Marines’ hidden battle scars

ATLANTA – Gen. Robert Neller was speaking with California-based Marines shortly after becoming commandant when he got a tough question from a noncommissioned officer.

The sergeant, who deployed three times, told him that his comrades made it home from the warzone only to later take their own lives. “What are you doing about that?” the NCO asked.

It’s a question Neller took to heart. He’s now on a mission to show that sergeant and other Marines affected by suicide that he is going to do something about it.

One of his first steps involved exactly what he’s asking Marines to do – asking for help.

Neller recently spoke here during the American Psychiatric Association’s 169th annual meeting. He invited Marine Corps Times to attend the engagement, where some of the country’s top mental health experts gathered for a five-day conference. Neller wants their help in fixing what he sees as one of the Corps’ biggest challenges: saving Marines from themselves.

A new survey of 3,000 post-9/11 veterans found that 40 percent of respondents considered suicide at least once after they joined the military. Four out of five of those polled said troops dealing with mental health issues don’t get the care they need — while they’re in the military or once they’re out.

Read more at Marine Corps Times

Image courtesy of Business Insider