30-year veteran of the USAF (1984-2014, ret. CMSgt). Thank you, Kyle, for your service, and thank you for being willing to talk about mental health and PTSD. Thank you for the interview, Samara!
When my dad was killed in Viet Nam, they sent a very young soldier to the high school where my mom was teaching to tell her. She met the young soldier at the door of her class and the bell rang. All of the high school students were in the hall and it was total chaos. Sounds like not much has changed in how families are informed of things happening in a war zone.