We do not know all the reasons why Staff Sgt. Anthony Schmachtenberger of Fort Richardson apparently took his own life last week. His mother told the Daily News she believed the cause was a combination of personal problems and the stress of combat. We send our condolences, thoughts and prayers to his family and friends.
And we remind ourselves of the tremendous stresses put on service members and their families, with multiple deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan and other overseas locations.
Yes, it's an all-volunteer force. But the United States often asks these men and women to volunteer for an awful lot.
Stress, strained and broken relationships and suicide have taken their toll of the ranks. The warrior culture demands toughness and, by extension, toughness in the warriors' families.
That toughness is admirable and necessary, but not when it morphs into denial or isolation, domestic violence or substance abuse. That's when soldiers and their families need another aspect of military culture front and center -- the need to rely on one another, to be there for one another, to make sure you've got your buddy's back.
Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of the Army's III Corps at Fort Hood in Texas, wrote recently in the Fort Hood Sentinel: "I am never afraid that the Army is going to break: our soldiers are outstanding and they perform magnificently everything which their country asks of them.
"I am worried, though, about individual soldiers and families breaking because of the immense amount of stress that multiple deployments and the training for those deployments have placed on them.
"I am convinced that the Army spends too much time fixing soldiers after they break when we should be spending time and energy and resources to prevent soldiers from breaking."
To that end, Lynch established a Resiliency Campus on Fort Hood where soldiers and families can go for physical, mental, spiritual and psychological training and counseling.
Military leaders are increasingly aware of the casualties at home, in lives and families and other relationships. Lynch and Marine Maj. Gen. Paul LeFebvre testified about them before a Congressional committee last week and talked about what they're doing to lighten the burden.
In Alaska, top officers signed the Arctic Warriors Healthcare Covenant in February, formally pledging help to soldiers and their families to deal with wounds physical, mental, psychological and spiritual.
The rest of us should be aware too, and help where we can. Alaskans know there's no substitute for strong support on the home front. We can't end the stress; we can share the load.
BOTTOM LINE: Sgt. Schmachtenberger reminds us of how much pressure our troops face.