Death because of combat worth condolences now

It has been a long time coming. For all the men and women buried from what was called "non-combat" death, it was because of combat and all they had to endure even if it was not the direct result of a bullet or bomb connecting with their bodies.

This country acknowledges the fact combat does wound in more ways than just physically. We invested billions of dollars over the years working on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and countless articles have been published on PTSD as a direct result of the traumas of combat. Now we can finally acknowledge the sympathies of the nation to the families of the men and women we trained to go into combat but did not train them to come home.

No matter how you feel personally about suicide, these men and women served this nation with honor.

Official: White House to lift ban on military suicide condolences
By Dan Lothian, White House Correspondent
July 6, 2011 5:31 a.m. EDT

Army Spc. Chancellor Keesling, seen here with his father Gregg Keesling, committed suicide in Iraq in 2009.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Official: Move applies to families of deployed service members who commit suicide
Decision will help end "stigma" of wars' mental health toll, official says in statement
Senators, family of a deceased soldier had asked president to reverse the policy
Army report showed a steady rise in 2004-2009 Army and Marine suicide rates

(CNN) -- The Obama administration has reversed a White House policy of not sending condolence letters to the next-of-kin of service members who commit suicide, a senior administration official confirmed in a statement to CNN.

The move comes nearly six weeks after a group of senators -- 10 Democrats and one Republican -- asked President Barack Obama to change what they called an "insensitive" policy that dates back several administrations and has been the subject of protest by some military families.
In the statement Tuesday, the White House official said a review had been completed, and the president will send condolence letters to families of service members who commit suicide while deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and other combat operations.

"The president feels strongly that we need to destigmatize the mental health costs of war to prevent these tragic deaths, and changing this policy is part of that process," the official's statement said.

"Unfortunately, perpetuating a policy that denies condolence letters to families of service members who die by suicide only serves to reinforce this stigma by overshadowing the contributions of an individual's life with the unfortunate nature of his or her death. It is simply unacceptable for the United States to be sending the message to these families that somehow their loved ones' sacrifices are less important."

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White House to lift ban on military suicide condolences







Long time coming

My video, Death Because They Served, 2007

This post from my older blog has more of their stories.
Did they play taps