Dorothy Screws never could have imagined how one tragic moment would change her life forever.

Screws witnessed her only son, U.S. Army Pvt. Tommie Edward Jones, commit suicide right before her eyes six weeks ago in Colorado. She says the Army, which promised to be there for Screws and her family to deal with the loss, has yet to provide assistance.

Now Screws can hardly do her job without breaking down. Just the simple act of living is a challenge.

Only the memory of her son keeps Screws going as she fights to ensure another parent does not have to live through the same tragedy.

“I can’t save my son now ... I want to save somebody,” Screws said with tears in her eyes. “If I can save one soldier, it will be worth it.”

Screws plans to petition the government for as long as it takes until a law is passed requiring soldiers to undergo some type of psychological therapy after they return from intense combat.

“If they can make them tote 150 pounds on their backs and march ... why can’t they make it mandatory to get help?” said Screws, a resident of Hanceville.

Screws also plans to engage the Army itself so she and her family will get the help they need.

“The Army has not helped us one bit,” Screws said. “They said a person would be in our yard when we got back to Alabama, but we haven’t heard from anybody.”

One thing Screws and her family did not know until after her son’s death — which occurred March 25 at Fort Carson, Colo. — was that Jones, 27, had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from when he fought in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2007.

PTSD is a medical diagnosis, established in 1980, defining symptoms that last at least a month after experiencing a major trauma. These symptoms include remembering or reliving the trauma when one does not choose to, feeling numb and withdrawn and having forms of anxiety that interfere with daily life.

Jones mentioned a few of the traumatic events he experienced in Iraq to his mother shortly before his death.

“He said, ‘I wake up every morning angry,’” Screws said. “He said, ‘My body is here but my mind is in Iraq.’”

Military suicides increase

The military has experienced a rise in suicide rates among soldiers in recent years. According to the most recent Army statistics, 2006 had the highest number of suicides among soldiers since 1990. The majority of 2006 suicides took place among soldiers in the United States. Seventy-two had either never deployed or been back from the theater for over a year, eight had been back from deployment for less than a year, 27 occurred in Iraq and three in Afghanistan.

To date, 89 suicide deaths were confirmed in 2007 and 32 cases are still pending.

Suicide attempts have also climbed exponentially since the Army began tracking them in 2002, rising from 350 to approximately 2,100 last year.

Screws said she wants therapy to be mandatory for soldiers because many, like her son, do not seek help out of fear of being stigmatized. She said Jones told her he did not want to talk to a therapist because he thought such action would prevent him from rising in rank.

“No, that’s incorrect,” said John Boyce Jr., spokesman for Army public affairs, concerning Jones’ belief.

A career hurdle?

The belief that admitting you have psychological problems is a career killer is still fairly common among military personnel. However, the U.S. Department of Defense is taking steps to eliminate soldiers’ fears. During a news conference Thursday, the department announced a new policy under which soldiers will no longer have to reveal previous mental health treatment unless it involved violence or was court-ordered.

“I hear everywhere I go the belief that admitting to the need for counseling and assistance or the fact of having received it only penalizes you and stifles your career,” said Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen in the news conference. “Good people, many of whom have seen combat up close and faced its grim reality, whose courage is absolutely unquestionable and who deserve only the best physical and mental health care we can provide, are actually willing to deny themselves that care out of the fear that doing so hurts them and their families in the long run. Nothing could be further from the truth, and it's time we got over that.”

To further lower the stigma of asking for mental therapy, the department plans to have officers in leadership positions who sought mental therapy come forward and talk about their experiences.

While the Army currently does not have a mandatory policy that everyone returning from combat receive mental therapy, Boyce said there are mandatory programs that deal with PTSD.

“The Army provides a variety of ways for soldiers to get counseling; some help is mandatory such as pre-deployment health assessments, post-deployment health assessments and post-deployment health re-assessments,” Boyce said.

Each assessment is a written form soldiers are required to complete.

“We offer volunteer programs also,” Boyce said. “Soldiers who are in crisis should talk to their chaplain or chain of command immediately. The Army applies a holistic approach to take care of all soldiers and families regardless of the cause of death. We closely evaluate the circumstances around each loss and make changes to our programs and initiatives.”

Getting little help

In reference to Screws’ plea for help, Boyce said the Army typically assigns a casualty assistance officer to fulfill needs for families.

“Following a death, the Army assigns a casualty assistance officer to assist the family with memorial arrangements, personnel and financial paperwork as well as assistance in answering questions, obtaining official documents and other requests,” he said.

Jones’ sister, Amanda Wimberly, said her family was assigned an assistance officer. But Wimberly said the officer has been anything but helpful.

“I called her a few weeks ago and she was with her family ... but she could come by later if we wanted,” Wimberly said. “We needed her then. I asked to speak to her boss. ... She fumbled with the phone and eventually hung up. I haven’t spoken to her since.”

Screws said she has already expressed her feelings about the Army and her petition for mandatory therapy to the local Democratic Party. She plans to attend an upcoming Republican Party meeting to do the same.

“I don’t care if I get in trouble,” Screws said. “Until somebody can answer some questions and make it right, oh yeah, I’ll keep talking.”