Suicide isn't painless...

...as the song said, if only because it hurts a lot of people beyond the deceased.

There's some speculation swirling around the untimely death of Maj Raymond Ruckpaul in Kabul recently, which I suspect was the spark for this article on suicide in the CF that ran last week in the Calgary Sun:

In 2006, the report says 99 U.S. soldiers died by their own hands, for a rate of 17.3 per 100,000. While last year's figures weren't available, the average number of suicides in the Canadian military from 2000 to 2005 was 9.8 per year, with rates hovering in the 11 to 13 per 100,000 range.

"I've never known anyone in the military who's committed suicide," said a veteran Edmonton-based soldier, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"In fact, I've never even heard of anyone doing it."

In fact, said Lt. Col. Theresa Girvin, a psychiatrist at the Edmonton Garrison, the suicide rate among Canadian Forces personnel is lower than the civilian population, which, according to the Canadian Mental Health Association's website, is 15 per 100,000.

Interesting perspectives there, but not representative of everyone's experience. Personally, I've been touched by three separate suicides of serving members, one of them someone very close to me and my family. I myself struggled with severe depression while at RMC, which is why I didn't graduate with my class and left the CF.

Here's another point of view to balance the one in the article: depression and mental health is a serious issue in the CF. Not just from combat, but from the stresses of everyday work. From airmen putting in ridiculous hours doing staff work at an Ottawa headquarters and neglecting their own personal lives, to soldiers witnessing untold horrors in Africa or Southwest Asia, to sailors spending half of their adult lives floating on a chunk of steel in the middle of the ocean instead of raising their kids, the CF can be a tough employer. There's a reason for this old saw: "If the military wanted you to have a spouse, they'd have issued you one!" - it's because there's more than a grain of truth to how hard our Armed Forces can be on a member's personal life.

I've been told that the situation - the treatment options, the level of acceptance that having personal problems or mental health issues doesn't mean you're weak or unfit to serve - has improved since I left the CF. I sincerely hope so.

Update: It seems the investigation has confirmed that Maj Ruckpaul's death was in fact a suicide. My sincerest condolences to his friends and family in this difficult time. Know that others have gone down this path before you, and that our thoughts and prayers are with you now.