Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Time for a ‘It Gets Better’ for soldiers

Military spouse Alison Buckholtz proposes an "It Gets Better" campaign that speaks to suicidal service members, akin to the current campaign reaching out to gay teens. "Stoicism and name-calling doesn’t work," she writes. "Nor do stand-downs and speeches. Individual Americans can help close the military-civilian divide by demonstrating the belief that suicides among service members ...

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Military spouse Alison Buckholtz proposes an "It Gets Better" campaign that speaks to suicidal service members, akin to the current campaign reaching out to gay teens. "Stoicism and name-calling doesn't work," she writes. "Nor do stand-downs and speeches. Individual Americans can help close the military-civilian divide by demonstrating the belief that suicides among service members demand our immediate attention as a society. Soldiers and sailors need reassurance that it gets better for them too."

Military spouse Alison Buckholtz proposes an "It Gets Better" campaign that speaks to suicidal service members, akin to the current campaign reaching out to gay teens. "Stoicism and name-calling doesn’t work," she writes. "Nor do stand-downs and speeches. Individual Americans can help close the military-civilian divide by demonstrating the belief that suicides among service members demand our immediate attention as a society. Soldiers and sailors need reassurance that it gets better for them too."

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

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