for more, we go to retired army general ronald griffith. he was army vice chief of staff from 1995-1997. he's now a consultant. and former first lt. paul rieckhoff is the executive director of iraq and afghanistan veterans of america, which advocates on behalf of veterans. paul rieckhoff i will start with you. in what ways was this move by the president important? what was the problem it addresses? >> i think it addresses the problem that soldiers were dying in the theatre of combat and they weren't properly recognized by the president and by our nation. so you've got these folks who ef's taken their own lives in the line of duty, a month in the army -- army alone there were 27 of them. and this recognizes their sacrifice, it recognizes their service and it tells the families that they are appreciated by their president. it's a small step but i think it symbolically is a big one. in that it can help erode the stigma which is the biggest problems we face in combatting these types of problems. >> brown: and there has been a long-running debat