Parents Say Soldier Likely Committed Suicide

Parents Say Soldier Likely Committed Suicide
Family Says 25-Year-Old Was Depressed

POSTED: 3:48 pm EDT June 22, 2009

INDIANAPOLIS -- The family of an Indianapolis soldier who died last week in Iraq said they knew he was depressed, but didn't know how to help.

Army Spc. Chancellor A. Keesling, 25, died Friday in Baghdad, according to a release from the Department of Defense.

His parents, Jannett and Gregg Keesling, said that after talking with military officials and the soldier who found their son, they believe he committed suicide.

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http://www.theindychannel.com/news/19825379/detail.html

UPDATE to this

Soldier, 25, killed self in Iraq, family says

GI troubled by stress from an earlier tour and by quarrel with girlfriend, dad says
By Robert Annis - Indianapolis Star
Posted : Tuesday Jun 23, 2009 18:37:43 EDT

The family of an Indianapolis soldier who died in Baghdad last week confirmed Monday that he took his own life.

Army Spc. Chancellor Keesling, 25, Indianapolis, shot and killed himself Friday, just two weeks after he returned for his second tour of duty in Iraq and days after an argument with a girlfriend.

Keesling’s father, Gregg Keesling, said his son and his son’s wife had separated during his first tour, and he was despondent over the possibility that a second relationship was crumbling.

Chancellor Keesling suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder from his first tour, his father said, but neither his commanding officer nor fellow soldiers with the 961st Engineer Company out of Sharonville, Ohio, had any idea.

Keesling’s firearm, his father said, was taken away from him for one month during his initial deployment for fear he would harm himself.

Gregg Keesling applauded the military’s efforts to assist soldiers with mental health issues, but he said something as simple as the family having the e-mail address of the unit chaplain could have helped save his son’s life.

“We talked to him 15 hours earlier and told him to go see the chaplain, but he didn’t go,” he said. “There was enough time to get to someone to keep this from happening, but we didn’t know who (to talk to).”
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/06/gns_soldier_suicide_062309/

It seems that Gregg Keesling has one of the answers to this. The families. They know the soldiers and veterans better than anyone else does. They know their character, their moods, everything that is a part of their lives. They are also the first ones to see when something isn't right and when they need help. Maybe part of the solution is to give all families the contact information for unit chaplains just in case they are needed.