I have been an Administrative Officer for one of the top VA Behavioral Health-University
Affiliated programs and VA's Western Regional Director for Public Affairs during about 30 years of VA Health Systems Management and Public Affairs service. I have reviewed dozens of Psychological Autopsies and monitored public reaction to "high profile" Veteran suicides.
I never cease to be amazed at the grandiose thought processes that motivate many of these tragic individuals. Equally amazing is the exaggerated importance that too many attribute to the perpetrators and their acts. I don't remember the name of the Veteran who drove his vehicle through the glass doors of the West LA VA Medical Center's E.R. Waiting Room a couple of decades ago. The Veteran who kicked out a window on the 11th floor of a large hotel and jumped to his death on a crowded sidewalk, did so o avoid being jailed for a savage beating of his younger brother, and not to protest care quality. I doubt many of us will remember the fine details of these most recent delusion driven demonstrations a decade from now.
The real tragedy is that more innocent by-standers might be injured in the process.
