President Barack Obama announced today that he will begin sending Presidential letters of condolence to families of American troops who die by suicide in the combat zone, reversing a long-standing policy.

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, co-chair of the Senate Military Family Caucus, ssued a statement expressing her support of this action. Boxer and a bipartisan group of several Senate colleagues sent the President a letter in May urging him to include these families after their loss.

“I am pleased that President Obama has reversed this long-standing policy and will begin sending Presidential condolence letters to the families of our troops who die by suicide,” Boxer wrote. “This will honor the sacrifice of our nation’s service men and women and their families and do a great deal to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health treatment that prevents so many from seeking the care they need.”

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Obama acknowledged the rise in suicides since the last two wars and repeated tours of duty for many of the troops, as well as the spike in returning troops with post-traumatic stress.

“This issue is emotional, painful and complicated, but these Americans served our nation bravely,” he said. “They didn’t die because they were weak. And the fact that they didn’t get the help they needed must change,” he said.

While this policy change is a small step to help the families of troops who have died, there are still several areas that need to be addressed.

The national support group Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors applauded the move, but said it was just a small step forward. The group issued a press release explaining its position.

“Even with the policy change today, only the families of those who died while in combat zones receive presidential condolence letters. With only select families receiving presidential condolence letters, a line is drawn between the value of the life and service of someone who dies on foreign soil and someone who dies in the exact same manner, whether injury, illness or suicide, here at home.  For families, that does not go unnoticed and is often hurtful.

“Presidential condolence letters are among the most public ways our nation acknowledges and memorializes the death of a service member. Communities who memorialize the deaths of those who serve, sometimes exclude those who don’t die in combat from memorial activities, omitting names from memorial walls, community observances, and other activities. This omission causes the families left behind pain and sorrow. By sending a condolence letter to the families of all those who die while serving, the President sets an important precedent for memorialization of all who died while serving.

“While expanding the policy today to include the families of those who die by suicide in combat zones is a very important step that TAPS supports, the White House Presidential condolence letter policy continues to exclude many families who have made the ultimate sacrifice in military service to America.”