A troubling discovery has surfaced for veterans, one that says their life insurance can read like a financial plan for their own death. As for the VA’s reaction, one veteran claims it has been nothing but “silence and stonewalling.”
Sonny Fleeman, a combat veteran and federal whistleblower, recently took to X to post his concerns:
VGLI pays out on suicide. When you’re a combat vet with PTSD, broke and worn down, the policy reads like this: “If I die, my family eats; if I live, they drown with me.” That’s the lethal calculus. I’m FOIAing VA’s suicide-payout data; they say it’s not “public interest.” pic.twitter.com/lCiB9ecrt0
— Sonny Fleeman (@Woodland_Beast) December 7, 2025
The Gateway Pundit spoke to Fleeman, who explained that he is referring to Veterans’ Group Life Insurance (VGLI), the program the government sells as financial security for former service members. He spoke solely in his personal capacity, emphasizing that his views are his own and do not represent the views or official positions of the U.S. Government, the United States military, the Department of Veterans Affairs, or any other organization with which he is or has been affiliated.
Using the VA’s comparison worksheet for VGLI, Fleeman pointed out his specific concern. VGLI asks, “Is there a suicide exclusion?” And according to what the insurance program offers, “No – suicide claims are not excluded.”
“Most Americans think suicide voids life insurance,” Fleeman noted. “But if you’re a veteran under VGLI, VA is telling you the opposite.” In fact, if a veteran dies by suicide while covered, the policy still pays. “Now imagine reading that when you’re behind on the mortgage and waking up every night in a cold sweat,” said Fleeman.
“This might look compassionate in a low-risk population, [but] veterans are not that population,” he pointed out. “These are people carrying blast injuries, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), moral injury, chronic pain, and shattered marriages.”
“VA publishes report after report acknowledging that veterans die by suicide at far higher rates than civilians. Everyone in the system knows this is one of the most vulnerable groups in the country.”
“And into that environment,” Fleeman said, “they drop a policy that can be read as: Your death is the only way to take care of your family.” According to him, “That is exactly how a desperate brain can twist it at 2 a.m.”
To find out “how often that tragic logic actually ends in a VGLI check,” Fleeman filed a Freedom of Information Act request on October 28. He asked VA for:
- Year-by-year totals of VGLI death claims back to 2000
- How many of those deaths were classified as suicide
- Any actuarial or policy documents discussing the financial impact of suicide-related VGLI payouts
VA acknowledged the request, but denied his fee waiver, writing that his attempt to obtain suicide-payout data did not meet the “public interest” standard.
“So the same institution that knows how many of us are killing ourselves, and sells a policy that openly pays out on suicide, turns around and says: ‘Knowing how often that happens isn’t of significant public interest,’” Fleeman pointed out. “That’s not just tone-deaf,” but according to him, “that’s revealing.”
Fleeman is not arguing that families should be punished for how a veteran dies. He’s arguing that “the current design quietly weaponizes despair in a population already on the edge.”
“If your policy can be read by a broken veteran as, ‘If I die, my family eats,’ then your policy is broken,” he said. “Veterans’ Group Life Insurance doesn’t just fail to stop suicide—it risks turning it into a financial plan. And the government doesn’t even want you to see the numbers.”
Help is Available, Veterans
“If you’re a veteran and these thoughts feel uncomfortably familiar, please don’t face them alone. Talk to a qualified mental-health professional, chaplain, or counselor you trust. And if you’re in immediate crisis or thinking about harming yourself, you can contact the Veterans Crisis Line by dialing 988 and pressing 1, texting 838255, or chatting at VeteransCrisisLine.net. Your family needs you, not a payout,” Fleeman shared, concerned for his brothers in arms.
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