U.S. Army Cpl. B.J. Buie, foreground, an infantryman with the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, digs a machine-gun position during Operation Southern Fist in the Spin …
Army
Not Everyone’s Coming Home
My Kayak
As I type this I am sitting in the San Diego airport preparing to head home to Dallas. The TAPS weekend seminar is over and I am filled with a powerful sense of faith.
I am not sure what I was hoping to get from this weekend, …
Star Warriors
The Start of the Suicide Story
It was nine years ago — Columbus Day, 2003 — that the first significant story on the suicides of the post-9/11 wars appeared above the fold in USA Today. Reporter Gregg Zoroya had called me that summer, when I was doing a …
Combat, Up Close
Two things are striking about this just-posted three-and-a-half minute video of a firefight in Afghanistan’s Kunar province last April:
— Just how unseen the enemy is.
— Just how unconnected Private 1st Class Red Daniels of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division is.
Clad in body armor, he’s hit four times and falls to the …
Afghan Police Kill a U.S. Special Operations Captain “To Make a Statement”
Army Major Greg Escobar served as an operations officer in Afghanistan in 2010 and 2011, training Afghan police in Kunar province for the first half of his deployment, and Afghan troops in Paktika province for the second …
“I Refuse to Give Up”
Today, I am tired of suicide.
I ache in my bones and muscles and soul for all the suffering that continues to occur.
I am tired of learning about people who reached out for help, sometimes screaming for help, and they were …
That’s What Friends Are For…
Saturday night was our “family dinner” at our suicide-survivors’ conference in San Diego.TAPS provided us with fried chicken (I was one happy Texan!) and several other comfort foods.
Through a Child’s Eyes
Shannon, Tim and John.
These names, prior to our trip to the TAPS National Military Survivors Seminar in Washington, D.C., in May were not names I heard spoken in our home. Now, they receive nearly daily mentions and are …
The Army’s Grim Calendar
The Army recently embraced National Suicide Prevention Month in one of its daily Stand-To memos. Thursday’s Stand-To reminded troops that October is National Depression Awareness Month. Friday’s Stand-To told them that October does double duty as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Will Stand-To please stand down on such bleak …
My New Family…
Thursday morning I bounced out of bed early and yelled “Oh my gosh!”
I never get up on time and certainly never bounce. But this morning I knew that I would be headed to California for the TAPS seminar.
I went to work — my …
No Longer Alone…
As I lay out the clothes and review the checklist for our trip Friday, I can’t help but reflect on what TAPS — Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors — means to me and my children.
Not everyone finds TAPS right …