His Suicide Note Was a Message to the Navy. The Way He Died Was the Exclamation Point

[rangerrebew]

His Suicide Note Was a Message to the Navy. The Way He Died Was the Exclamation Point

8 Jun 2019
Military.com | By Patricia Kime

Editor's Note: This article contains a description of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the Veterans Crisis Hotline is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at 800-273-8255, press 1. Services also are available online at www.veteranscrisisline.net or by text, 838255.

In the weeks leading up to Brandon Caserta's death, friends said little seemed amiss with the smiling sailor they knew from the "gedunk," or canteen, at Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 28 out of Norfolk, Virginia.

A goofy, happy-go-lucky type, Caserta was usually the first to volunteer for "cleaning duty, aircraft wash or field day," squadron mates said. Sure, he regretted breaking a leg at Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL School two years before, an injury that forced him to drop out of training to become a SEAL, but he was a trouper nonetheless.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/06/08/his-suicide-note-was-message-navy-way-he-died-was-exclamation-point.html

[rustynail]

Very informative and shocking.  Thanks.

[sneakypete]

This whole thing was a toxic combination. The snowflake should have never been in the military to start with,never mind allowed to attend SEAL school. What happened to the psychological tests and the shirk interviews? I see no way he could have passed them.

And being afraid to drive and refusing to get a driver's license? I honestly don't think I ever met anyone in the army that didn't have an army driver's license. Not even officers. Anybody could be called on at any time to drive a jeep or a truck in an emergency,even officers. I have personally had an O-3 drive a jeep from the camp to the airfield to pick me up and take me to the camp when I was in VN,and I was a lower-ranking enlisted swine. He happened to be wandering past the orderly room when I called for a ride,so he was asked if he was busy. When he said "No",he was told to get a jeep and go to the airport to pick me up. He said "ok",and went to pick me up. No big deal. Having a drivers license was an essential part of the package if you were in SF. What was the big deal with this kid that he thought he only had to do what he WANTED to do in the Navy?

Also,please note,he never even made an attempt to re-apply for SEAL training. He even managed to break another bone when being trained to do something else he didn't want to do. Seems like that was his fall-back position when things didn't go his way. Maybe his mama should have enlisted with him under the "buddy program"?

Yes,the leadership over him were a pack of cretins that should be demoted and never again allowed a troop leadership position,but they didn't make him the loser he was. He did that all by himself.