Skip to main content

US Army: two-star major general committed suicide at Alabama base


Recent death of a two-star US general at an army base has been officially ruled as suicide, pointing to the growing concerns about persistently high rate of suicide in the ranks of the US military.
The 55-year-old major general, identified as John Rossi from New York, was the incoming commander of Redstone Arsenal in the southern US state of Alabama, when he was found dead on July 31 at the military installation, which has served as the Army’s center for missile and rocket programs for over 50 years, but an unnamed Army spokesman said in a Friday statement that “the official cause of [his] death was suicide.”
"This is a tremendous loss for the Rossi family and, indeed, our entire Army family," the spokesman added, as cited in an AP report, without elaborating on potential reasons for his suicide.
The death is also "a painful reminder of the tragedy of suicide as we continue to better understand its causes and warning signs," the spokesman proclaimed.
"While we have focused our attention on young people -- who make up the bulk of our force, and for whom suicide is the second leading cause of death nationwide -- the most recent data shows middle-aged Americans are the fastest-growing at-risk population," the spokesman underlined.
He further stated that "suicide knows no common race or age, gender or position."
The development comes nearly five months after a US Defense Department report said that a total of 265 active-duty troops died by committing suicide in 2015, marking a significantly higher rate compared to the national figure in the previous year.
According to the country’s Centers for Disease Control, the US Army had a suicide rate of nearly 30 suicides per 100,000 service members. By comparison, the national rate in 2014 was about 13 per 100,000 citizens.
Rossi, the report noted, was scheduled to take over as commander of the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command and Army Forces Strategic Command. He previously commanded the US Army Fires Center of Excellence at Fort Still, Oklahoma.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

38 dead, 92,000 left homeless by Niger floods

Recent heavy floods in Niger have killed more than three dozen people and left tens of thousands of others homeless, a United Nations (UN) report says. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report on Wednesday that, since June, at least 38 people had lost their lives and more than 92,000 had been made homeless as a result of torrential rains and heavy downpours in the West African country. The Nigerien government had put the number of fatalities at 14 before new flooding in August. The OCHA, citing government figures, also noted that more than 9,000 homes had been destroyed and more than 26,000 heads of livestock lost. Over 50,000 people had received aid from NGOs and many of the homeless had been sheltering in schools and public buildings, it added. The Nigerien National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) issued a warning last month, advising residents along the Niger River to evacuate immediately to safer ground over the likelihood of...
Post a Comment
Read more

Iran crushes Tajikistan for 2nd successive win at CAFA U-19 Women’s Cup

The Iranian national under-19 soccer team has notched an emphatic win over Tajikistan at the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) U-19 Women’s Cup in Uzbekistan to maintain its unbeaten run at the regional sports event. On Sunday, the Iranian sportswomen, who had opened the tournament with a 4-1 triumph over Kyrgyzstan the previous day, crushed their Central Asian opponents 6-0 in their second fixture in the Uzbek capital city of Tashkent. Afsaneh Chatrenour put the Iranian team on the scoreboard in the 9th minute, before Elham Annafcheh doubled her side’s lead six minutes later. Fatemeh Qassemi scored a brace within few seconds in the 23rd and 24th minute, followed by an extra goal by Chatrenour in the 27th minute. Finally, Ghazaleh Salehipour ran the ball into the end zone more than a quarter after the hour mark, and hit a fine kick to score the Iranian team’s sixth goal. Iran women's national under-19 soccer team is scheduled t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Solar-powered ferries launched in Pyongyang

North Korea says it’s running solar-powered ferries in the capital Pyongyang. North Korean official news agency KCNA has released footage of a cruiser sailing through Taedong River in Pyongyang with a solar panel onboard. According to the cruiser’s captain, the ferries are capable of carrying up to 60 passengers. They are also going to be used for sight-seeing and tourism as well as providing reservation services for local and foreign guests. North Korea had earlier released images of the boats through a monthly magazine intended for foreign readers.
Post a Comment
Read more