Suicide among U.S. Veterans is a persistent problem that continues to vex VA health professionals and chaplains alike. According to the latest figures, at least 60,000 veterans died by suicide between 2008 and 2017. That's nearly ten times the number of American military personnel killed since 9/11 in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan combined, and even more than the total number killed throughout the entire Vietnam War. And the data show the problem is only getting worse, as vets cope with the psychological and spiritual repercussions of combat. Those include conditions ranging from posttraumatic stress to depression, addiction, divorce, and moral injury. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, Father Alejandro J. DeJesus, a chaplain at the Audie L. Murphy Memorial VA Medical Center in San Antonio, joins us by phone from Texas to discuss this alarming trend, what he and other Catholic VA chaplains are doing, and how you can help if you know a vet at high risk.
