Posted on 05/31/2011 10:50:15 AM PDT by Libloather
Obama urged to reverse policy on no condolence letters for suicides
By Adam Levine, CNN
May 26, 2011
A bipartisan group of senators is asking President Barack Obama to change the current "insensitive" policy of not sending condolence letters to families of service members who commit suicide.
A letter signed by 11 senators -- 10 Democrats and one Republican -- and sent Wednesday urges the president to "take immediate steps to reverse the long-standing policy of withholding presidential letters of condolence" to families of troops who killed themselves.
The policy, which goes back several presidents, has been the subject of protest by military families. CNN first reported in 2009 about the family of Spc. Chancellor Keesling, who killed himself while serving in Iraq.
**SNIP**
"Unfortunately, perpetuating a policy that denies condolence letters to families of service members who die by suicide only serves to reinforce this stigma by overshadowing the contributions of an individual's life with the unfortunate nature of his or her death," the letter says. "It is simply unacceptable for the United States to be sending the message to these families that somehow their loved ones' sacrifices are less important."
The letter was signed by Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Barbara Boxer of California, Ben Cardin of Maryland, Richard Durbin of Illinois, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Mark Pryor of Arkansas; Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, Jon Tester of Montana, Mark Udall of Colorado, and Ron Wyden of Oregon; and Republican Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina.
(Excerpt) Read more at articles.cnn.com ...
"In an honorable..." Nope.
"We're sorry to inform you..." They probably already know.
"We gave him a gun and..." That won't work.
Maybe that "insensitive" policy is in place for a really good reason.
Muzzle suckers are not heros.
They end up taking fire until the command approves a response. It's Vietnam all over again.
Isn’t throwing yourself on a live grenade technically a suicide? They give Medal of Honors to those guys.
It's only a suicide if nobody else is around. If it is done to save others, it is called sacrifice.
So, the muzzie who straps a bomb on himself and walks into a crowded market before setting it off isn’t committing suicide since he’s not alone?
How about the Heaven’s Gate cultists? They weren’t alone.
My point is the actions people take in a time of war are not always clear cut. One man’s defense of his buddies is another man’s wanton massacre.
How about the Heaven’s Gate cultists? They weren’t alone.
My point is the actions people take in a time of war are not always clear cut. One man’s defense of his buddies is another man’s wanton massacre.
I refuse to believe you can't see the clear difference. If not, there's nothing I can say to help you.
This doesn’t bother me one bit. The pain felt by the parents may even be worse when it’s a suicide.
A rather pathetic argument. The hero jumps on a grenade ("to commit suicide" as you seem to want to put it) in order to save lives. The Muzzie straps himself to an explosive in order to take lives. There is absolutely no confusion on that score in the minds of any reasonable adult. The difference in intent could not be larger or more clear. (Hint: mens rea is an element of just about every criminal charge.)
Nice little semantic attempt, but it still gets an F.
I'm still waiting to hear what would be in a letter to parents whose military son or daughter just killed him or herself.
How about I am sorry for your loss and DoD and most especially the VA needs to do a better job of attending to the mental health care needs of veterans and I as president will get them off their butts and make them do their job!?!? Sound good to you?
The stats on veteran suicide are not good. You cannot deploy people 5,6,7 or more times without ramifications. I believe I have read somewhere 70% of those currently deployed have had a friend KIA or WIA. Have some compassion. And the fed gov has a moral duty to take care of vets.
And ask why at the Richmond VA they have done away with the PTSD support groups, but the GLBT can continue to have theirs...sexual orientation has nothing to do with military service. I found out about this from a fellow wounded wife and friend who is well-connected.
The irony is that they are spending all their money on homeless vets and suicide studies. It makes no sense to cut the VA mental health budget by stopping group therapies and then spend it on suicide prevention!
What you say is very true based upon my first hand knowledge at another VA!
Correct answer.
I’ve heard the suicide prevention phone line is a total joke. That’s just anecdotal info though. I don’t know personally. The whole thing is window dressing to make it seem like they are being proactive, but the statistics are not in VA’s favor. Just my opinion.
And thank you for your service!
Almost 4200 Iraq and Afghan vets have died since leaving the military. This stat only goes to sometime in 2010. Why? I’m not suggesting all due to suicide, but I’d like to know why.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/29/us/29bcveterans.html?_r=1&ref=veterans
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