Anyone ever experience an individual in their unit taking their own life?

Yes. My unit just experienced this a few months ago. A Soldier that had ETSd but had known most of the people in my unit, he had committed suicide. And when we were notified, it was a severe punch to the gut.

We had a soldier in my squad, SPC J, commit suicide after we re-deployed. It was awful. The entire company took an immediate gut punch and never really recovered. He knew how and when to boost moral. He was positive. He brought me out of my shell and showed me how fun it was to socialize and meet new people. He was the truest friend I've ever had. There were no signs. He frequently talked about reenlisting and talked to others about what they were doing when their contract was up. He was a true brother. The only regret I have is not paying more attention to any possible warning signs. I'll never forget him.

I lost my wife to suicide in October 1997. It was the darkest day in my life, and it still hurts over 22 years later.

One when I was a Captain Terrible, heartbreak for the family. When I was a Commander, two people who were preparing to suicide, both reached out to me first and they are both still with us.

Unfortunately yes. Hard not to think your team could have done more to prevent it. Hopefully, we learn from these experiences and act differently in the future. Intervention is critical for those seeking suicide as an answer.

I have experience knowing an individual who made an unsuccessful suicide attempt. We were both students at West Point Prep School. She slit her wrists due to stress over older sister already at the academy along with academic struggles. The incident caught everyone by surprise and commandant held mass formation in order to address what had happened. Although she survived and left prep school, it was an egregiously serious experience. Suicide and attempts to commit suicide can occur anywhere and anytime if we are not aware

Yes last year.

I had already ETS’d by this point and joined ROTC but there was a young soldier from my last unit who added me on Facebook. We worked in separate platoons but I remember him as being highly motivated, willing to learn and cheerful. One day he posted a suicide note to Facebook, turned off his phone, took a gun to a secluded area and became a victim of suicide. We were all trying frantically to get a hold of him until his brother told us that his body was found.

Ironically, in my mental health nursing class we were studying the effects of depression and the increase risk for suicide. Class definitely hit home that day.

Never had anyone in the Navy take their life. I did have a school classmate that took his life when he was about 40. I had reconnected with him briefly but we were not close at the time. Some of our other classmates took it pretty hard. When any of my shipmates pass away, I try to reach out to the families. When The guy who took me off the deck force as his striker passed away that was pretty rough. We had remained friends up to his passing.

As per my clinical research X 4 yrs. here are my observations as I've conducted root-cause analyses and psychosocial autopsies like VAC's do when a vet under their care kills themselves.
To the untrained eye, it is difficult to detect and prevent. However, clinicians are trained to and have an obligation to predict and prevent suicide. Men are far more likely to succeed. There are a # of factors that contribute as well.

In a combat zone, the most important psychosocial unit is the squad. The bonds forged are very significant to everyone's survival. When a comrade is wounded, all feel wounded! When one is killed they all feel this way. And under combat conditions, there is no time to grieve. When deployment ends they experience survivors guilt and compacted grief. Thus they require swift intervention and extended clinical care. I find group therapy to be very efficacious in this regard, as it recapitulates the squad!
Rich

Hello, WO1 (Join to see). Though I have not experienced someone taking their own life in a unit I've been in, I did have 1 Airman pass away from an undetected disease in 2015, 3 days after taking his PT test. We celebrated his life running an 8 mile perimeter run in NM. The pain isn't easy at all. I have had a cousin die to an overdose of drugs. I have had a brother and a cousin each commit suicide via train vs car. No amount of time will ever heal that wound. Each of them are missed tremendously each and every day.

Malmstrom AFB has experienced a handful of suicides within the past 12 months. I did not know any of them and most were SF Airmen (MPs). We just lost a SSgt last week and I am unsure if it was a suicide or something else. Sad state here on base!

COL Mikel J. Burroughs Maj Marty Hogan TSgt David L. Cynthia Croft Col Carl Whicker LTC Stephen F. Cpl (Join to see) Maj William W. 'Bill' Price SMSgt Lawrence McCarter CPL Dave Hoover SPC Douglas Bolton LTC Greg Henning Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. SPC Margaret Higgins Lt Col Charlie Brown SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL Sgt (Join to see) SGT Steve McFarland PO3 Phyllis Maynard