Military members and veterans who manage suicidal thoughts

We Were Marines Who Did Everything Together. Then My Name Appeared in His Suicide Note

by Mark Jones April 15, 2026April 28, 2026

I joined the Marine Corps because junior college didn’t take. A semester and a half of C-minus ambition told me I needed something louder, something sharper. My first duty station was Cornwall, England—a Royal Air Force base with nuclear weapons and barely enough Americans to form a football team. Apparently, a below-average GPA was all […]

Reflections

Desperate for Help, a Marine Battles Phone Trees, Hold Music, and Indifference

by Evan Slusser February 25, 2026April 28, 2026

I started calmly. Politely, even. The first recording asked me to select from a list of options. I listened to all of them. Pressed the numbers that seemed closest to what I needed. Thank you. Please hold while we transfer your call. Vivaldi played for a few minutes. The next recording asked me to describe […]

Reflections

The Heartbreakingly Common Story of My Military Suicide Attempt

by Evan Slusser September 17, 2025April 28, 2026

Marine Corps fighter pilot who struggled with his mental health and attempted suicide learns his story is ordinary among the military community.

Reflections

He Lived Three Doors Down in the Alaskan Army Barracks. Now, I Carry His Ghost in My Pocket

by Jake Johnson August 13, 2025January 21, 2026

A Fort Wainwright Army soldier’s friend was one of 30 who committed suicide while stationed in Alaska.

Illustration by Hrisanthi Pickett of The War Horse

Reflections

A Navy Veteran Is Determined to Find His Own Way Through PTSD—Without VA

by Dylan Harrington June 18, 2025January 21, 2026

After a frustrating series of appointments with VA, a Navy veteran tries his own treatments for PTSD.

Photos of her siblings and herself courtesy of Angel Munoz

Reflections

Four Siblings Joined the Military. Almost 30 Years Later, Only Two Remain

by Angel Munoz May 21, 2025February 10, 2026

Army veteran vows to keep living after one brother was killed in the Iraq War and another committed suicide after returning with PTSD and injuries.

Midshipmen march to lunch at the U.S. Naval Academy during the National Discussion on Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment at America’s Colleges, Universities, and Service Academies in 2019. Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Sarah Villegas, courtesy of the U.S. Navy.

Reflections

Short Changed: Military Women’s Deaths by Suicide Linked to Sexual Trauma

by Sonner Kehrt November 16, 2023July 25, 2025

While men in the military have alarmingly high rates of suicide, the rates among military women are rising faster, and their reasons are different.

Newsroom

Second Suicide Battalion: Where Military Justice Weaponizes Mental Health

by Thomas J. Brennan April 15, 2022July 31, 2025

Rampant disregard for the rights of the accused is not just commonplace, it is deeply entrenched in the military justice system.

Children from a nearby village pose for a photograph in Zharay district, Kandahar province, Afghanistan, in 2012. Photo by Spc. Jason Nolte, courtesy of U.S. Army.

Reflections

“I Screamed Into My Radio to Ignore the Order”—Pardoned Soldier’s Comrade Still Lives With Guilt of Murdered Civilians

by Mike McGuinness November 18, 2020July 11, 2025

When Clint Lorance ordered his men to kill innocent civilians in Afghanistan, the soldiers came home and struggled to assuage their feelings of guilt.