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Reservist commits suicide over city job { March 19 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.nynewsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-reservist-job,0,6143680,print.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines http://www.nynewsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-reservist-job,0,6143680,print.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines Reservist Commits Suicide Over City Job By KATE ROBERTS Associated Press Writer March 19, 2004, 7:33 PM EST COLUMBUS, Ohio -- An Army reservist who unsuccessfully fought city officials for an expected promotion after he returned from service in Afghanistan has committed suicide, police said. Lt. Brandon Ratliff was upset that he could not afford to pay for an attorney to fight the city to get the job, according to an e-mail sent from Ratliff's account to The Columbus Dispatch on Thursday. The newspaper said Ratliff was found dead in his home with a bullet wound to the head about three hours after the e-mail was sent. Police spokeswoman Sherry Mercurio said Ratliff's death was ruled a suicide. Ratliff said he was promised a promotion and a raise in September 2002 before he left to serve in a medical unit in Afghanistan. When he returned, the higher-level job had been filled and he was forced to resume his old job, which pays $4,000 less per year. "I didn't think that I'd have to fight over there and come back and fight these guys," he said last week. By law, employers must take back reservists returning from military service, with few exceptions. According to the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, employers must reinstate reservists returning from military service to the job they would have attained had they not been absent. Health department spokeswoman Liane Egle said Ratliff did not formally accept the promotion before his deployment and the city believed it did not have to hold the higher job for him. A department statement said: "Brandon served this department, this community and this country with high honor and valor. His death is a tragic loss." The department declined to comment further. His cousin, Cynthia Hellman, said Ratliff was "fed up" and felt he didn't get the respect he deserved. "It all comes down to our military personnel not being treated well during and after their deployment," she said. The Army had no immediate comment, spokeswoman Martha Rudd said Friday. Kelly Hennen, a co-worker and friend of Ratliff, said whatever anger Ratliff had about his work was tied to depression he'd suffered after returning from Afghanistan. "He had seen children die," she said. Ratliff commanded the Army Reserve's 909th Forward Surgical Team. The unit provides medical care on the front lines, and Ratliff's duties included retrieving wounded soldiers from the battlefield and tallying the dead and wounded. He was decorated eight times, his family said. Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press

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