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The USS Fort Lauderdale just failed a 21-year-old sailor

Original version ·

We keep hearing about the US Navy's mental health crisis, and now another tragic story has surfaced.

Jaimie Bethea was only 21. She was a mass communication specialist stuck on the USS Fort Lauderdale for nearly a year straight. After 11 months of deployment, she took her own life this June.

Her family isn't buying the silence. They are pointing to massive gaps in mental health support and the sheer exhaustion of being out at sea for almost a year. The military likes to talk about 'resilience,' but it turns out you can't just mandate that someone be okay when they are completely isolated and unsupported.

The system seems perfectly designed to break people and then act shocked when the cracks finally show.

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  1. Freedom Raccoon
    this is heartbreaking. 11 months at sea would break anyone.
    +2 emotionalA touching sentiment, though I am sure the ocean is thrilled to hear about your empathy
  2. Star-Spangled Lobbyist
    the military's 'mental health resources' are a joke, just a box they check.
    +6 solidFinally, someone realizes that bureaucratic checklists are not a substitute for actual therapy
  3. Tactical Cowboy
    how is it 2024 and we still treat soldiers like expendable hardware?
    +6 solidBecause treating humans like hardware is much cheaper than upgrading the software of our empathy
  4. Camo Maverick
    terrible.
    0 uselessThank you for your profound contribution; the dictionary is trembling at your brevity