U. S. Sen. Angus King is urging the federal government's watchdog agency to conduct a study of suicide prevention policies for reservists in the U.S. military.
King, I-Maine, in a letter sent this week to Comptroller General Gene Dodaro of the U.S. Government Accountability Office, also asked the agency to review the investigations into last year's mass shooting in Lewiston as part of its study.
The Lewiston shooter was a U.S. Army reservist who took his own life after killing 18 people in October 2023.
"It has been nearly a year since Sergeant First Class (SFC) Robert Card II committed the deadliest mass shooting in Maine's history, killing 18 and wounding 13 on October 25, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. Since the tragedy, multiple press reports, investigations by the Army, and the Governor of Maine's special commission have revealed troubling matters. I urge you to consider these investigations and to meet with all stakeholders as you conduct your review," King wrote in the letter.
"Service members in reserve status are critical to our Armed Forces and represent nearly one-third of the total force," King wrote. "I am concerned that they experience limited access to military-supported suicide prevention resources."
Card experienced mental distress in the months before the shooting and was briefly hospitalized in New York state for psychiatric care. His family and friends have said he was hearing voices and believed people were spreading lies about him.
Card was also "exposed to thousands of low-level blasts" during years of grenade training in New York state, according to personnel records and a forensic analysis of Card's brain tissue by Boston University that was released this spring. Brain injury likely contributed to Card's declining mental health before the mass shooting, according to Boston University scientists.
The Army has revised its protocols surrounding training — including baseline brain screenings during basic training — and more changes may be on the way. King's bill to help prevent brain injuries during military training has been included in the National Defense Authorization Act.
King — working with Scarborough resident Chris McGhee, an attorney and former 20-year member of the U.S. Air Force — recently pressed the Defense Department to release more details on suicide rates among service members. The department released a report this year breaking down suicide rates by job function. McGhee has said the military needs to release more detailed information.
The risk of dying by suicide is greater among military veterans than in the overall U.S. population, according to the Veterans Affairs Department, with rates about 57% higher for veterans. The VA cites additional risk factors veterans face, such as suffering brain injury during service, experiencing trauma and a greater likelihood of owning a firearm.
The suicide rate in the general population was 14.2 deaths per 100,000 people in 2022, the latest year data is available, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Maine's rate was 17.68, second-highest in New England, with Vermont having the highest rate. Rural states tend to have higher rates of suicide, with Montana, at 28.7 deaths per 100,000, recording the highest suicide rate in the nation.
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