Donnelly: Military suicide prevention plan is headed to full Senate

By Paige Clark
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS – U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly says his proposal to prevent military suicide has a better chance of passage because it has been added to a larger federal defense bill.

Parents of Jacob Sexton, Barb and Jeff, attended U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly’s press conference about his new military suicide prevention proposal Wednesday at the Indiana War Memorial.

Photo by Paige Clark, TheStatehouseFile.com.

Jeff and Barb Sexton, whose son Jacob committed suicide, attended U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly’s press conference about his new military suicide prevention proposal Wednesday at the Indiana War Memorial.
The defense bill has passed the last 52 years and Donnelly is confident it will pass for a 53rd time this year – that’s important because the Senate Armed Services Committee voted last week to put Donnelly’s proposal into the Fiscal Year 2015 spending bill.

The proposed Jacob Sexton Military Suicide Prevention Act of 2014 is named after Indiana National Guardsman Jacob Sexton, who took his own life while home on a 15-day leave from Afghanistan.

“His father said he was a great young man but he occasionally ended up with his truck in a farm field just like any other Indiana boy,” Donnelly said. Members of the military “are just like us.”

Donnelly introduced a similar bill in 2013.

The new legislation provides solutions for military men and women from all branches of service. The bill requires all active, reserve, and Guard service members to undergo person-to-person mental health assessments.

Sexton was on suicide watch after his first deployment, but the problem wasn’t put in his records in fear it would affect a promotion. On his second tour, no one knew about Sexton’s previous mental state.

U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly spoke at the Indiana War Memorial Wednesday about his suicide prevention proposal.

Photo by Paige Clark, TheStatehouseFile.com.

U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly spoke at the Indiana War Memorial Wednesday about his suicide prevention proposal.
Donnelly emphasized that under his proposal, service members’ privacy would be protected and said he wants soldiers to realize that seeking help is a sign of strength rather than weakness.

“We don’t ever want anyone thinking that the positive step will affect your career,” Donnelly said. “These assessments should never be held against anybody.”

Donnelly said the military needs a “bottom up approach” to curb the suicide rate – trained commanders that know their men and women and know when something is off.

It was estimated that more than 470 service members took their own lives in 2013.

With suicide rates climbing particularly in the National Guard, the bill would help establish a working group from the Department of Defense and Department of Health and Human Services. The group would review practices and make suggestions on how to improve mental health services in the National Guard.

“This is for all of our serviceman,” Donnelly said. “This is the beginning of a very long road because our men and women are coming home where they should be.”

The bill now moves to the full U.S. Senate for consideration.

Paige Clark is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.