HERE is an interview conducted last year by an Army public affairs officer with Cpt. Kelly Hasselman, who achieved some fame as the head of a “Female Engagement Team” in Afghanistan. Hasselman, who was from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, is now dead, and there is reason to believe she committed suicide on April 19th. Where is the Public Affairs Office now? Where are the news outlets that broadcast this interview and have yet to report her death? Where are the press releases from The Citadel, the elite military academy Hasselman attended and which little over a month ago made her the subject of a feature in honor of Women’s History Month, an article that informs us that she was while still presumably in her twenties the recipient of the Bronze Star Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal (2nd Award), Army Achievement Medal (3rd Award), National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Campaign Star (3rd Award), Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korean Defense Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon with Numeral 2, and the NATO ISAF Service Medal — in other words, of so many awards that one is tempted to suspect affirmative action? [See note below disputing the possibility that affirmative action was involved in the number of medals received.]

Since Cpt. Hasselman was an exemplary achiever, a role model for women, the public should be told of her death and something about the circumstances in which she died.

It is a great tragedy for her family, especially if she died by her own hand. The family deserves its privacy and shouldn’t be pressured to talk about it. But Cpt. Hasselman was a public figure. And the institutions which used her story for their own purposes are ethically bound to complete the story. But isn’t this the way it is with the Revolution? Isn’t this the way it is with the celebration of women soldiers? We are told of the power and glory, but denied the tales of personal ruin, of which there will be many more. In other words, we are fed lies.

It is worth noting that although Cpt. Hasselman was known as a personable woman, in this video she comes across as unhappy. She speaks in a mannish, bureaucratic monotone. She seems to have had everything womanly drained out of her. She is the creation of a world that disdains femininity and fights unnecessary wars. That is an entirely subjective view and it is but one interview, but I wonder how any woman in such a position could be anything other than this — and how men can be motivated to fight for their country when it is drained of the life-giving force of feminine gentleness and love. One cannot help but feel sad for her and angry at those who promote unnatural notions of equality. As Robert Louis Stevenson said, “The cruelest lies are often told in silence.”

— Comments —

Buck writes:

Below is the content of a live chat I had with The Citadel just moments ago:

[Lt. Lees] Hello!  I am Lt. Caitlyn Lees and am an Admissions Counselor for the Corps of Cadets at The Citadel. I am happy to help you with any questions you have today!

[Lt. Lees] Yes.  The funeral for Capt. Kelly Hasselman USA will be Monday May 5 at 1:30 pm in Summerall Chapel. Interment will be in the bell tower the next day at 1:30. She was Romeo 2007, excelled as a cadet and later in her Army career in numerous assignments, including her most recent one in Afghanistan as first CO of the Army’s FET. An exceptional, kind-hearted, generous soul and wonderful as a student.

Regarding the cause of death:

Bert Perry writes:

I’m no soldier, but I looked at the string of medals, and from what I know they’re consistent with deployment to Korea followed by deployment to Afghanistan.  Going to Korea would get you the Korean Defense Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, and Overseas Service Ribbon.  Going to Afghanistan honorably gets you the NATO medal, GWOT medal, and the Afghanistan Campaign medal without firing a shot.

The special medals she earned would be the Bronze Star, the Commendation medals, and the Achievement medals.  Those would be attainable by a soldier of good ability in the campaigns in which the late Captain participated.  You’d have to look very closely at the paperwork for the Bronze Star to see if it was awarded frivolously.  In other words, I don’t think that these are “Affirmative Action” medals.  Perhaps they are “self-esteem” medals awarded to any Beetle Bailey, but I can’t prove they’re Affirmative Action medals.

Praying that the Army will take this tragedy seriously enough to do some honest thinking about why it happened….hopefully the silence of those involved reflects this, and not a cover-up.

T.D. writes:

I spent 12 years in the military, three of which were as an instructor at a training facility.  During my last year as an instructor, one of my students killed himself.  Previously, when I was serving on a submarine, two sailor on board made serious attempts, and only by shear luck survived.

The recent epidemic of military suicides has been blamed on combat stress.  However, none of the sailors mentioned above experienced combat.  Furthermore, if the military statistics are to be believed, military suicides currently outpace those of the Second World War, Korea and even Vietnam.  I believe there is something larger at work.  Namely, we send these young men (and those who take their own lives are overwhelmingly young men) into the world with nothing.  In the past, you could count on a serviceman coming from and intact home, a strong community, and with a faith in God.  Most of my trainees (and I saw hundreds) came from broken homes, grew up isolated and atomized (the product of a video game culture), and, at best, possessed a vague spirituality.  Most servicemen are able to successfully cope with the stresses of military life, but a growing subset are not, and this spiritual brittleness starts in the home.

The military response is what you would expect from a big stupid bureaucracy: more ineffective power-point based training.  There is no comprehension that these deaths reflect a deeper rot in our society.  Furthermore, through multiculturalism and female integration, the powers that be are destroying unit cohesion and esprit de corps, one of the most effective ways for young men to cope with the stresses and frustrations of military life.  Traditions, some of them dating back centuries, have been eliminated or watered down to the point of irrelevance, and hypersensitive women minorities can destroy a career with a single word.  The military has become a miserable place, and coupled with a rancid culture, is killing our servicemen more effectively than our enemies.

 Pete F. writes:

“It is worth noting that although Cpt. Hasselman was known as a personable woman, in this video she comes across as unhappy. She speaks in a mannish, bureaucratic monotone. She seems to have had everything womanly drained out of her. She is the creation of a world that disdains femininity and fights unnecessary wars.”

It is almost as if Cpt. Hasselman knew, deep down, that she was an imposter – someone trying to be something she was not. Perhaps it was simply an ill-defined sense that something wasn’t quite right, or maybe she awakened to the existential ridiculousness of her situation. Did she realize that the hard men who actually fight wars did not – could not – take her seriously? Such a blow would have been difficult to take for someone raised within the protective cocoon of feminist fantasies.

“I wonder how any woman in such a position could be anything other than this — and how men can be motivated to fight for their country when it is drained of the life-giving force of feminine gentleness and love.”

A penetrating insight – one borne out by the trends in military participation of young men and young women, respectively. For some years now, increasing numbers of young men are opting not to join the armed forces. Having experienced political correctness run-amok in the military, the fathers, uncles and older brothers of today’s young men are warning them away from it. To fill the ranks, the military has stepped up its efforts to recruit young women like Hasselman. These young women do their best to masculinize themselves to fit military culture and the macho ethic, but of course – not being men – they don’t succeed, and are left in a grotesque state, lost somewhere between being authentically male and authentically female. How sad and how very tragic.

Regarding the comment by Bert Perry, “The special medals she earned would be the Bronze Star, the Commendation medals, and the Achievement medals.  Those would be attainable by a soldier of good ability in the campaigns in which the late Captain participated.  You’d have to look very closely at the paperwork for the Bronze Star to see if it was awarded frivolously.”

“Medal inflation” is a fact of life in the modern military – one which can easily be proven by reference to today’s soldiers versus their historical counterparts.

Cpt. Hasselman, in her relatively brief non-combat career, was awarded eleven campaign ribbons and decorations, some with multiple awards.

Contrast that with such legendary figures of World War Two as Marine Corporal Eugene Sledge or Major Richard Winters of the U.S. Army’s famed 101st Airborne Division. Both of these warriors saw action in some of the most-savage fighting seen in any war of the 20th century, yet both men could easily fit their awards and decorations in a modest two-three rows of ribbons on their uniform tunics. Winters won the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation’s second-highest award for valor, and is justly celebrated as one of the finest combat leaders produced by the army during the 20th century. Sledge – who saw combat at Peleliu and Okinawa – also did a hitch in China after the war. His ribbons took up a modest two small rows on his dress blues. These men, among the finest warriors and combat leaders this nation has ever produced, received fewer decorations than Cpt. Hasselman. That speaks volumes about the nature of things, then and now.

Today, the Bronze Star – which is supposed to be the nation’s third-highest award for valor – is given out rather liberally as compared to the past. That is particularly true among the ranks of officers – many of whom get awarded this decoration for staff work and the like. It doesn’t look good, in public relations terms (or so the thinking goes) if the most-senior leaders in the military don’t have as many and as high-ranking awards as their subordinates – so one of the ways the services get around this potentially-embarrassing problem is by handing out Bronze Stars fairly freely to the brass. The Bronze Star is awarded for valor; when this is done, the “V” device is affixed to the ribbon and the medal. However, other than military insiders, few people know of this distinction.

I heard someplace once that the only award that matters to a combat soldier is the CIB – or Combat Infantry Badge.

The Army Commendation Medal and the Army Achievement medals aren’t that big of a deal. The former is more-or-less automatically awarded for satisfactory service after a specified interval of time, and the latter – while signifying accomplishment – would in reality be better handled by a letter of commendation. Medals should be awarded for combat, and otherwise very sparingly.

The awarding of medals has gotten completely out of hand in the postmodern military; it is now alleged that one can get decorated for doing a good Power Point presentation. That’s probably an exaggeration, but not by much.

Paul writes:

The lying and the movement to have anti-Christian gender-bending will never end unless someone stands up and says stop.  So the captain can talk in the typical monotone used by military and law enforcement people who are simply answering questions that any other expert should be able to do.  I agree it is hideous to see women doing it.  I would have no interest in dating, much less marrying, a woman who acted that way.

And let’s look closer.  She was obviously stressed.  She is blinking a lot.  She tried to hide her fear behind the monotone technique she learned from men, who are more at ease in such situations because they know they belong.  The Romanian female soldier (who is quite attractive) blinked less despite finding it hard to speak a foreign language.  She was not afraid to show her femininity; note her smiles and her hair.

It is so very sad in light of Cpt. Hasselman’s tragic end.  Cpt. Hasselman, like her hair, was wound too tight by psychological forces we will never know.  We might lay part of the blame on armchair liberals, who insisted the captain carry their water for them.  God only knows whether her family unknowingly pressured her based, if I had to bet, mainly on her intellect.

Buck writes:

There was an article recently at the Washington Times web site: “Special Forces’ suicide rates hit record levels — casualties of ‘hard combat.’” William McRaven, the head of Special Operations Command, is quoted: “And this year, I am afraid, we are on path to break that [the all-time high for suicide rates],” he went on, at a conference in Tampa. “My soldiers have been fighting now for 12, 13 years in hard combat — hard combat — and anybody that has spent any time in this war has been changed by it. It’s that simple.”

Fifteen months ago you hosted a discussion about Adm. McRaven’s assertion that women can make great Navy SEALS. In a wide ranging interview at a forum in July, 2012, Adm. McRaven answered a question about the increase of suicides in the military. He said (minutes 15:00 – 17:50 in the video) “The force was frayed… we’re not crumbling, we’re not destroyed, but we were clearly fraying a year ago. I think that fraying is getting a little worse… We’re trying to find out what the real issues are. You can look at statistics, but statistics don’t tell you everything. Our suicide rate is as high as it has been in recorded history, in terms of how long we have been keeping track of this, which is really a couple of years now. Having said that, most people would think that’s a result of guys have been in hard combat, they’ve seen their buddy killed in front of them. But, we don’t find that necessarily to be the case. The suicides that we are tracking right now, tend to be related to a couple of things; relationships. There’s always a bad relationship in there. There’s alcohol and drugs that are involved. And, there are some other things that contribute to it. But, it’s not as easy as saying: this kid was in combat, and that’s why he has that kind of stress that caused him to commit suicide.”

The admiral had no idea what he was talking about in 2012, and he knew that then. He has no idea what he is talking about now, and he knows that too, but he keeps talking anyway. What compels him? The good admiral is an authority on special operations. He has no authoritative knowledge about suicide. It seems that no one does; even those who spend the most time studying and researching the issue. The conversation doesn’t seem to have changed since the American Civil War: “We estimated rates of suicide, alcohol abuse, and probable psychiatric illness among Union Forces during the U.S. Civil War via examination of data compiled by the Union Army. White active-duty military personnel suicide rates ranged from 8.74 to 14.54 per 100,000 during the war, and surged to 30.4 the year after the war.” The Admiral McRaven just said that statistics don’t tell you everything, and then he says that they have only kept track for a couple of years. What?

The different sources of data is bewildering and filled with contradiction. The more that I read, the less credible the sources. At one point, several years ago, when new reports of rising rates of suicide in the military appeared, I found data that suggested that suicide rates in the general population were higher than suicide rates in the military, and had been so, consistently. Now I find data that suggest the opposite. Most seem to compare an 85% male military directly to the 51/49 female/male general population, on a per 100,000 basis. That, along with the routine banding by various age groups, and there seems to be no real way to get a good handle on the data; especially when no two agencies report the same numbers.

Adding to the puzzle is a report that nearly half of all suicides in the military having been committed with privately owned firearms. “According to Defense Department statistics, more than 6 of 10 military suicides are by firearms, with nearly half involving privately owned guns. In the civilian population, guns are also the most common method of suicide among young males, though at a somewhat lower rate.”

This story also says: “Suicides in the military rose sharply from 2005 to 2009, reaching 285 active-duty service members and 24 reservists in 2009. As the services expanded suicide prevention programs, the numbers leveled off somewhat in 2010 and 2011. But this year, the numbers are on track to outpace the 2009 figures, with about 270 active-duty service members, half of them from the Army, having killed themselves as of last month.”

There are 1.4 million active duty military. In 2010 there were 270 suicides, or 19.28 per 100,000. In 2010 there were 38,364 suicides in the general population of 310 million, or 12.37 per 100,000.

The Department of Defense publishes different numbers. They list 17.5 suicides per 100,000 military personnel, for 2010.

However, “only a minority of suicides (10.1%) and suicide attempts (23.2%) occurred during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation New Dawn deployments. Most suicidal behavior occurred by U.S.based troops. However, around 50% of those who killed themselves had a history of deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan.

What are the ages of military suicides? The average age of active duty Marines is 25, of the other four services the average age is 30.

From NYTimes: From 1999 to 2010, the suicide rate among Americans ages 35 to 64 rose by nearly 30 percent, to 17.6 deaths per 100,000 people, up from 13.7. Although suicide rates are growing among both middle-aged men and women, far more men take their own lives. The suicide rate for middle-aged men was 27.3 deaths per 100,000, while for women it was 8.1 deaths per 100,000.

The most pronounced increases were seen among men in their 50s, a group in which suicide rates jumped by nearly 50 percent, to about 30 per 100,000. For women, the largest increase was seen in those ages 60 to 64, among whom rates increased by nearly 60 percent, to 7.0 per 100,000.

There are a lot of suicides, and there are all kinds of reasons suggested. Most, if not all (it would seem to me), come under the broad catagory of depression. At suicide.org, on the “causes” page: “Over 90 percent of people who die by suicide have a mental illness at the time of their death. And the most common mental illness is depression.” He then lists 32 causes of depression. Then he writes: “Again, the above causes may trigger depression, and untreated depression is the number one cause for suicide.” None of the causes listed are in any way specific to “hard combat”.

It is also sometimes suggested that suicides are under reported. I then read here, that: “In 2010, the most recent year for which data is available, 464,995 people visited a hospital for injuries due to self-harm behavior, suggesting that approximately 12 people harm themselves (not necessarily intending to take their lives) for every reported death by suicide.”

This guy does more comparisons, based on age.

In 2010, the most recent year for which data is available, 464,995 people visited a hospital for injuries due to self-harm behavior, suggesting that approximately 12 people harm themselves (not necessarily intending to take their lives) for every reported death by suicide. Together, those harming themselves made an estimated total of more than 650,000 hospital visits related to injuries sustained in one or more separate incidents of self-harm behavior.

Something is very wrong.

Laura writes:

Thank you for the statistics. The high incidence of suicide parallels the disorientation of society in our time. There are constant inducements from popular culture and the prevailing neo-pagan mindset to suicidal alienation from God and despair. One of these inducements is the idea, often put forth by “suicide prevention programs,” that suicide is not sinful. Suicide does not end suffering, but furthers and increases it in the afterlife because it is a grave moral offense. The loss of belief in the immortality of the soul, the rejection of the supernatural bond with God, a pagan horror of suffering, the materialist mindset which drives people to overwork and despair in poverty, and other forms of sin are the predominant causes of suicide. For instance, the suicide rate in the first year after abortion is high (reportedly 38 out of 100,000.) The suicide rate and rate of suicide attempts among adolescents continues to rise and it is not in the least bit suprising.

From the Catholic Encyclopedia:

The plague of suicide belongs especially to the period of decadence of the civilized peoples of antiquity, Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians. The Christian Middle Ages were unacquainted with this morbid tendency, but it has reappeared at a more recent period, has developed constantly since the Renaissance, and at present has reached such an intensity among all civilized nations that it may be considered one of the special evils of our time.

This suicide rate obviously includes suicides attributable to mental illness, but we cannot accept the opinion of a large number of physicians, moralists, and jurists who, led into error by a false philosophy, lay it down as a general rule that suicide is always due to insanity, so great is the horror which this act inspires in every man of sane mind. The Church rejects this theory and, while admitting exceptions, considers that those unfortunates who, impelled by despair or anger, attempt their life often act through malice or culpable cowardice. In fact, despair and anger are not as a general thing movements of the soul which it is impossible to resist, especially if one does not neglect the helps offered by religion, confidence in God, belief in the immortality of the soul and in a future life of rewards and punishments.

Widely different reasons have been advanced to explain the high frequency of suicide, but it is more correct to say that it does not depend on any one particular cause, but rather on anassemblage of factors, such as the social and economic situation, the misery of a great number, a more feverish pursuit of what is considered happiness, often ending in cruel deceptions, the ever more refined search for pleasure, a more precocious and intense stimulation of sexual life,intellectual overwork, the influence of the media and the sensational news with which it daily provides its readers, the influences of heredity, the ravages of alcoholism, etc. But it is undeniable that the religious factor is by far the most important, the increase in suicides keeping step with thede-Christianization of a country.

France presents a painful example parallel to the systematic de-Christianization; the number of suicides for each 100,000 of population increased from 8.32 in 1852 to 29 in 1900. The reason is obvious. Religion alone, and especially the Catholic religion, instructs us with regard to the true destiny of life and the importance of death; it alone furnishes a solution of the enigma of suffering, inasmuch as it shows man living in a land of exile and suffering as a means of acquiring the glory and happiness of a future life. By its doctrines of the efficacy of repentance and the practice of confession it relieves the moral suffering of man; it forbids and prevents to a large extent the disorders of life; in a word it is of a nature to prevent the causes which are calculated to impel a man to the extreme act.

June 29, 2014

John writes:

I knew CPT Hassellman, though we were not close I knew her to be a fine Officer and Soldier. How dare you and your readers judge this woman. Shame on all of you. You are part of the never ending line of second guessing and stupidity that comes from civilians in the United States. You have no idea what she had done in her Military career and who she was as a person. The statement at the end of your article about the femininity being drained out of her and her mannerisms as being manning are the height of foolishness from someone writing an article to push an agenda. An apology and retraction of this article would be appropriate as well as an apology directly to her family. People like you and the foolish statements from your readers make me embarrassed to be an American Citizen least of all to have fought three wars for this country. Show some respect for once for the people who fight for this country instead of patronizing them or mocking them and especially using them to push your own agenda.

Laura writes:

Yes, I do have an agenda and it is to expose the project of equality, which involves callous disregard for the vulnerability of women in the military. I did not show disrespect for service members. Both of my posts on Hasselman noted that she was an exemplary achiever. Both posts noted the tragedy of her case. I may not know everything Cpt. Hasselman did but her work was publicized by Army information officers well before she died. She was the subject of a number of news interviews. Did you contact those news outlets that used her to glorify the idea of women in combat and complain then about using her to promote an agenda?

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