Just stumbled across a shocking VA statistic concerning vets and suicide

[Ford_Prefect]

1. At risk means they are alive, more likely to attempt it, and possibly succeed.

Rate of suicide is how many are successful.

It can be masked by other conditions. People who drink themselves to death over time aren't typically included, same for addicts, same for homeless who are said to die from exposure and so on. A similar situation applies to those who keep putting themselves into dangerous and sometimes confrontational situations.

In the past the critical difference was judged to be that the person put themselves to death either by direct action, (ie: shot themselves or jumped) or by passive but deliberate means intended to cause death (intentional drug overdose). Those who simply "wasted away" from other conditions and situations, or who died in dangerous circumstances or confrontation were not usually included but a number of Veteran's groups have challenged that idea.