IDF suicide cases double in 2014

Report finds 15 soldiers committed suicide, including two lone soldiers in combat units; IDF ends 2014 with 105 fallen, with 67 lost during Operation Protective Edge.

ynet

An end-of-year report revealed that 15 IDF soldiers committed suicide in the past year, as opposed to seven in 2013, including two ‘lone soldiers’ in combat units. A senior Personnel Directorate official said “it is important to remember that until five years ago the average number of suicides in the army stood at around 30.”

The senior official explained that, in the cases of the two lone soldiers, “we did not understand the gaps in treating them before their suicide, but this definitely demands of us to continue learning about and treating the lone soldiers.”

The military source said a civilian advisory committee will convene hearings with senior Personnel Directorate officials to “learn and identify the trends that will aid us in addressing the phenomenon.”

The IDF official noted the military thoroughly investigates suicide cases. “We examine each case individually with an investigatory committee chaired by a colonel, along with a military police investigation and testing by the Medical Corps’ Mental Health Division.”

He stressed that “in the past we did not understand the connection between operational incidents and suicide, but we did know to provide individual treatment in the combat brigades, including handing out questionnaires to soldiers to see if identify any distress among their friends.”

The end-of-year report concluded that 105 soldiers died in 2014, including 70 in active duty – 67 in Operation Protective Edge and three in a Gaza border crossfire incident, a car accident in the West Bank, and the terror stabbing in Tel Aviv.

An additional 13 died in car accidents off-duty and 15 committed suicide.

Of the armed forces’ gravely wounded, 115 soldiers are still hospitalized in severe condition from a number of events, though most occurred during Operation Protective Edge.

The report also showed that seven soldiers died in the past year from diseases – a figure similar to that of the three prior years.