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American Morning

Troop Suicides

Aired November 25, 2003 - 09:22   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's turn to a very serious story this morning. Even as the commander in Iraq reports that attacks against U.S. forces are decreasing, we are learning of an unusually high suicide rate. The Pentagon says 17 soldiers and Marines have taken their own lives in Iraq.
Dr. Paul Reagan is an associate professor of psychiatry at Vanderbilt University and Medical Center. He also served as a Navy psychiatrist during the Gulf War. He joins us from Nashville this morning.

Nice to see you, doctor. Thanks for joining us.

DR. PAUL REAGAN, FMR. NAVY PSYCHIATRIST: Good morning, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Does that number seem very high to you? Some people say that the official number soldiers who are taking their own lives in Iraq is actually much higher than that.

REAGAN: Yes, that does seem high. We would expect some rates of soldiers back in the United States during this time period there would be maybe between eight and 12 suicides by this time. So this number, which as you point out, is a minimum, seems high to me.

O'BRIEN: This is obviously something that you're very familiar with. What do you think are the predictors, the circumstances that would predict a suicide by a soldier overseas?

REAGAN: Well, what we know is that in 95 percent or more of the cases of suicide, there is a diagnosable psychiatric illness, most often things like depression. I think that then the stresses, stresses that they heard of from home, stresses that are unique to this combat zone, those sorts of things all contribute. And of course it gets to a suicidal state of mind. And then of course these soldiers and Marines have the means at hand, also, to kill themselves.

O'BRIEN: Obviously.

Does it ever happen that one soldier can lead others to commit suicide? That one sort of pulling it off successfully sort of points the way -- and I hate to use that phrase -- to others?

REAGAN: Well, very much. If you have a group of people, as a large group of our active duty personnel there, certainly there's a certain permissiveness. So when a soldier sees someone else has used this method, it may reduce his own inhibitions, it may reduce his own ambivalence about choosing this method, and it can spread, almost like a contagion throughout a group, and we've seen that. And that can be a danger here.

O'BRIEN: A couple of weeks ago, I interviewed, I think it was a Private First Class George Bagani (ph), and he is a young man who said that he had anxiety. He went to his commanding officer who basically told him get right back out there again. What's your take on a case like that? They wanted, essentially, to dismiss him under the statute of cowardice. And he's managed to actually fight this in court at this point, still pending. When you hear a story like that, what's your reaction?

REAGAN: That causes me a good deal of concern, because he sought help, and feels that he didn't get it. He's been returned back to the United States with the dereliction of duty charges that the cowardice has been reduced to, and I think that that really sends the wrong message. That's the message that if you have psychological problems, serious ones, they're going to approach you in a punitive manner. And the key to suicide prevention is letting people, giving people permission to come forward and seek help. Seeking help is extremely important. And anything that discourages seeking help can contribute to an increased rate of suicide.

O'BRIEN: Dr. Paul Reagan joining us this morning from Nashville. Dr. Reagan, thanks very much for your time.

REAGAN: You're very welcome.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired November 25, 2003 - 09:22   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's turn to a very serious story this morning. Even as the commander in Iraq reports that attacks against U.S. forces are decreasing, we are learning of an unusually high suicide rate. The Pentagon says 17 soldiers and Marines have taken their own lives in Iraq.
Dr. Paul Reagan is an associate professor of psychiatry at Vanderbilt University and Medical Center. He also served as a Navy psychiatrist during the Gulf War. He joins us from Nashville this morning.

Nice to see you, doctor. Thanks for joining us.

DR. PAUL REAGAN, FMR. NAVY PSYCHIATRIST: Good morning, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Does that number seem very high to you? Some people say that the official number soldiers who are taking their own lives in Iraq is actually much higher than that.

REAGAN: Yes, that does seem high. We would expect some rates of soldiers back in the United States during this time period there would be maybe between eight and 12 suicides by this time. So this number, which as you point out, is a minimum, seems high to me.

O'BRIEN: This is obviously something that you're very familiar with. What do you think are the predictors, the circumstances that would predict a suicide by a soldier overseas?

REAGAN: Well, what we know is that in 95 percent or more of the cases of suicide, there is a diagnosable psychiatric illness, most often things like depression. I think that then the stresses, stresses that they heard of from home, stresses that are unique to this combat zone, those sorts of things all contribute. And of course it gets to a suicidal state of mind. And then of course these soldiers and Marines have the means at hand, also, to kill themselves.

O'BRIEN: Obviously.

Does it ever happen that one soldier can lead others to commit suicide? That one sort of pulling it off successfully sort of points the way -- and I hate to use that phrase -- to others?

REAGAN: Well, very much. If you have a group of people, as a large group of our active duty personnel there, certainly there's a certain permissiveness. So when a soldier sees someone else has used this method, it may reduce his own inhibitions, it may reduce his own ambivalence about choosing this method, and it can spread, almost like a contagion throughout a group, and we've seen that. And that can be a danger here.

O'BRIEN: A couple of weeks ago, I interviewed, I think it was a Private First Class George Bagani (ph), and he is a young man who said that he had anxiety. He went to his commanding officer who basically told him get right back out there again. What's your take on a case like that? They wanted, essentially, to dismiss him under the statute of cowardice. And he's managed to actually fight this in court at this point, still pending. When you hear a story like that, what's your reaction?

REAGAN: That causes me a good deal of concern, because he sought help, and feels that he didn't get it. He's been returned back to the United States with the dereliction of duty charges that the cowardice has been reduced to, and I think that that really sends the wrong message. That's the message that if you have psychological problems, serious ones, they're going to approach you in a punitive manner. And the key to suicide prevention is letting people, giving people permission to come forward and seek help. Seeking help is extremely important. And anything that discourages seeking help can contribute to an increased rate of suicide.

O'BRIEN: Dr. Paul Reagan joining us this morning from Nashville. Dr. Reagan, thanks very much for your time.

REAGAN: You're very welcome.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com