"I was prepared to die for my brothers around me"

"I was prepared to die for my brothers around me"
by Kathie Costos
Wounded Times Blog
February 21, 2013

Think about what this veteran said. Let it sink in. Think about what it takes to be willing to do that. Could you do that? Could you train to do that? No. No amount of training to kill trains you to die for the sake of someone else. That is already within them when they decide to join the military. They are rare in this country. America has only 8% of the population knowing what it is like to be willing to do that, less than 1% are serving right now. Now think about the military suicides. Do you think it is fair when military brass compares military suicides to the civilian suicide statistics? They fail to mention the fact that veterans are among some of them.

How do they go from that during combat to not wanting to live when they go back home and no longer have to worry about sacrificing their lives to save someone else?

The only reason for this to happen is when they lose hope that the next day can be better than this day was.

Veterans describe devastating effects of PTSD
WNCN-TV
2/20/2013

For some veterans, the war doesn't end when they arrive back in the United States. Shaken by their experiences, they can suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, living with a severe anxiety that can devastate lives and families.

Two veterans who have struggled with PTSD are Matthew Brown and Bobby Price, who explained their symptoms and their paths to recovery.

"I was prepared to die for my brothers around me," said Brown. "I was prepared to die to keep people at home safe."

"I signed up to serve my country," said Price, a retired member of the Military Police.

Brown said he never touched a single drink before joining the military.

"It didn't hit me in the beginning," said Price. "It started wearing on me little by little."

Brown and Price had two very different experiences in the military, but have at least two things in common – their love for their families – and post-traumatic stress disorder.
read more here

When General Dana Pittard said "suicide was a selfish act" he was wrong beyond belief because these are not selfish people. They are hurting because they do not get what they need to heal from where they've been. Brass blames families and girlfriends and money, you name it but never mention their hardships during deployments are a lot harsher than those reasons. Never mention that most of the problems with relationships are because of PTSD even though less than half seek help for it so that means half don't even know if they have it or not.

These men and women are killing themselves because they are suffering and the DOD doesn't want to change a thing they are doing to address any of it. More of the same will result in more of the same deaths because of combat and not during it.