Can a General Call Suicide "Selfish"? ("...I have now come to the conclusion that suicide is an absolutely selfish act. I am personally fed up with soldiers...")

On his army blog of January 19, the commanding general of Fort Bliss (Texas), Major General Dana Pittard, wrote regarding members of the military who commit suicide:

Civilian expansion has gradually encroached on land occupied by Fort Bliss, prompting city officials to place signs at the border where the two meet. This particular sign on Loop 375 denotes the end of the military installation on the far east side of El Paso. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“I have now come to the conclusion that suicide is an absolutely selfish act. I am personally fed up with soldiers who are choosing to take their own lives so that others can clean up their mess. Be an adult, act like an adult and deal with your real-life problems like the rest of us.”

According to the National Journal, “Pittard’s blunt comments about suicide have raised eyebrows throughout the military. . . .

Suicide-prevention experts believe that Pittard’s blog posting has already conveyed precisely the wrong message to emotionally-fragile troops………

EXCERPT

via Can a General Call Suicide “Selfish”?.

Related articles

• This General’s Comments About Suicide Have Offended People Throughout The Military (businessinsider.com)
• Army general retracts remarks calling suicide ‘absolutely selfish’ (stripes.com)
• A General’s Blog Post Undermines Army Suicide-Prevention Efforts (theatlantic.com)
• Army Generals Should Be More Careful When Blogging About Suicide (theatlanticwire.com)
• General’s remarks about suicide “upsetting” (security.blogs.cnn.com)
• Memorial Day, Military Suicides and Pentecost (holycrossrumson.typepad.com)
• Survivors of military suicide victims come together to grieve (usnews.msnbc.msn.com)
• Addressing Veteran Suicide (bigthink.com)
• “Listen Up, General Pittard.” (battleland.blogs.time.com)
• Memorial Day grief for military suicide families (usnews.msnbc.msn.com)

About these ads