Soldier, firefighter who died of apparent suicide given hero’s escort
Westchester 12 News
October 27, 2016
Morrison’s parents say that their son’s death is proof that post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is very real among the military.
GARNERVILLE - A Rockland soldier and longtime Hillcrest firefighter who recently died of an apparent suicide in Colorado got a hero's escort to Garnerville on Thursday.
Sgt. James Morrison, of Wesley Hills, was on active duty at Fort Carson when he died Wednesday.
The 28-year-old also used to be a firefighter in Hillcrest, joining the department when he was a teenager.
Morrison had been deployed to Afghanistan three times and later re-enlisted back in the United States.
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Veterans may face higher risk of suicide during first year home
Reuters
October 28, 2016
When they left the military, the risk of suicide remained higher than for current service members for several years. Six years after leaving the military, veterans had a 63 percent higher risk of suicide than those still in the service, the study found.
Veterans may be more likely to commit suicide during the first year after they leave the military than after more time passes, a U.S. study suggests.
Compared with people still on active duty in the military, veterans out of the service for up to three months were 2.5 times more likely to commit suicide, the study found. Veterans who had left the service from three to 12 months earlier had almost triple the suicide odds of current members of the military.
"Family members and community can be proactive to reach out to veterans if they recently experienced stressful events - not just limited to the stressful events we can capture in the data such as divorce or separation from the military," said lead study author Yu-Chu Shen, a researcher at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.
"In addition, clinicians should be aware that deployments may increase suicide risk independently of underlying mental disorders, and so asking patients about deployment history is advisable," Shen said by email.
However, in the first quarter following deployment, service members had a 50 percent higher risk of suicide than their peers who didn't experience deployment.
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Army Says 2-Star General Committed Suicide
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
OCT. 28, 2016
"To the Army, he was Maj. Gen. Rossi. To us, he was John -- husband, dad."
WASHINGTON — The Army said Friday it has determined that suicide was the cause of death of a two-star general who was found dead in his home on a military base in Alabama.
Maj. Gen. John Rossi was found dead July 31 at Redstone Arsenal, two days before he was to assume command of Army Space and Missile Defense Command.
He is the first Army general to commit suicide on active duty since record-keeping began in 2000, according to the Army. Military suicides soared earlier this decade and remain a major source of concern; they typically have affected lower-ranking military members.
Rossi, a West Point academy graduate and an air defense artillery officer by training, had just moved onto Redstone Arsenal and was scheduled to be promoted to lieutenant general when he took command of Space and Missile Defense Command.
"To all the other families out there, to the man or woman who may be facing challenging times, please seek assistance immediately. Compassionate and confidential assistance is available."
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Video: Man with apparent PTSD struggles with Gladstone officer, asks girlfriend to ‘shoot him’
FOX 4
BY SHANNON O'BRIEN AND MICHELLE PEKARSKY
OCTOBER 28, 2016
GLADSTONE, Mo. -- A Gladstone police officer struggled with a suspect for about 4 minutes, trying to keep Aaron Barker, 32, from getting a hold of his gun.
Barker's girlfriend Megan took video during the fight and wanted to explain that the man she loves suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after serving as a mortar man during a 10-month deployment in Iraq, where he saw combat every day and was blown up by a hidden bomb.
In the video above, FOX 4's Shannon O'Brien talked to Megan, who didn't want to show her face, but did want to explain Barker's actions.
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Fort Bragg-based Green Beret dies while serving in Kenya
Army Times
By: Meghann Myers
October 28, 2016
A memorial service for a 3rd Special Forces Group soldier is set for Saturday in Fayetteville, North Carolina, 11 days after his mysterious death while deployed to Kenya, according to his obituary.
Sgt. 1st Class Zachary Bannister, 33, was found dead of non-combat related injuries on Oct. 17, Maj. Christopher Foreman, a spokesman for 3rd Special Forces Group, told Army Times on Friday.
Bannister's remains arrived at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, on Thursday. The cause of his death is under investigation, Foreman said.
The Reynoldsburg, Ohio, native spent four years as a Marine from 2003 to 2007, then re-enlisted into Special Forces in 2010, according to a 3rd Special Forces Group release.
He did two deployment to Afghanistan, the release said, earning three Bronze Star Medals -- one with the combat "V" device -- and various other awards.
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