Family members of military service personnel who take their own lives while deployed will get condolence letters from the president, according to a statement from President Obama , reversing a longstanding but unwritten White House policy. Many health professionals have long called for a change to the White House’s stance on condolence letters , which they believe will help reduce the stigma associated with suicide and give social support to families. President Obama called for a review of the policy last year. In the statement released today, he says, “This decision was made after a difficult and exhaustive review of the former policy, and I did not make it lightly. “This issue is emotional,

painful, and complicated, but these Americans served our nation bravely,” he continues. “They didn’t die because they were weak.  And the fact that they didn’t get the help they needed must change.” Some 160 Army personnel committed suicide and over 1,700 attempted suicide, according to Politico . Between 2005 and 2009, nearly a quarter of those took place in combat zones, Politico reports. The military has been trying to improve mental health resources for service personnel in recent years that had been lacking to help soldiers and their families cope with the stress of deployment and combat, including post-traumatic stress disorder. Image: iStockphoto

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President Reverses Military Suicide Condolence Letter Policy