Retired Air Force Colonel Committed Suicide After Email?

Veteran's suicide at center of lawsuit against UC Davis
CBS News
October 31, 2017

"This man had served his country for 23 years on active duty, and he had a chest full of metals. I believe in his mind, and so does our expert, that he was immediately imagining what would happen to him in the Air Force." Annabelle Roberts

DAVIS, Calif. -- A lawsuit filed against University of California, Davis claims the school discriminated against a decorated Air Force veteran, which drove himself to commit suicide.

CBS Sacramento reports the incident happened back in October 2015, but new details are just being released.

After leaving the military, Col. Christopher de Los Santos took a job at UC Davis.

But three months later, trouble spiraled out of control quickly during a weekend retreat with co-workers. One witness claims it was more like a booze cruise, saying Santos was misbehaving.

The university launched an investigation into the alleged inappropriate behavior, and a day later, campus officials sent Santos an email placing him on leave.

Santos took his own life a few hours after receiving that email.
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Details Left Out on Veterans Suicide Gossip

If you still want to talk about how many veterans you think are committing suicide day by day, consider the following. 

John Wooden

Overview of data for the years between 2001-2014

§ In 2014, there were 41,425 suicides among U.S. adults. Among all U.S. adult deaths from suicide, 18%(7,403) were identified as Veterans of U.S. military service. 

§ In 2014, the rate of suicide among U.S. civilian adults was 15.2 per 100,000. 

• Since 2001, the age-adjusted rate of suicide among U.S. civilian adults has increased by 23.0%. 

§ In 2014, the rate of suicide among all Veterans was 35.3 per 100,000.

• Since 2001, the age-adjusted rate of suicide among U.S. Veterans has increased by 32.2%. 

§ In 2014, the rate of suicide among U.S. civilian adult males was 26.2 per 100,000.

• Since 2001, the age-adjusted rate of suicide among U.S. civilian adult males has increased by 0.3%.

§ In 2014, the rate of suicide among U.S. Veteran males was 37.0 per 100,000.

• Since 2001, the age-adjusted rate of suicide among U.S. Veteran males has increased by 30.5%.

§ In 2014, the rate of suicide among U.S. civilian adult females was 7.2 per 100,000. 

• Since 2001, the age-adjusted rate of suicide among U.S. civilian adult females has increased by 39.7%. 

§ In 2014, the rate of suicide among U.S. Veteran females was 18.9 per 100,000. 

• Since 2001, the age-adjusted rate of suicide among U.S. Veteran females has increased by 85.2%.

And to think this is after the Veterans Crisis Line did all this,

Since the establishment of the VCL through May 2016 the VCL:

o Has answered over 2.3 million calls, made over 289,000 chat connections, and over 55,000 texts; 

o Has initiated the dispatch of emergency services to callers in imminent suicidal crisis over 61,000 times; 

o Has provided over 376,000 referrals to a VA Suicide Prevention Coordinator (SPC) thus ensuring Veterans are connected to local care;

And all the awareness groups have been doing a lot of talking but hardly any research. Including the fact that what they have been doing may have made them feel better about themselves, but did very little to get veterans to feel hope for their own lives. 

If you want to change the outcome, better start with with facts that got us to where we already are.

Family of Jason Simcakoski Gets Justice...Finally

Justice moved slowly. VA was found at fault back in 2015 after an investigation.

$2.3 million settlement filed in veteran's death at Tomah VA

WMTV NBC 15 News

October 28, 2017

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The government has reached a $2.3 million settlement with survivors of a Marine veteran who died of a drug overdose at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Tomah.

Court papers filed Friday say about $1.65 million would go upfront to the widow and daughter of Jason Simcakoski, of Stevens Point, who was 35 when he died in 2014. 

Another $659,000 would go into annuities for them. The rest would go to attorney fees and expenses.

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Veterans Court, Support and Encouragement

13 vets graduate from Indy Veterans Court

FOX 59

Randy Spieth

October 27, 2017

“I know I wouldn’t be here today if veterans court didn’t exist," Mills said while holding back tears. "I probably would be in jail, but they gave me hope.”

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.  - A relatively new program recognized the work of 13 veterans Friday who have suffered because of their time in the military.

Veterans court allows service men and women to enroll in treatment, allowing them to stay out of jail and possibly see their criminal charges dropped.

Vets in the program were recognized for graduating with an hour-long ceremony at the Indiana World War Memorial auditorium.

The Indianapolis Veterans Court (IVC) celebrated its second anniversary of serving men and women. Including Friday's ceremony, 21 veterans have graduated from IVC.

“Our program is a treatment-oriented court," said Marion County Superior Court Judge David Certo, who also runs the IVC. "You go to treatment, the court helps support you and encourage you, and hold you accountable in doing that because you get better outcomes when you go consistently to treatment.”

The program is completed by veterans in phases, and can take 12 to 18 months overall. 
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Parents Left Behind After Suicide Trained to Make a Difference

At first I was getting ready to slam this article as one more empty attempt to get attention. I am happy to admit I am glad I kept reading this article. 

It not only shows how a family left behind by suicide feels the need to help others, they actually invested the time and learned how to do it! Great story and great idea!

Nonprofits team up to help military families deal with suicide

Boston Herald
Marie Szaniszlo 
Saturday, October 28, 2017 

Melida and Carlos Arredondo received their training certification from the state in 2016 after Carlos’ 20-year-old son, Marine Lance Cpl. Alex Arredondo, was shot in the head by sniper fire in 2004 during his second deployment to Iraq. His 24-year-old brother, Brian, with whom he’d been close, hanged himself seven years later. The military’s casualty report explaining how Alex had been killed was found at his feet.