Hill Air Force Base officials have hired independent consultants and a full-time psychologist to study the troubling number of suicides among base employees, Air Force officials said last week in response to reports that three Hill employees have taken their own lives since the beginning of the year.
The deaths of two civilians and one airman come in the wake of a year in which at least eight people from the base killed themselves, and brings to at least 25 the number of suicides counted among Hill employees since 2006.
The rate of self-inflicted deaths at Hill is several times higher than Utah's rate, which itself is higher than the national average. And some workers and their families say those numbers may be artificially low, because the official tally does not include thousands of non-government contractors, drug overdoses and other deaths that cannot be proven to be intentional.
They have criticized Hill officials for allowing working conditions at the base to push some employees over the edge. But base leaders say other factors, such as marital problems and substance abuse, have been involved in all of the suicides investigated.
"The installation continues to make wellness and suicide prevention one of its top priorities," said Maj. Gen. Andrew Busch, the commander of Hill's Ogden Air Logistics Center.
He noted that the 309th Maintenance Wing, whose civilian employees account for a majority of those from the base who have taken their lives, "stood down" last week so supervisors could address the issue with workers
"The bottom line is suicide is never the answer and the base is addressing the issue on as many fronts as possible," Busch said.
The problem first came to public attention in the wake of the death of 39-year-old sheet metal machinist Donald Cleavenger, who killed himself in an aircraft hangar after receiving a poor performance review on the last day of 2008. Most of the deaths, however, occurred off base.
Since then, families of several other suicide victims have come forward, including relatives of Joni Berriochoa, who left behind a journal labeled "Joni's Hell," in which she described problems she was having with her manager. The journal indicated that she had complained to superiors, but she felt as though no changes were made.
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Hill Air Force Base officials are advising workers who believe they or their colleagues are at risk of suicide to visit www.FOH4you.com or call 800-222-0364.
