What to Say After a Soldier’s Suicide – Letters to the Editor, N Y Times

Tonight’s late edition of the New York Times is running a special series in the Opinion section that holds a collection of letters to the editor concerning soldier suicides per the wars in western Asia.  It is a must read for veterans.

The article What to Say After a Soldier’s Suicide is insightful and shows that the American public is not as detached from this pain as we might think.  It is a sharper image of the situation from the point of view of people who have dealt with it.  It is realistic, sobering and valuable information.

I have some experience with Coast Guardsmen killing themselves and as a former Casualty Assistance Control Officer, I have a similar opinion as those noted in the article.

Regardless of what people in charge at various commands may think, there is no real way to stop a young person from killing themselves in the service once hope is gone.  If they have set their minds to do it, they will do it.  Sometimes supervisors can see it, sometimes not.

It is an ugly problem and where it concerns combat veterans who have literally been stretched to the breaking point for political reasons that have nothing to do with national defense, it is a national disgrace.

CWO3 Tom Barnes, USCG (Ret.)