Reserve suicides up 23 percent — active-duty count remains steady

SGT Micheal Adams - you mention you are a man of Faith. So you understand that our appointed time for our Father to welcome us home is part of His plan. Your Battle Buddy still has worth to all the people he has loved and touched in some way. You have innate worth, but your perceived worth may be low from survivor's guilt. The "why me why did I survive?" is a normal question to ask, but please take a moment and ask yourself, "why not me?" Obviously, your mission is not complete. I chatted with someone during breakfast at my hotel this morning - he told me he had been shot five times and fell to the ground and said, "God don't let me die." I replied with, "Obviously, God still has some mission for you to complete."
Maybe you even feel like everything is out of control and emotionally drained frequently. Maybe getting out of bed is a struggle. Read in Epheshians Chapter 6 about The Armor of God. Get up today with the Armor of God and go do a random act of kindness for someone. Then reflect on the upside to your adversity and this can start the change on your perception of your self-worth. Know you are not alone and give yourself some compassion. Are you doing the best you can in the circumstances you have right now? Trust the process for God's plan and his Grace for you. I can see your worth by what you have written, so go serve our world so you can see it, too. Remember you still have some mission (look up http://www.aboutface-usa.org - Joe needs your help to help homeless Veterans)

CSM (Join to see) - I know my day has not come and the day my God takes me my mission will be complete. Guilt or no, I can't help be wonder why God would take such good men and leave me behind. I have had 3 failed marriages working on my 4th, I wasn't a great dad. There is just so much they had I do not and probably never will at this point. I don't yet know what God has in store for me but it must be real important because I still get up I still put on my chinked up armor dented and dull. But the heart I have to God stays protected. Again please use my words to help as many as you can. I hate seeing the rise is reservists who are having to face this alone and the May or may not know Christ but even though you know him does not mean your saved. If your reading this open your heart, ask him for forgiveness and invite him into your heart, the feeling is phenomenal. It really is the feeling of a drug. DO NOT STOP TAKING YOUR PARTICULAR PTSD MED!!! I did that. Stay on your meds please guys talk to someone and open your heart everyday for God to work with and through you. I am not pretching to you. However if your have tried everything else drugs, booze, herbal relief. Try God. What can it possibly hurt? You tried other stuff.

SGT Micheal Adams - see how valuable you are now. Re-read what you wrote. What if someone reading your comment has a seed planted that eventually grows and blooms them to Christ and they get saved. Maybe they feel connected and not alone, since you shared your experiences. Maybe they will review their mistakes with eyes of compassion and ask for forgiveness which leads into healing and rediscovering worth. The butterfly effect that sends out ripples that transcend time. More good will come from the good you have done.

SGT Micheal Adams - I look at this like we need to live our lives to the fullest out of respect for our fellow Soldiers who died!

I think I would like to put my 2 cents in this piece, it may have to do with the personnel's mind set on Reserve components. Even going through Basic and onward to Advance Training, they return back to the life they thought they have left or couldn't leave it. Surely attending monthly drill or muster does separate that mind set temporarily from home. Active Duty, which I did, have access to the base facilities along with friends and unit's leader for their mental and physical needs during PRE and POST deployment. Reserve, people do travel far to get to their unit's base which render or deter them from help and sometimes, I may be wrong, unit's leadership may not always be there due to their private sector job(s) and family. Between Reserve and Active Duty is different like night and day, but this situation overall does need to be address. Like my Battalion Gunner told me on Safety Brief, "Losing one Marine is too much...". If I'm wrong, please give me some constructive criticism.

MAJ Paul R.,
Sir I believe most people do care about this issue, but they do not know how to help. Unfortunately, the care given by a Hospital (in-patient or out-patient) or the VA for a suicidal Service Member or Veteran does not truly stop suicidal ideations. Then suicidal ideation can transition into action which could lead to an attempted or completed suicide. We live in a time with the biggest existential vacuum ever, and we need retreats that focus on meaning and purpose in life. Plus, I believe emotional healing occurs at the Spiritual level, so helping people to get their Spirit, Mind, and Body in alignment is part of the solution. If anyone reading this right now is looking for a sign to NOT end their life...here it is: CHOOSE LIFE!