One of the saddest outcomes for the service of a person to his/her country is the fact that they feel that suicide is the only way to get relief for their problems…..and sadly yet another vet has opted out by suicide….
This time it was not a lower rank soldier struggling with life outside the military but rather a 2 star general……
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, the AP reports. 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; USA Today reports that he is “the highest-ranking soldier ever to have taken his own life.” Military suicides soared earlier this decade; 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.
A written statement by the Army on Friday made no mention of what might have prompted Rossi to take his own life. He had actually spoken in March at a conference on preventing military suicides. The Rossi family issued a statement through the Army expressing thanks for wide support and urging those who may need suicide-prevention help to seek it immediately. “To the Army, he was Maj. Gen. Rossi,” it said. “To us, he was John—husband, dad.” “We ask for the time and space to grieve in private, and for the Army to continue to better understand suicide, and to help and treat those in need,” the family statement added. “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.”
A problem seemingly without a solution…..sad that a veteran has to turn this form of expression…..we can do better….pout veterans deserve so much more than we give.
Reblogged this on The Militant Negro™.
I appreciate the Pink….chuq
Heartbreaking and all the others much more.
True and there is NO end in sight….sad
Thanx I appreciate the help….chuq
With all that this general seemed to have going for him I am dubious of the “Suicide” claim and it is my opinion that this needs to be investigated a lot more. Like I said, “My opinion.”
Generals can suffer from PTSD also…but I agree more details are needed
PTSD is more likely to be found early in General Grade Officers because their proficiency standards require much closer physical and mental surveillance than to the enlisted ranks. There is something fishy here as far as I am concerned. If there was PTSD here then I am sure some evidence of it would have surfaced in at least one of the General’s face-to-face evaluation sessions that all such officers are required to go through … I forgot whether it is yearly or quarterly or whatever … but something is rotten in Denmark here or I miss my guess.
Depends on where he was deployed and how it effected him when he was a “minor” officer….
Part of being promoted in the officer ranks is an ability to demonstrate fitness for the job and there are many experts involved in the evaluation process.
And there are those that are functionally fine but mentally shot….