Tami Mielke, who was retired by the time she ended her life

Tami's Torment: 'Suicides are a problem in the Guard'
Argus Leader
Steve Young
October 25, 2014

Tami Mielke, a lieutenant colonel in the South Dakota Air National Guard who suffered from PTSD after a deployment in Iraq in 2010, in her official portrait as Mission Support Group Commander.
(Photo: Submitted Photo)

Retired members say National Guard doesn’t understand how to deal with PTSD

Tami Mielke's decision to end her life raises serious questions about South Dakota's care of its emotionally wounded warriors.

A gunshot June 24 at Mielke's rural Sioux Falls acreage silenced the demons that came back from Iraq with the 50-year-old former Air National Guardsman. But it hasn't quieted concerns about the way the Guard helped and supported her after she returned — or any other members who struggle with their war experiences.

And there have been others.

Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America, 12 South Dakota Army National Guardsmen and one airman have died by suicide, including three who took their lives this year. None of those include Tami Mielke, who was retired by the time she ended her life.

Though just six of those 13 guardsmen had deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, "Suicides are a problem in the Guard nationally, and we're a cross section of that," said Maj. Gen. Tim Reisch, head of the South Dakota National Guard. "We acknowledge that it's a problem here."
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National Guard PTSD I Grieve