Veteran's Suicides, what can we as Military Community do?

I think that we as a military social media need to come together and agree to reach out to all our congressional representatives and mail them and call them and visit them to push for better treatment for veterans health issues. One change can be to change the VA hiring practice so that veterans that have deployed experience and mental health education are hired. Another thing is a better discussion of possible side effects of immunization received given to soldiers/veterans and side effects of current medications. This should include the potential benefits of medicinal marijuana. The news media should should a complete investigative report on what happened and what went wrong, more so because it continues to happen.

I think it's important to make sure our brothers and sisters know they are not alone. Not just through the VA or DoD. It's not just their fight. It's not their friends dying. I am apart of a almost "phone tree roster" that nation wide if you need to talk to someone you don't have to call a 1800 number, you can call a vet. Yes we are not trained. But we are people who understand.

I believe it's truly important to stay connected with the brothers you served with. The Army, the 82nd Airborne, and my brothers from C co 1/504 PIR know me better than most everyone I know. In 2014, 11 Veterans who served in my unit committed suicide. Since then I have been sending friendly check ups to my old soldiers and brothers. I took an oath to protect my country from all enemies foreign and domestic. In my eyes that includes protecting Veterans and soldiers from themselves. Sometimes it takes a morale boost from a old familiar voice to get back on track. When I got out, my NCO mentality still remains. My doors and phone lines are always open to my Veteran brothers. No matter how busy I am I will always make time for them. WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN. The VA may never have the solution to this problem, but it doesn't mean that YOU as a Veteran or a service member are helpless to the situation. We all were taught to identify early waning signs. I didn't forget this after my ETS.