What A Sad Sad Story. Why Would He Think About This? Commentary: My stepfather 'did not deserve to die'.

2015-07-13T18:43:23-04:00

In my mind's eye, This Green Beret had a severe case of PTSD. What do you think?
Oh man, I hate to hear about another vet falling through the cracks. Maybe due to his own accord, or not.

On July 11, 2013, my stepfather, a Green Beret, donned the uniform he wore proudly for 18 years and scrawled a note on an index card.

"To the regiment, I have ridden my pathetic life about as far down the spiral as anyone should have to. I accept my dishonor and shame. I am a disgrace to the regiment, and willingly execute this, my last humble act. I am so goddamned tired of holding it together. There has been no end to it all. God has played Jenga with our lives. Goodbye and good luck.
- Michael Bruce Lube, Sergeant First Class, US Army Special Forces"
Then he picked up his favorite gun, a Heckler and Koch USP .45mm pistol.
Read The Rest Of The Tragic Story:

http://www.armytimes.com/story/opinion/2015/07/13/commentary-green-berets-suicde/29968639/

Commentary: My stepfather 'did not deserve to die'

The son of a Green Beret who committed suicide says the Army fails soldiers, and they need better options in seeking help.

Response by Capt Seid Waddell made Jul 13 at 2015 6:50 PM

2015-07-13T18:50:51-04:00

Tragic.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Jul 13 at 2015 7:21 PM

2015-07-13T19:21:01-04:00

Any suicide is tragic. Looking at the numbers it's about 30 out of 100,00 veterans which is double of the civilian average. So what can we conclude? The stressors that lead to suicide are more prevalent in the military community vs. civilians. Suicides themselves are on a bell curve. On one end, you have those who tinker with it and wind up doing it because they aren't thinking. The other end is no matter what anyone does short of inducing them into a coma, they will kill themselves no matter what. So where does that leave us? We have to recognize we can't save everybody. However we can invest more into saving the ones we can or more accurately want to. We'll find out through the budget process, support systems, etc. how much of that bell curve we'll go after. I haven't seen any movement to nationally rachet up to bite into the 15/30. A goal to bring military down from 30 to 15 is likely unattainable because the stressors are still there.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 14 at 2015 10:44 AM

2015-07-14T10:44:16-04:00

Stress + no way out = suicide.
If you really want to help, if you really want to make a difference with a Soldier who is struggling, help them find ways out that don't involve compromising their identity.

I see this entirely too often.