Well the shut down is over, meaning all the doom and gloom that would have affected the veteran community did not happen. As of a few days ago, the VA website announced it would be resuming normal operations.
While looking for something to write about this week, I stumbled upon a fairly old announcement on the VA website; September was Suicide Prevention Month. For those that are unaware suicide is a major problem for the veteran community particularly with large numbers of vets coming home after having sustained both physical and mental losses.
To combat this problem there are prevention coordinators at all 151 VA medical centers and a hotline people can call when they feel they need help. Typically when someone talks about veteran suicide, PTSD is inevitably mentioned. This of course is for good reason as depression can be a symptom in someone suffering from PTSD, but I have always believed there is more to it than that.
I got out of the Marine Corps in 2009, each year since then someone I served with has committed suicide. Some of them were pretty good friends; others I only knew in passing. In the military, and especially the infantry units, the bond between brothers-in-arms is close. One guy who committed suicide, I think I only spoke to once or twice, but it still stung. The reason it stings is because, I would argue, the hard part is over. These vets have made it through enemy fire, IED’s , and all the other stuff that can kill you in Iraq or Afghanistan and yet they come home can cannot cope.
I am not going to get into deep medical or psychological evidence as to why any of this happens because, quite frankly, I am not convinced the experts even know much about the problem. What I do know is that for those of us who have been in combat, life back home is often not the same. A young infantryman returning home often finds friends have either moved away or are not the same people they were when you left. Wives and girlfriends in some cases are also not there anymore, and it can be difficult if they are getting used to being around them again. A friend of mine got drunk and angry because his wife wouldn’t let him hold his child. He promptly killed himself with a pistol. Nobody that knows him really knows why. He just did. There is no policy that can be put in place to prevent that. Out of all the people I know who have committed suicide, not one of them asked for help from their loved ones. To my knowledge none of them called a help line at the VA. Each year I was in the Marines I sat through hours of mandatory depression and suicide prevention classes designed to make us aware of the emotional problems that befall so many.
War is difficult, being in the military is difficult, and life after can be even more difficult. These are just facts of life. The solution is not an easy one. For those of us where depression is not an issue, all we can do is wait for the call for help, look for the signs, and hope our friends come out OK.