McCain!! Thanks. UGH

[cpaige]

Sometimes, I just don't understand the government!! I'm sure that they just repeal things just to do it. I'm sure many of you know that a few years back I lost a very good friend of mine on Sept 6, 2008: Sgt. Coleman S. Bean to suicide. He took his own life rather than go back overseas for yet another tour. Please see this site, for the full story (I still cry thinking of him).

Home -

U.S Rep Rush Holt and the Coleman family worked long and hard to get the Sgt. Coleman S. Bean Individual Ready Reserve Suicide Prevention Act made into a bill. However, Sen. John McCain blocked it and stated that he will continue to block it because "Well, maybe you need this in New Jersey, but we don't need this in Arizona." Coming from a Vet, this is appauling.

Our Vets NEED this! They'll send them over but when they come home, especially the IRR's there just isn't enough help for them. Coleman tried to get help but was repeatedly put off til 'next week.' The IRR's fall through the cracks and this was supposed to be a stepping stone to help them.

Not a single day goes by that I don't think of Coleman. Not a single day goes by that I do not think of our men and women over there who may not get the help that they need when they come home. And of course, I'm in tears.....damnit

[cpaige]

More info: This is the full breakdown of it:Bill Text - 111th Congress (2009-2010) - THOMAS (Library of Congress)

Daily Kos: State of the Nation

H.R. 5170: Sergeant Coleman S. Bean Individual Ready Reserve Suicide Prevention Act of 2010 - POPVOX.com (you can chose to support or not support it here)

[Whispered]

((((((((((((courtney))))))) I'm really sorry for your loss. I haven't read all this. but mcain is an #ss. Thank goodness he wasn't elected!!
Its a shame what our military people , have to go thru.

[cpaige]

It is a lot to read, I know sorry about that. And thank you. Check out the HOME link though when you get a chance. It's his story. I'm so frustrated with this whole thing. How can he not want to help the men and women HE HELPED send over there? I just don't get it

[Nishu]

4/28/2010--Introduced.Sergeant Coleman S. Bean Individual Ready Reserve Suicide Prevention Act of 2010 - Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to ensure that each of the following individuals receive, at least once every 90 days, a telephone call from properly-trained DOD personnel to determine their emotional, psychological, medical, and career needs and concerns:
(1) members of the Individual Ready Reserve who deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq in support of a contingency operation; or
(2) a member of a reserve component who the Secretary determines is an individual mobilization augmentee who has so deployed. Requires the person making the call to refer a member identified as being at-risk of self-caused harm to the nearest military medical treatment facility or accredited TRICARE (a DOD managed health care program) provider for immediate evaluation and necessary treatment. Requires annual reports from the Secretary to Congress on the number of members so referred, as well as their health and career status.

This suicide prevention plan consists of a phone call from a stranger every 90 days. It doesn't even specify what to do if that person is at risk.

I don't see this as an effective way to prevent suicide.

[cpaige]

It's not. But it's more than they have now. It's a mandatory call within a certain time frame, before and after deployment. The reservists have little help and fall through the cracks of the system, as do many of our ''full vets'' do.

[cpaige]

The VA is so overwhelmed w/ Vets needing (and finally asking for) help that this should have been a push in the right direction to help them. McCain said he will continue to block it b/c Arizona doesn't need it. Really? Are you sure about that?

[motherofmolly]

i think anything put in place to assist our vets in their mental health is a good start. considering that they have nothing in place right now. I am sorry for the loss of your friend....those that have not been there, do not understand what they saw and experienced. i have a friend that said he couldnt explain it all and didnt want to ever again.

i never did wonder why mccain didnt get elected..maybe this stuff had something to do with it.

[VivaciousJewelz]

Court, I'm so sorry. That kind of loss is heart-wrenching.

As far as whether or not a phone call from a stranger can make a difference: Suicide is a subject that I feel very strongly about because I have been at that point, not because of military service, but because of other life things that made me think that no one cared, that things weren't going to get better and that maybe I didn't have another option. I also have a very close friend who has been at that point because of health issues he developed while in the military. He has shared with me feeling like no one could do anything to help him and feeling like no one even really wanted to help him.

Luckily, we both reached out and got help, but sometimes it can make all the difference in the world if someone calls you, even if they are a stranger. If a soldier or military person is sitting there, alone, like I was, thinking that no one cares and that they are hurt and that they have no other options... what is the harm of mandating that someone call and check on them? It's better than nothing.

Do we not donate to food pantries b/c we can't effectively feed everyone who is starving? Heck, think about all the people who don't use coupons because they "don't see it as an effective way" to save money... If people stopped doing anything they didn't think would be effective, our country would be in a lot worse shape than it is now. There is no certainty in life, we can only do the best we can and have some faith that it will work out.

I actually feel that it's a shame that we need to MANDATE that someone check on our military personnel who have been deployed and re-deployed, etc. We should be taking care of our military more than anyone else because they are the ones who keep us safe and give up all freedom over their lives to do so. They give up things we take for granted like time with their families over the holidays, being there to see their kids grow up...

I don't respect the war we are in, but I absolutely respect all our military. Two of the BEST people I know in this world are ex-military and I would want anything for them that has even a CHANCE of helping them.

[kval07]

This suicide prevention plan consists of a phone call from a stranger every 90 days. It doesn't even specify what to do if that person is at risk.

I don't see this as an effective way to prevent suicide.

A telephone call is a start, though I don't think its enough. When we de-mobbed out of Fort Dix, I actually suggested to one of the higher ups there that having us all go through and answer yes or no to a question about if we needed "help" and then sending us reservists on our merry way was not enough. I said there needs to be follow ups at three month and six month points, in person. Soldiers are much more likely to ask for help if they don't have to seek it on their own. When you're a reservist, you don't know who to go to, besides the VA.

The very first time I called the VA, it was about three months after I got home from Iraq. I was a MESS, practically on the verge of a nervous breakdown. It took a month to get an appointment at the VA. That is just unacceptable.

As the company medic, I also read the sheets filled out by my platoons about what they had seen. It was used as a gauge to figure out what they had seen, done, and been subjected to in order to determine who may need to see a doctor once we got back to the States. Some of the stuff my guys saw and did is mind blowing, and I know about some of the problems these guys are having since we came home. And most of them haven't seen anyone. They drink instead.

A call is better than sending people home to try to figure it out on their own. A call is a building block.