Another Veteran Suicide "Prevention Bill" After Another Suicide

We Must Improve Anti-Suicide and Mental Health Care Programs at the VA
Huffington Post
Rep. John K. Delaney
U.S. Representative for Maryland's 6th Congressional District
Posted: 10/14/2014

America's men and women in uniform bravely defend our nation and our values. Their skill, dedication and valor are the envy of the world. When their time in uniform is over, they are entitled to world-class health care, a benefit they've earned and that their country is grateful to provide for them. We have to improve Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) services: wait times are too long, veterans don't have enough options and benefits paperwork takes too long to process, especially for veterans in Maryland that use the Baltimore VA. The bipartisan VA reform bill that was signed into law this summer is a good start -- providing more funding, more flexibility and more accountability -- but we still have work to do.

One of the most critical areas of need is improving our suicide prevention efforts. According to a study conducted by the VA, on average, 22 veterans a day commit suicide. That's one tragedy every 65 minutes and according to analysis done by CNN, that number could be even higher. This is an area where the American people are clearly united that we have to do more. To improve mental health care services for veterans and improve VA programs, Congress should pass the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act as soon as possible.

The legislation is named for an exceptional young man whose story deserves to be told. Clay Hunt was the kind of individual that has made America a great country. In 2005, when his country needed him, he enlisted in the Marine Corps. Shot in Iraq, he earned a Purple Heart and after he recuperated, he graduated from Marine Corps Scout Sniper School and was deployed to Afghanistan. After leaving the military in 2009, he became an advocate for veterans and worked with Team Rubicon, a humanitarian aid organization.

However, Clay also struggled with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression and survivor's guilt as he transitioned to civilian life. He lost friends in both Iraq and Afghanistan and witnessed fellow soldiers being killed. But Clay received a low PTSD disability rating (30 percent) from the VA and struggled to receive adequate counseling and care. He had to wait months to see a psychiatrist and the bulk of his counseling was related to medications he was prescribed. Clay attempted to appeal his PTSD rating and dealt with the VA misplacing his paperwork. In 2011, Clay took his own life.
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I had to leave this comment. Just totally fed up!

How many more years? How many more Bills? How much more money are you guys willing to allow before Congress finally gets this right? No one has been held accountable for any of this after all these years.

There are no new lessons to be learned especially when Comprehensive Soldier Fitness is still being funded and pushed no matter how suicides have increased.

The DOD can claim suicides are down in the military but they can't claim it without telling folks the number of enlisted personnel has also gone down. They cannot claim it is working when OEF and OIF veterans are still coming home after 5 years of CSF and killing themselves. They can't claim it works when families still blame themselves because no one told them what they needed to know leaving them to learn on their own when it is much too late to keep their veteran alive.

Clay Hunt deserved to still be alive and healing. So did the other 8,030 veterans ending their lives at home that year after surviving combat on foreign soil.