Nineteen-year-old Pvt. Keiffer Wilhelm was excited to go to the Army.  That excitement faded when he arrived at boot camp and was reportedly abused.  Four days into his deployment in Iraq, Pvt. Keiffer Wilhelm shot himself.

“Now his family is struggling to process the stunning news that four of Wilhelm’s fellow soldiers stand accused of abusing him and other soldiers in his platoon with excessive physical fitness and cruelty before his death. ‘They just acted like they were a bunch of street hoods,” Adrian Wilhelm said from his home in Plymouth, Ohio. ‘They thought they were above the law.’”

What makes this so sad is not just that one soldier shot himself and four others have been charged with cruelty and maltreatment of subordinates, but that both things illustrate how stressful and isolating war can be.  People often don’t behave like themselves during or after they serve.  The story of Keiffer Wilhelm is a painful reminder of this.

For this reason I am glad that there are groups out there like Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America looking out for our soldiers.   They provide mental health resources, information for military families, and more. They also work to get important legislation passed to protect and support Veterans.

Please visit the ACTION section of this post below and learn how you can help prevent more tragic deaths like the death of Keiffer Wilhelm.

*photo by Army.mil (CC)