Sec. 747. Sense of Congress on National Warrior Call Day
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Congress finds the following: Establishing an annual National Warrior Call Day will draw attention to those members of the Armed Forces whose connection to one another is key to our veterans and first responders who may be dangerously disconnected from family, friends, and support systems. The number of suicides of members of the Armed Forces serving on active duty increased to 377 in 2020, a figure up from 348 the previous year. The epidemic of veteran suicide has steadily increased since 2014 with 6,435 veterans taking their own lives in 2018.
After adjusting for sex and age, the rate of veteran suicide in 2018 was 27.5 per 100,000 individuals, higher than the rate among all United States adults at 18.3. More veterans have died by suicide in the last 10 years than members of the Armed Forces who died from combat in Vietnam. Roughly two-thirds of these veterans who take their own lives have had no contact with the Department of Veterans Affairs. The COVID–19 pandemic has only increased isolation and disconnection, further exacerbating mental and physical ailments such as post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention note that law enforcement officers and firefighters are more likely to die by suicide than in the line of duty, and emergency medical services providers are 1.39 times more likely to die by suicide than members of the general public. Invisible wounds linked to an underlying and undiagnosed traumatic brain injury can mirror many mental health conditions, a problem that can be addressed through connections to members of the Armed Forces and veterans who can better identify and address these wounds.
Urgent research is needed to highlight the connection between traumatic brain injury as a root cause of invisible wounds and suicide by members of the Armed Forces and veterans. It is the sense of Congress that Congress— supports the designation of a National Warrior Call Day ; encourages all Americans, especially members of the Armed Forces serving on active duty and veterans, to call up a warrior, have an honest conversation, and connect them with support, understanding that making a warrior call could save a life; and implores all Americans to recommit themselves to engaging with members of the Armed Forces through National Warrior Call Day and constructive efforts that result in solutions and treatment for the invisible scars they carry.