Background:
Suicide is major cause of death in the IDF. The Suicide Prevention
Program (SPP) led to significant reduction in yearly rates of suicide. A
study regarding demographic changes of those who died by suicide was
done to further investigate its affect.
Method:
Nested case control retrospective study based on medical and HR data
gathered between 1992 and 2016. Participants were divided into four
groups: soldiers who died by suicide and non-suicidal soldiers, before
and after SPP implementation.
Results:
Multivariate analysis with suicide as the binary logistic dependent
variable before and after implementation of the SPP among four groups
revealed that before SPP the OR was higher for males (OR, 7.885; 95% CI,
5.071–12.259;p < 0.001) compared to
after (OR, 3.281; 95% CI, 1.600–6.726; p =
0.001). For support unit soldiers the values before SPP were OR, 14.962
and 95% CI, 8.427–26.563 (p < 0.001) while
after SPP they were OR, 6.304 and 95% CI, 3.334–11.919
(p < 0.001). After SPP, OR was higher
for psychiatric diagnosis at recruitment (OR, 5.830; 95% CI,
2.046–16.612; p = 0.001) than before SPP (OR,
2.422; 95% CI, 1.526–3.842; p < 0.001).For
soldiers from Ethiopian ethnicity, after SPP values were higher (OR,
8.130 and 95% CI, 2.868–23.047 (p < 0.001)
compared to before (OR, 3.522; 95% CI, 1.2891–6.650;
p < 0.001). For those of Druse
religion before values (OR, 4.027; 95% CI, 2.211–7.331;
p < 0.001) were significant but not
after.
Conclusions:
While the SPP succeeded in reducing risk of suicide in situational
factors, dispositional risk factors were not affected by the SPP. The OR
decreased in critical masses and rose in unique and smaller
groups.
This study presents an empirically grounded account of tunnel combat operations in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) within the context of “post-heroic” warfare. Current scholarship on “post-heroism” has viewed the technological and professional standards of contemporary military conflicts as distancing the individual combatant from the modern battlefield. Little attention has been given however to the ways in which soldiers themselves experience and adapt to post-heroic conditions. Findings based on in-depth semistructured interviews with 17 IDF tunnel combatants show these soldiers actively reinterpreting the strategic importance placed on distancing the warrior from the battlefield. This exploratory article suggests that an individual “warrior ethos” still resonates amid the professional and technological contours of post-heroic (underground) conflicts. By presenting a novel account of contemporary tunnel warfare from the perspective of the combatants themselves, this research sheds new light on the different personal dimensions that impact post-heroic military operations.
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