President Obama will begin sending condolence letters to families of troops who commit suicide while deployed to combat theaters.
The change comes after the White House conducted a review of the policy that for generations had excluded those families from receiving condolence letters.
Those condolence letters will be limited to troops who commit suicide while deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, officials said.
“This decision was made after a difficult and exhaustive review of the former policy, and I did not make it lightly. This issue is emotional, painful, and complicated, but these Americans served our nation bravely. They didn’t die because they were weak. And the fact that they didn’t get the help they needed must change,” Obama said in a statement Wednesday.
“Since taking office, I’ve been committed to removing the stigma associated with the unseen wounds of war, which is why I’ve worked to expand our mental health budgets, and ensure that all our men and women in uniform receive the care they need.
“As a next step and in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the military chain of command, I have also decided to reverse a long-standing policy of not sending condolence letters to the families of service members who commit suicide while deployed to a combat zone.” ....
, however it should extend to all those who commit suicide while in uniform.
