Anything a soldier tells a chaplain is confidential – and that fact is the single biggest reason clergy are on the front lines of the U.S. Army’s suicide prevention efforts, United Methodist chaplains say.
“Chaplains have specialized training and are gatekeepers for the prevention programs,” said Chaplain Lt. Col. Scott Weichl, behavioral health program manager at the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.
“Many, many folks come and talk to us. We are not judgmental, and many who have had serious difficulties just need someone to talk to,” added Weichl, who is a United Methodist chaplain. “We try to discern, to triage who needs to see someone with special training and skills.”
The Army stepped up suicide prevention efforts in January, mandating a suicide prevention effort involving 1.1 million soldiers, establishing a suicide prevention task force, improving Army policies, procedures, and resources and recruiting additional psychological and behavioral health counselors.
Through the end of June – the latest figures reported – there have been 88 reported active-duty suicides in the Army during 2009. Of these, 54 have been confirmed as suicides, and 34 are pending final determination of the manner of death. For the same period in 2008, there were 67 suicides among active-duty soldiers.