Military tries to stem suicides at Tinker Air Force Base

Military tries to stem high number of suicides among personnel
An analysis released by the Pentagon in June found suicide now to be the second-leading cause of death among troops following combat. Military officials are working to stanch that trend.
By Phillip O'Connor
Published: September 24, 2012

David M. Walker II enjoyed motorcycles and getting muddy, but also was a “momma's boy,” who told his mother that he was never too big to sit on her lap.

According to the state medical examiner's office, Walker hanged himself.

Walker's death is part of a troubling surge in the number of suicides by military members that U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta recently characterized as an “epidemic.”

An analysis released by the Pentagon in June found suicide now to be the second-leading cause of death among troops following combat.

“All of us, and frankly for that matter all Americans, have to always support and care for those who have stepped forward to defend our country in uniform,” Panetta said in a recent speech on the issue.

“We are a family, and by God we have to take care of our family members.”

Walker's was the second suicide this year at Tinker. In March, Baanh Dinh, 24, shot his wife, Priscilla Dinh-Kittelson, in an apparent murder-suicide. Both were active duty Air Force members stationed at Tinker.
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