Although exposure to the suicide death of a military colleague has been shown quantitatively to increase suicide risk factors among veterans, there are very few studies where veterans have been asked about this experience. This article presents a qualitative analysis of 38 interviews with U.S. veterans with exposure to the suicide death of a military colleague in past war operations. Participants described the impact of exposure in relation to the military context and official response to the death, which had long-term ramifications. Our findings suggest suicide prevention and postvention responses for veterans should be informed by the lived experience of veterans, including those for whom this experience occurred significantly in the past, as the impacts of different military policies and practices in response to suicide deaths over time are relevant to the impact of exposure to death of a military colleague in the short and long term.
Keywords: Veteran; exposure; postvention; qualitative; suicide.