From an early age, people learn to be curious about the happenings of the world by asking “why.” However, in some cases the “why” becomes a question about tragic life events such as, “Why did this happen?” When I recently read the newly released 2016 Department of Defense Suicide Event Report (DoDSER), one particular tragic finding had me asking a curious, Why?
The struggle to understand a friend’s suicide was illustrated for me again recently when a friend posted this on Facebook, “I have no words right now, except pain for finding out that I lost a good friend and amazing soldier to suicide this morning.” Reading through the comments of his post someone mentioned the deceased being free of pain. My friend’s response was, “but what about everyone else’s pain now?” I think that speaks volumes about the heartbreak of suicide.
Mr. Timothy Kudo served in the US Marine Corps from 2006-2011 as a captain and executive officer. He deployed to Iraq in 2009 and to Afghanistan in 2010 to 2011. His writing on Veteran issues, ethics, and public service has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, and other publications. Some of his articles have focused on his experiences downrange related to moral transgressions and the morality of war.After reading some of Mr. Kudo’s articles, I sent him questions about moral injury and the moral impact of war. Below are the written responses he provided to me. My hope is that mental health providers gain insight and sensitivity from his candid comments and thus communicate more openly with military clients about this often unspoken topic.
We all know the necessity of learning new things and professional development. However, it can be difficult to carve out time in one’s busy schedule to attend training, especially when that training may include the travel and other expenses.
As part of CDP's spotlight on suicide prevention in the month of September, we will be presenting a series of hour-and-a-half long webinars. Each of these free webinars will be led by guest subject matter expert presenters and will focus on an aspect of suicide or suicide prevention. The events will be held on Thursdays, throughout the month, from noon to 1:30 p.m. We invite those interested to register for any or all of the events below by clicking on the titles or by visiting the Suicide Prevention Webinar Series page here.