Joe Donnelly: “I wish to take time to speak about an important issue that needs immediate attention, suicide among our servicemembers…”

“I wish to take time to speak about an important issue that needs immediate attention, suicide among our servicemembers and veterans. Last year, we lost more servicemen and women to suicide than we lost in combat in Afghanistan. In 2012, approximately 349 members of the U.S. military, including Active-Duty, Guard, and Reserve, committed suicide--more than the total number of servicemembers who died in combat operations. This number does not even include the more than 6,000 veterans we lost last year to suicide. This is unacceptable. This has to end. Today, I am introducing my first bill as a Senator, the Jacob Sexton Military Suicide Prevention Act of 2013. We are doing this to address this pervasive issue. This bill seeks to better identify servicemembers struggling with mental health issues and to ensure they receive the assistance they need before resorting to this tragic act. I named this bill after a member of the Indiana National Guard, Jacob Sexton, a native of farmland Indiana, who tragically took his life in 2009 while home on a 15-day leave from Afghanistan. His death came as a shock to his family and his friends as well as his fellow Guard members. This is a picture of Jacob while on duty. He is an American hero. He did everything he could to serve his country and to help people from another country, to help people around the world live a better life.…”