Soldier's text to Mom "I just can't take living anymore"

Fort Bragg soldier's story shows why preventing military suicides is a 'frustrating challenge'
By GREG BARNES
The Fayetteville Observer
Published: July 9, 2012

Fayetteville, N.C.— At 3:37 a.m. on May 19, Fort Bragg Pvt. Eric Watson sent a text message to his mother:

"I love you mom. I just can't take living anymore and I'm so sorry. I will always be with you."

The message set off a flurry of texts between Watson and his mother, Angela Moore, who said she tried to keep her son on the phone until she could get someone to check on him.

Watson, who Moore said had tried to overdose on pills and alcohol, was found in time.

Watson's story provides insight into how far the military has come in helping mentally ill soldiers, even as too many continue to slip through cracks in the system.

At the same time, the fact that Watson ended up in the Cumberland County Detention Center three days after his suicide attempt -- where jailers weren't even told to put him on suicide watch -- raises questions about Fort Bragg's handling of his problems.

Military suicides are soaring.

According to an Associated Press analysis, from the first of the year to June 3, suicides among active-duty U.S. military service members averaged nearly one per day.

The 154 suicides represent the highest rate since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began a decade ago and an 18 percent increase from the same period a year earlier.
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