Sgt. Amanda "Mandy" Sheldon
Last night I was watching the news and learned about the suicide of Sgt. Amanda Sheldon, a young female soldier from Michigan. Her devastated mother was interviewed about her daughter. Her mother truly wanted to let soldiers that are having a hard time dealing with depression to know that it is okay to seek help. What happened to Amanda is a tragedy and I was touched by her mother as any mother would be. I felt a need to share this young woman’s plight with other people in the hope that more can be done for these soldiers.
At some time during her military career Amanda was given a date rape drug and raped by a superior. (I want to add here that I was watching “Oprah” tonight as she had a show about homeless female veterans and Tammy Duckworth said that one in three female soldiers are assaulted in the military.) The suspect was discharged from the Army and was convicted but Amanda’s problems didn’t stop there. She did seek counseling. Later when she was up for a promotion, military personnel wanted to know why she needed counseling. This must have made Amanda feel that the military deemed that a “weakness”. She never went in for counseling again and she suffered dearly for it.
Her mother said that Amanda was planning on leaving the military and starting a new life attending college. She had one more deployment with her unit to Afghanistan to do. Her mom said that to deploy she would have to sign up for two more years. She didn’t really want to do that. Her mom also said that she had fallen in love and was very torn between going with her unit to Afghanistan and leaving the military as either choice would eventually “let someone down”. Amanda evidently couldn’t take it and instead of going in for counseling, she took her own life.
The full story about Amanda can be read here:
http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/local/kent_county/Soldiers-mom-speaks-out-on-suicide
Amanda’s obituary is here:
Something needs to be done to protect these women from being assaulted. I remember reading a few years back about young women in the military dying of dehydration in the desert when they were deployed in Iraq because they feared going to the bathroom in the night. There were many female soldiers being assaulted. Many would not drink fluids that they needed to stay healthy in the desert because of this fear of having to go to the latrine late at night. http://www.alternet.org/world/31584/
A female soldier is tough but sexual abuse can take every ounce of toughness out of anyone. It can destroy lives just as it seems to have destroyed the life of this beautiful, young soldier named Amanda or “Mandy” by her friends. We all know life isn’t fair but our country owes our young people a debt of gratitude for their service and a sense of honor that allows them to be safe from predators when they are serving their country. We should all be outraged because Amanda isn’t just the child of her own parents. She is your child and my child. Mandy’s death should not be in vain. We should all be contacting our representatives and pushing for more to be done so other soldiers don’t follow Mandy and take their own life because they see no other option.
I wrote my representative about this. I hope you will be moved to do the same so that something more can be done to protect these young female soldiers from sexual predators. Here is the link: https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
You can also contact your senators here: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Please do something. I have written both of my senators and my representative. If we want our daughters protected from sexual predators in the military, let’s stand up and do something about it. Mandy could be my daughter and she could be your daughter. She deserved better and we as a nation should have protected her better.
Tribute to a Fallen Soldier…
Last night I was watching the news and learned about the suicide of Sgt. Amanda Sheldon, a young female soldier from Michigan. Her devastated mother was interviewed about her daughter. Her mother truly wanted to let soldiers that are having a hard time…
Thank you for your story Katie!
I want to put an update here as I heard a reply back from my letter to Senator Carl Levin.
Dear Ms. Svoboda:
Thank you for contacting me about the tragic suicide of Sgt. Amanda Sheldon. Her story serves as another reminder of the serious problems of military suicides and the “invisible wounds of war.” I share your concern about the impact these issues are having on America’s military personnel and veterans.
The increase in suicide by military personnel in the last few years is alarming. In 2007, 115 Army soldiers committed suicide; in 2008, the number increased to 140 and to 162 in 2009. Similarly, 33 Marines committed suicide in 2007, 42 in 2008, and 52 in 2009. These increases indicate that, despite the armed services’ efforts, there is still much work to be done. We must improve our suicide prevention efforts to reverse the number of service members taking their own lives.
To that end, the Senate Armed Services Committee, which I chair, held a hearing on the Department of Defense’s and the Department of Veterans Affairs’ suicide prevention policies and their efforts to diagnose and treat the “invisible wounds of war,” including traumatic brain injury, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other combat-related psychological health concerns.
To improve suicide prevention, greater efforts must be made to end the stigma that too many attach to mental health treatment. Also key to prevention efforts is the proper and timely diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain injury and post traumatic stress and increasing the awareness of and access to mental health care resources, as well as leadership support for those seeking such care. It is essential that each service branch and the Department of Veterans Affairs takes proactive steps to help detect, treat, and manage psychological health problems and concussive injuries, and prevent suicides.
Throughout my tenure in the Senate, I have fought to ensure that our nation’s service members and veterans receive the best medical care available. The brave men and women who have been wounded on the battlefield have made a grave sacrifice and they deserve nothing less. As issues related to health care for veterans and active duty service members come before the Congress, I will keep your views in mind.
Thank you again for contacting me.
Sincerely,
Carl Levin
Amanda’s story is so upsetting. People join the armed forces to be a better person and have a career. These people have no idea what could happen to them. This is a horrible situation. I have PTSD so I know how this kind of depression can affect someone. I can’t help but cry now, just remembering what I went through. I wasn’t in the armed forces,but I know what depression can do to your life. I know what her mother went through. I have lost both of my sons. I also lost my husband. It’s very difficult to live alone, and all you have is memories. Oh Lord I pray, please intervene in this situation. How many people have to die??? I hope someone will help to put a stop to this problem. In our nation of the United states of America, this should not be going on. We the people need to take a stand against the Armed forces not letting people be honorably discharged when they have a mental illness.. I know that is definitely an issue. I don’t know how Amanda took her life but I know in my heart how devastated she was before dying.. I have had a BRAIN injury also. I know first hand what a person goes through. Let’s all pray for Amanda’s family and all the families that have survived this horrible tragedy. We must stand strong!!!