Is A Vet Committing Suicide A Selfish Act?

Major General Dana Pittard

Can a General Call Suicide ‘Selfish’? -- Dennis Prager, NRO

We should not transform our military leaders into therapists.

On his army blog of January 19, the commanding general of Fort Bliss (Texas), Major General Dana Pittard, wrote regarding members of the military who commit suicide: “I have now come to the conclusion that suicide is an absolutely selfish act. I am personally fed up with soldiers who are choosing to take their own lives so that others can clean up their mess. Be an adult, act like an adult and deal with your real-life problems like the rest of us.”

According to the National Journal, “Pittard’s blunt comments about suicide have raised eyebrows throughout the military. . . . Suicide-prevention experts believe that Pittard’s blog posting has already conveyed precisely the wrong message to emotionally fragile troops.

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My Comment: My Godfather was a war veteran who suffered greatly from depression and memories of the Second World War. He committed suicide in 1963 leaving a wife and two young children .... and yes .... his wife (my Godmother) still strongly believes that his war time experiences and how they shaped his behavior is what drove him to suicide .... 18 years after the war had ended. My father also had problems with PTSD, but what made him not go down the same path was his workload (he was always working), his family, and his determination to have a better life. And while he did have his melancholic moments .... I know that suicide was never an option for him.

So .... is suicide a selfish act? My father and my Godmother both said yes when I inquired about my Godfather's death a few years ago .... but they always qualified it .... saying that he was ill and by drinking (he was an alcoholic) only made his situation worse and more susceptible to depression and suicidal thoughts. As to what is my take .... a friend of mine who tried to commit suicide when she was young gave me the best education on this topic. As she said .... (I am quoting her as best as I can remember) .... when you are suicidal you no longer care .... all you is see black .... and your only goal is to have that tsunami of personal pain all come to an end.

For many of our vets .... I suspect that this "tsunami of pain" is what they are going through everyday.