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Navy: Store guns of sailors at risk for suicide

SFCRetired

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2008
Messages
1,764
Location
Montgomery, Alabama, USA
Yeah, I saw that. It's due to mission creep, sailors trying to be soldiers.

Sailors belong on ships and ships belong at sea. If the Navy wanted you to have a wife then there would'a been one in your seabag.
Mission creep is a part of it, but you also need to factor in the back-to-back deployments of almost all the branches of the Armed Forces. Plus the institutional bias that still exists in all the services against a service member seeking mental health assistance.

A surefire way to scuttle a promising career, be you officer or enlisted, is to admit to needing the services of a psychiatrist to treat for depression/PTSD/anxiety. It may not be reflected on your OER/NCOER, but the word will get up the chain of command that you sought help. I would just about bet good money that the person seeking help will not see another promotion and will be oh-so-subtly encouraged to get out.

I am reliably informed that this bias has not changed since the days when I was Active Duty. And then the brass wonders why service members are committing suicide?

Also willing to bet that any service member who turns in their guns under this program will both never see the weapons again and will also receive the same disgraceful treatment as those who seek treatment.
 

FallonJeeper

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Joined
Dec 27, 2011
Messages
576
Location
Fallon, NV
Yeah, I saw that. It's due to mission creep, sailors trying to be soldiers.

Sailors belong on ships and ships belong at sea. If the Navy wanted you to have a wife then there would'a been one in your seabag.

What, exactly are you saying? Sailors don't handle firearms? Many qualify with pistol and rifle, and use them while underway. They aren't trying to be soldiers. They are doing the jobs they are assigned, because soldiers don't usually go to sea.

These weapons are personal weapons. They don't deserve to defend themselves when they aren't underway?
 

davidmcbeth

Banned
Joined
Jan 14, 2012
Messages
16,167
Location
earth's crust
More than half of Navy suicides involve guns.

What's next .. turn in their neckties?

The gun isn't the issue ...

Still, suicides have increased, from 41 among active-duty sailors last year to 46 so far in 2014

46 v 41 ? Likely not a significant increase...too small a # to place any reliance upon. But people see a number increase and start freaking out....undisciplined group.

About 400,000 sailors ... so looking at 0.01 - 0.02 %.

In 2011, 39,518 people died by suicide. (CDC) (http://www.save.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.viewPage&page_id=705D5DF4-055B-F1EC-3F66462866FCB4E6)

US Pop. about 300,000,000

Overall rate = 0.013%

Navy rate does not seem any different than overall population.

So it may not be a "Navy" related issue at all ....
 

Aknazer

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2011
Messages
1,760
Location
California
This is standard for those placed on suicide watch and live on base. Though in the Air Force when placed on suicide watch you also get a wingman assigned to you who's supposed to be there practically all the time. Not quite sure how they handlegoing to the bathroom, bathing, or sleeping though as I've never done it.

I see nothing wrong in asking for them, to me the issue would be in ordering the person to turn them over.
 

Thundar

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Joined
Sep 12, 2007
Messages
4,946
Location
Newport News, Virginia, USA
Yeah, I saw that. It's due to mission creep, sailors trying to be soldiers.

Sailors belong on ships and ships belong at sea. If the Navy wanted you to have a wife then there would'a been one in your seabag.

The USMC relies upon the Navy corpsmen to go into harms way to treat the wounded. Since WWI the U.S. Navy hospital men have the highest MoH rate in the entire armed forces. Terrible job patching up those that are blown up day after day. Putting your life on the line without carrying a rifle to shoot back. Hell if I know why anybody would want that job. My brother did it for years. He is now an emergency room RN. Sailors go where the country needs them.
 

Primus

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Oct 24, 2013
Messages
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Location
United States
The USMC relies upon the Navy corpsmen to go into harms way to treat the wounded. Since WWI the U.S. Navy hospital men have the highest MoH rate in the entire armed forces. Terrible job patching up those that are blown up day after day. Putting your life on the line without carrying a rifle to shoot back. Hell if I know why anybody would want that job. My brother did it for years. He is now an emergency room RN. Sailors go where the country needs them.
Navy corpsman arent navy.... They are mini marines. Just like Docs in the infantry. They ate, shat, slept, walked, etc with us. Even would do battle drills and patrols. They weren't POGs. They were DOCs.
 

davidmcbeth

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Jan 14, 2012
Messages
16,167
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earth's crust
Navy corpsman arent navy.... They are mini marines. Just like Docs in the infantry. They ate, shat, slept, walked, etc with us. Even would do battle drills and patrols. They weren't POGs. They were DOCs.

Marines are part of the Dept. of the Navy...so ????
 
Last edited:

OC for ME

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Joined
Jan 6, 2010
Messages
12,452
Location
White Oak Plantation
The new guidance states that commanders "may inquire about, collect and record information about a service member's privately-owned firearms, ammunition or other weapons."


Sailors shouldn't be coerced into handing over guns, it says, and they can ask for them back at any time.


If a sailor doesn't want to relinquish a personal weapon, commanders can ask to store critical pieces or the key to a gun safety lock.
...may? ...shouldn't? ...can? I spent 20+ in the Navy and every time I was "volunteered" for X (your job...if you choose to accept it and you really have no choice), those three words were used very frequently. Never considered those "requests" as anything other than a "or else" request.

Anyway, the Navy has special dispensation to infringe upon their employee's constitutional rights...to a point.
 
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