The Vermont Army National Guard says it has the right systems in place to help prevent enlisted and veteran soldiers suffering from PTSD or other combat-related injuries from committing suicide.
This statement comes after the suicide last week of Vermont Army National Guard Private First Class Joshua Pallotta. It’s the ninth suicide the Vermont Guard has seen in the past decade.
The Guard says it uses an outreach program to help soldiers who may be having a hard time coping with stress. The guard confirms that it had been in touch with Pallotta, but declined to comment on specifics.
Colonel Martin Lucenti says the guard could use more resources for its outreach efforts. He says resilience training helps young soldiers cope with things like alcohol abuse, relationship and identity issues, and frequent deployments.
“I think often it sounds like we’re just trying to pay lip service to the topic when we talk about resilience," Lucenti says. "But the reality is that we can only be there so much, so the key is, can we mitigate the stresses that put them over the top and can we strengthen their ability to deal with the stresses that are facing them.”
Lucenti says more than a quarter of Vermont National Guard soldiers live outside of Vermont, which makes it difficult to reach every soldier who may need help.
The Guard is currently reviewing the details of Joshua Pallotta’s suicide.
