Honoring the service of soldiers who commit suicide

Reading this there was hopeful signs things were changing for the better, but too late to save the life of Staff Sgt. Montgomery.

Because Montgomery insisted he was not suicidal, he wasn't immediately evacuated from the base. When his condition didn't improve, his company commander arranged for him to fly out on a Jan. 20 re-supply helicopter. Montgomery killed himself that morning.

He said he was not suicidal. That's it? Just because he said so? Didn't they know? Why didn't they know? They are supposed to be professionals and able to at least take steps even if it turns out they were wrong in trying to save a life, they should have tried anyway. How many signs did he have to show that he was in deep trouble? The Army numbers are still going up but the Marines reported their number of suicides has gone down. Why? What are the Marines doing the Army is not?

Honoring their lives, even when they commit suicide, is the right thing to do, but not letting it reach that point would really be honoring their lives.


Honoring the service of soldiers who commit suicide

Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the Army's vice chief of staff, recently told commanders to conduct the same memorial services for battlefield suicides as they would for other deaths. The order provoked controversy among some commanders, who argued that suicide was dishonorable, an aide to Chiarelli said.

By Greg Jaffe
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, July 18, 2010

There was only the subtlest hint that this memorial service was different.

The Baker Company first sergeant called his men to attention in front of a ragged rock wall, built to shield troops from incoming mortar fire. A chaplain read an invocation, followed by a brief recitation of Staff Sgt. Thaddeus S. Montgomery Jr.'s biography. He had spent three years in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan as a Humvee gunner, a sniper and infantry squad leader. He loved reggae music, camping and fishing and wore his hair in dreadlocks before enlisting.

"Monty was someone I could talk to when things got tough," said one of his men, according to a video of the ceremony, which was held early this year in eastern Afghanistan. "He brought laughter to the squad and a bright outlook on life."

He was a "fearless leader," his company commander said.

"I'll never know why Monty did what he did on the 20th of January," said his best friend in the platoon.

On that day Montgomery, 29, aimed his gun at himself and pulled the trigger, Army officials said.

The Pentagon doesn't tell units how to mourn soldiers who commit suicide in combat, but it makes distinctions between suicides and other war deaths. The families of those who die of combat wounds or in noncombat accidents receive condolence letters from the president. The families of suicide victims do not.

Some Army and Marine Corps brigades inscribe the names of suicide victims on unit war memorials. Many units choose not to include them.

It fell to Col. Randy George, who commands Montgomery's brigade, to decide how the soldier would be remembered. George weighed Montgomery's history with the Army and the unit.

"This was his third deployment," the colonel said. "He was an incredible squad leader and soldier. He was well-liked." Montgomery's death was a combat fatality, he decided.
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Honoring the service of soldiers who commit suicide