior archetype has been a powerful force in both ancient and modern times. This archetype was actualized as perseverance, courage, and aggressiveness for ancient Spartan warriors at Thermopylae in 480 B.C. and for modern warriors (MWs; i.e., military veterans and service members) during World War II (Moore and Gillette, 1990). Currently, an average of 17 MWs in the United States die each day by suicide (US Department of Veterans Affairs, 2019a), and only limited evidence supports specific risk assessment methods or suicide prevention interventions for this population (US Department of Veterans Affairs, 2018b). Learning from previous warrior cultures may help elucidate current systematic shortcomings surrounding MW suicide prevention.
More than 4 million post-9/11 MWs have served in the US military since 2001 (US Department of Veterans Affairs, 2018e), comprising approximately 20% of the 19 million MWs in the United States (US Department of Veterans Affairs, 2019b; US Census, 2020). Combat exposure and other service-related stressors directly contribute to the onset of psychological disorders in this population (Booth-Kewley et al., 2013; Gradus et al., 2017). As more MWs continue to reintegrate to civilian life after military service, it is important to consider how contending with reintegration stressors impact MWs’ psychological wellbeing and risk for suicide (Geraci, 2018; Mobbs and Bonanno, 2018). At highest risk are young post-9/11 MWs (between the ages of 18–34); their rate of suicide has increased significantly more than any other age group, with rates doubling from approximately 22 suicide deaths per 100,000 population in 2006 to 44.5 suicide deaths per 100,000 population in 2017 (US Department of Veterans Affairs, 2019a).
These disturbing trends led President Donald Trump to sign two recent executive orders to curb MW suicide. Executive Order 13822 aimed to specifically support MWs by improving access to mental health care throughout the transition period (Executive Order, 2018). Similarly, Executive Order 13861 was issued in March 2019 to establish the ‘President’s Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End the National Tragedy of Suicide’ (PREVENTS) task force charged with focusing on community engagement strategies (Executive Order, 2019). PREVENTS attempts to apply early intervention and engage the broader community to reach MWs before they experience extensive mental health symptoms or an acute crisis. The order encourages federal government, academia, employers, members of faith-based and other community, non-governmental, and non-profit organizations and the veteran community to all work together to develop a strategy that will truly impact the current epidemic faced by MWs, especially the youngest transitioning MWs.