Presidential Condolences and Troop Suicides

Pfc. Jason Scheuerman died because he went into combat in Iraq but the thing is, he died by his own hands. He died because he was there, because of what he was asked to do and because he was willing to do it.

There is a lot of talk about the all volunteer military. People say all the time how proud we should be of all of them since they joined willingly. As if that kind of talk is supposed to remove any obligation we have after the fact! We ask them to do it all then get back to our own lives, taking care of our own needs and making our own choices never once thinking about how much they have given up for our sake.

While it is true we should be proud of them, it is not proving it when we don't seem to care about why they go where we send them, if they have everything they need to get the job done from plans and equipment along with proper numbers, but worse, we don't seem too interested if they have what they need to recover from combat at all.

What is the problem with sending a letter of condolence when a family has to bury someone they love?

This rule has to be changed and apparently it can be since President Bush was quilted into doing it for the Scheuerman family. Considering how many suicides there have been in the military, this is the least a President can do for the sake of the family to at least say thank you for the efforts of their family member.

The White House did not respond to Mr. Scheuerman’s second letter. But in late 2005, the son of the Indianapolis Colts’ coach Tony Dungy committed suicide, and President George W. Bush sent him a letter of condolence.

Presidential Condolences and Troop Suicides
By JAMES DAO

It is a long-standing tradition that presidents send letters of condolence to the families of troops killed at war, whether by enemy fire, accident or illness. But since the Clinton administration at least, one group has not received those hand-signed notes: families of troops who committed suicide, even those who killed themselves while deployed to a war front.

It turns out, though, that on at least one occasion a president has made an exception to the no-letter protocol.

In 2005, 20-year-old Pfc. Jason Scheuerman killed himself while in Iraq with the 3rd Infantry Division. His father, Chris Scheuerman, a retired Army master sergeant, said his son had been struggling with depression and doubts about the war, and had sought counseling in the weeks before he died. But an Army psychologist who had not yet received his license to practice declared that Private Scheuerman might be feigning problems.

His commanding officers decided he was a “malingerer,” records obtained by Mr. Scheuerman showed, and sent him back to his unit. He was given back his weapon, but denied access to the Internet and telephone. About three weeks later he shot himself after tacking a note to his closet door that read, “I know you think I’m a coward for this but in the face of existing as I am now, I have no other choice.”

read more here

http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/01/presidential-condolences-and-troop-suicides/