WASHINGTON — The Army acknowledged Friday that Maj. Gen. John Rossi committed suicide on July 31, making him the highest-ranking soldier ever to have taken his own life.
Rossi, who was 55, was just two days from pinning on his third star and taking command of Army Space and Missile Command when he killed himself at his home at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. ‘
Investigators could find no event, infidelity, misconduct or drug or alcohol abuse, that triggered Rossi’s suicide, said a U.S. government official with direct knowledge of the investigation. It appears that Rossi was overwhelmed by his responsibilities, said the official who was not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation.
Rossi himself talked in March about suicide at a conference on preventing troops from killing themselves.
He held up a card from his wallet with photos of 10 soldiers who had died under his command at Fort Sill, Okla. Four of them had committed suicide.
Rossi led off the event by reading the reports of recent suicide attempts to the soldiers at the event, according to a news story on the Army’s web site. He told the conference that he received reports of four soldiers per week thinking about or attempting suicide.
“We are ultimately responsible for soldiers both on and off duty,” Rossi said.
In a separate statement on Friday, Rossi’s family asked for privacy and called on soldiers with emotional problems to seek help.
“To all the other families out there, to the man or woman who may be facing challenging times, please seek assistance immediately,” according to a statement released on the family’s behalf by the Army.
The Army, the armed forces and its veterans have struggled with the scourge of suicide since the 9/11 terror attacks and the wars that followed in Afghanistan and Iraq. About 20 veterans a day kill themselves, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, putting them at 21% higher risk of suicide compared with civilian adults.
The suicide rate for active-duty troops was similar to that of civilians in 2014, according to the most recent data released by the Pentagon. The Army’s rate of 23.9 suicides per 100,000 soldiers was the highest among the services.
Almost 20 years ago, Adm. Jeremy Boorda, the Navy’s top sailor, killed himself with a gunshot to the chest. Then the chief of naval operations, Boorda had been the focus of an investigation into his improperly wearing combat medals. The four-star officer was the highest-ranking ever to have killed himself.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2016/10/28/army-generals-death-ruled-suicide/92880986/
i lived a couple of miles from redstone a few years ago. getting woke up by ordinance disposal first thing in the morning is an eye opener…….
and yea… very likely an “assisted” suicide
Sad to know about another suicide by our Military folks. With no vices and a flag officer,maybe he knew where those missing nukes are and wouldn’t tell? maybe he knew something else that the elites didn’t want leaked?
My first response is “what did he know about that those who are working from within to destroy our nation did not believe that he would keep to himself?”
Is this another suicide with 2 or more bullets to the head and back with different guns? Was he hung … oops… or did they hang him? Etc.
Because being “… two days from pinning on his third star and taking command of Army Space and Missile Command” says to me that either he was already issued orders against his nation and people that he would not follow, or ??
Until PROVEN otherwise I believe that he was “assisted” in an unwanted suicide.
I agree. It must be remembered that Redstone Arsenal has a long history of being center stage in black ops and secret operations, both foreign and domestic. Maybe the General was viewed as a risk. People in the know, are a law unto themselves and frequently eat their own.
Absolute bs, so obvious he was iced…about to take command of red stone, really…& celebrates his promotion by killing himself…yeah right..,!
“It appears that Rossi was overwhelmed by his responsibilities…”
That’s the best you can come up with?
It appears far more likely he was overwhelmed by the military purge that’s been occurring. Wonder if he was asked to resign, and refused?
“Almost 20 years ago, Adm. Jeremy Boorda, the Navy’s top sailor, killed himself with a gunshot to the chest.”
Chest?
Gotta wonder about that one, too.
I do not for one second believe that he was on “our” side or that he committed suicide. This to me could be more of a “got caught in the crossfire” of the communist and fascist factions.
Few if any in the military are on our side (meaning the side of liberty), although some ex-military certainly are.
The unholy trinity of the US government, the corporate oligarchy, and the Zionist fifth column are the enemies of our freedom. Everyone in the military, whether he knows it or not, is serving all three of these. It’s simply not possible to support the Bill of Rights while taking orders from its enemies.
Of course, that’s not to say current military personnel can’t be enlightened. Some may come to realize the truth on their own, like Ed Snowden, Bradley Manning, et al.
It’s a kind of strange to kill this guy (it wasn’t suicide) right before he was being promoted, so he may have been preparing to arrest Obama, or take some similarly drastic measure to save his country.
Well, the “who”, “what”, “when”, “where” and “why” questions of a story were answered or guessed at…only thing missing is “how”????? Pill overdose? Gunshot? Carbon monoxide? Jump off a building? Electrocute himself in his bathtub? Cutting his wrists?