A soldier’s suicide and his mother’s grief are tragic part of nation’s larger mental health issues among veterans
SiLive By Paul Liotta July 29, 2019
“I wanna be the person I know I can be -- clean from drugs,” John wrote. “I want to get my life back in order ... I want my family to be proud of me again.”
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- John King served his country, but when he came home, his family says the system failed him like it has too many other veterans.
After just two years and four months in the Army, King returned home to Staten Island with severe physical and mental injuries. He spent years trying to get help, but on Oct. 7, 2017 he took his own life.
His death is part of an upward trend in suicide that many in America have been working to reverse.
“These guys are brothers,” John’s mom Sandra King said. “They went through something none of us will ever understand. They went -- they gave up their lives for us.”
The Oakwood resident signed up for the Army in 2007 at the age of 17, and quickly found himself in the middle of Iraq during that year’s troop surge. John was honorably discharged in 2009 following his injuries.
For the bulk of his time in the Army, John -- a member of Task Force 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry dubbed the “Black Lions” -- sat in a Humvee gunner seat driving along the Baghdad Airport Road designated “Route Irish.”
Spc. James “Boomer” Lamonde met John in Iraq during their service and developed a close friendship when they returned to Fort Riley. He remembers John like a little brother.
“He was young,” Lamonde said. “He was a baby. Still a goofy 18, 19-year-old kid that wasn’t broken yet fully. But John was a good dude. Anything you needed, if you needed him, he’d help you out.”
In 2008, John was separated from the rest of his company for four days facing enemy fire following orders that would allow the rest of his team to advance. According to the certificate of commendation awarded with his Army Achievement Medal, John’s actions allowed his company to safely move forward and set up position. read it here
Wounded Times Kathie Costos July 29, 2019
If you visit this site often, I am sure it has been showing my frustration more and more. Glad that I am not doing a podcast, because holding back words I should not use in public, is getting harder and harder.
I am sick and tired of hearing another head of yet another department make the same mistake of miscommunication out of ignorance. Another New York Officer committed suicide. He was the fifth since June. This is the message from NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill.
“You may not know this, and it may be hard to imagine, but you are not out there all by yourself,” he said. “More people than you know, who wear the same uniform as you do, share the same doubts and fears and struggles that you do. Seeking help is strength. Talking about your problems is strength. Acknowledging you need a place to turn is strength. There is no shame here ― only a promise to provide you with the help and support you need and deserve.”
In a tweet, the NYPD Sergeants Benevolent Association called the officer’s death “terrible news,” asking for prayers for his friends, family and colleagues. read it here
The part that they need to hear is that while there are others suffering, they are also still serving. They are still risking their lives to save strangers because lives matter. That includes those they serve with and are willing to die for too.
If they understand what PTSD is, then there is no stigma. If they understand what their job is, then there is no reason to deny they need help. If there is no reason to deny they need help, they will stop killing themselves and start helping each other heal.
After 37 years, I would like to finally be able to retire. Considering how the most obvious answer to this heartbreaking outcome keeps getting missed, I doubt I ever will be able to.
When it comes to the number of veterans committing suicide, this shows it depends on who counted. Hint: It is a lot higher than any number you think you know unless you read Wounded Times and will not be shocked by the following article.
Paul Muschick: Military suicides hitting Pennsylvania where you may not expect it
THE MORNING CALL By PAUL MUSCHICK JUL 26, 2019
Not all National Guard members meet the legal definition of a “veteran.” When it comes to suicide, though, that distinction doesn’t matter. The bottom line is that people who served their country are ending their lives, and that has to stop.
Earl (left) and Joe Granville served together in Bosnia and Iraq with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. Joe Granville took his own life in 2010. (CONTRIBUTED/EARL GRANVILLE)
The men and women who enlist in the Pennsylvania National Guard are the best of the best. They’re in shape. They’re smart. They’re motivated.
They’re also committing suicide too often.
In the past four years, 26 Guard members have taken their own lives. Assumptions about why that is happening — that they went to war overseas and came back suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or were unable to adjust to civilian life — aren’t always accurate.
Slightly more than half of them never deployed. read it here
More Army, Navy Families Unhappy with Private Housing in Wake of Scandal
Military.com By Patricia Kime 28 Jul 2019
Fort Bragg was at the bottom of the list with an overall rating of 58.9, or "very poor." The North Carolina base housing is managed by Corvias. Fort Meade, Maryland, also managed by Corvias, and Fort Carson, Colorado, managed by Balfour Beatty, were the only two installations to receive "poor" ratings.
Sgt. Andrew McNeil (left), a public affairs mass communication noncommissioned officer, discusses his housing concerns and conditions with Maj. Tabitha Hernandez, commander, 22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, XVIII Airborne Corps, during the unit’s command housing visits at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on April 5, 2019. Bragg came in last on a survey of Army housing, with an overall rating of 58.9, or "very poor." (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Gregory T. Summers)
Satisfaction with privatized military housing has declined since last year for both the Army and Navy, according to surveys released by the services Thursday. But while soldiers and families living in base housing can view the survey results and see where their installations fall on the spectrum, the results of the Navy survey don't contain specifics for each base and provide only a general look at the overall state of Navy housing.
After a scandal earlier this year as reports came to light of vermin, mold and lead contamination in U.S. military housing managed by private companies, the services launched a series of inspections and fixes, including resident surveys, to determine the extent of the issues and how to address them. read it here
Officials: Airman killed, 3 injured in Wichita shooting
Associated Press July 27, 2019
A crew chief with the 931st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron marshals a KC-46A Pegasus on the flightline at McConnell Air Force Base, Kan., Feb. 21. (Airman 1st Class Alexi Myrick/Air Force)
WICHITA, Kan. — Authorities in south-central Kansas say a 20-year-old McConnell Air Force Base airman has been killed and three others injured in an east Wichita shooting.
The shooting occurred around 2 a.m. Saturday at an apartment where a party was being held. Police say arriving officers found the wounded 20-year-old unresponsive and performed CPR, but he died at the scene.
Two other men, ages 21 and 22, were taken to a hospital with injuries not believed to be life-threatening. A 19-year-old woman had already been taken by a private vehicle to hospital with serious injuries. Police say she is expected to survive. read it here
