New way to approach suicide prevention in the military?

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 10 May 2018 11:12:06 -0400

We always go over the same way of approaching suicide prevention in the army, possibly just in general, the military. We hear the same information over and over again showing the same slide shows or saying the same things and soldiers with little to no interest in the topic just don't care for what is being said is sad to begin with. Is there a way we can introduce a new method to push out the information and make soldiers and individuals more aware of a problem or more interested to prevented or helping out a soldier in the time of trouble?
If anyone has taken a new approach to suicide prevention in their units please do share! I want to make a difference when it comes to being able to teach my soldiers this very important and very problematic issue going on right now.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made May 10 at 2018 2:03 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 10 May 2018 14:03:37 -0400

I don't have an answer here. I work mainly with the infantry, so I may have a screwed view.

What I do know is that soldiers generally don't wake up one day and say "I'm going to kill myself." A significant amount of them end up at suicide after they have been overlooked or felt unheard or dismissed. The Army sends an important message that can save lives in times of conflict and that is, "suck it up and push on." With this comes a message that in order to be heard you really need to be in bad shape. "I don't feel right" or "I'm not feeling up to it today" will generally not give you an opportunity to take a knee or share what is going on with you. Rather, a response like "neither do I, now get your gear and lets go," is often received.

The opportunity to intervene early is missed and the soldier receives a message that the Army doesn't care. The soldiers feelings intensify. Hopelessness sets in and they learn that they really need to be in a much worse way than just feeling down in order to be taken seriously. Eventually they are at the point of suicide as either an actual option, or as a way of trying to communicate that they do not feel right and they are not being heard.

Early intervention, generally long before suicide is considered as an option is what is needed. Listening to soldiers, having them feel valued and supported will go a long way at reducing suicide in the Army. Its a tough environment, and toughness is expected and trained for. So it is hard to reach the right balance here. Some NCOs do it well, almost naturally, while others use times when a soldier may be vulnerable to try and encourage and motivate and toughen....and miss opportunities to listen and validate and support.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made May 10 at 2018 2:28 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Thu, 10 May 2018 14:28:42 -0400

You can do a skit, or have a veteran with PTSD discuss his/her experiences.

Response by SFC David Bentley made May 10 at 2018 3:08 PM

SFC David Bentley — Thu, 10 May 2018 15:08:36 -0400

The Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training program (ASIST) provides one solution to this problem by training caregivers to identify and intervene with those at risk for suicide. I was sent to a week long clinic on the ASIST program and was a suicide prevention NCO for several years. ASIST takes a different approach rather than the old "take their shoe laces, put their bed in front the the duty NCO desk". I have seen leadership use a depressed/suicidal SM as a subject of the general ridicule of the company. 22 a day is too many.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made May 10 at 2018 3:33 PM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 10 May 2018 15:33:48 -0400

Everyone has different experiences regarding this issue. Can anyone really assume the driving motivations/circumstances leading to this epidemic are identical...let alone be identically dealt with? Your question indicates you understand this as well, and it's a good topic for this forum IMHO.

I wasn't an "operator" or Infantryman. I saw people die, and lost friends. Some folks tried to kill me...directly. All in all, I had only two deployments the entire time I was serving...only one of which was on the ground, in the "AO", and even then, I wasn't outside the wire much more than a week or two at a stretch to as little as a few hours every week. I wasn't wounded. In every conceivable way we measure these things, I'd be the very LAST person anyone would worry about confronting these issues...

...and yet, without revealing anything that might compromise my present or future in this litigious age...I've faced my "dark nights of the soul" in the weeks and months following my return to civil life.

For me, the hardest part was confronting the loss of one identity...and the emergence (no, insistence) of another. After having a uniform that told everyone (including myself) exactly who/what I "was"...I had to find that out independent of anything the Military ever gave me. No one "cared" and to make maters worse...most civilian employers, friends and even significant others only saw that time I served as an "empty hole" in my prospects, abilities and potential.

I had to "re-learn" what the words "respect", "courage" and "integrity" meant because it would seem they have very different definitions out "here".

I had to constantly evaluate what I did do...against what I didn't. We all know that it never has, isn't, nor ever will be as simple as saying, "I served". We left the Military with a "frozen" sense of what we had achieved before reaching thirty...and a "blank slate" regarding what we might become from then on out.

I had moments where I revisited decisions made; wondering if I had hosed up...done right...in light of a maturing mind and heart, wondering if the greatest memories, accomplishments and pride of my life up to then were little more than a lie...or a joke.

That's when things get hard.

Ultimately, I pulled myself up by constantly focusing on the fact that in or out of the service, we continue to improve/degrade based on our own will power and effort. I found that by pushing myself, accepting new challenges, and greater responsibilities...the past seemed less important. I came to terms with the fact that choices made and friends lost were part of that past; memory is important, yes...but so too is living for a better future in honor of all of that.

When I speak with younger veterans, or those of my own generation facing these same issues, or here on RP, I try to convince them that sometime the most important fight you'll ever be in is with yourself. In that battle, the only thing that matters is to never, ever give up. It's a concept we universally respect, and the finest among us build their entire ethos upon.

To my mind, this is what we should be teaching service members; not that they are "broken", or that any amount of medication, therapy or aide will supplant the power of a heart and soul that refuses to yield to the darkness at the gate.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made May 10 at 2018 4:13 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Thu, 10 May 2018 16:13:45 -0400

Ask a therapist or psychologist to talk to the soldiers.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made May 10 at 2018 4:41 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 10 May 2018 16:41:32 -0400

Take the guys that report to you and talk to them. I mean really talk. One on one. Listen to them. Don't just ask how things are and dismiss them when they say they're fine. Talk. About family, work, baseball, whatever. You'd be surprised what guys will divulge that can clue you into them needing some help. You can also do this with guys you don't know. If you see a PFC at the PX looking all down in the dumps, stop him/her and just talk for a minute. Where ya from? Married? Etc. A lot of time people are dying on the inside wanting someone to listen and even if they don't know you, they may open up.

Response by Lt Col Charlie Brown made May 10 at 2018 6:11 PM

Lt Col Charlie Brown — Thu, 10 May 2018 18:11:28 -0400

The Red Cross has a 90 minute workshop on Depression that is free and available to any military group, unit, etc. It's facilitated by Licensed Mental Health Professionals who will come to your unit at no cost to you. The Stress Management Workshop is also popular.

Response by TSgt David L. made May 10 at 2018 6:49 PM

TSgt David L. — Thu, 10 May 2018 18:49:01 -0400

I'm glad you care enough to ask about a difficult subject. I see lots of good advice here, but I'll throw my 2 cents in anyway.
You have to be open and communicate with your guys so they feel they can talk with you about anything. If you don't already have that relationship it's harder to establish one when they actually have problems. I found that this is a good step to being a good leader in general, which we ALL need to work on.

There is nothing really new to say or do, as your training shows you already. So the approach is really all that is different or unique.

You don't have to write a book on each troop, but jot down a few notes.
Nothing special, but things like kids, wife, girl friend (hopefully not all the same guy! That gets to be a handful! LOL) parents, etc. so you can be on a personal level. Knowing these things can help when you see a behavioral change and need to do a buddy check.

Response by Maj John Bell made May 10 at 2018 10:15 PM

Maj John Bell — Thu, 10 May 2018 22:15:28 -0400

In no way am I saying "just accept the current military/veteran suicide rate." Unfortunately it is one of those problems where you never know if you've done the right thing. But you always know when the command didn't do enough or did the wrong thing.

Most of us are not mental health professionals, and may be ill-equipped to do the right thing. My untrained opinion is that the vast majority of us should be trained in detection of the potential signs, and we must do everything we can to reduce the barriers to reporting and the stigma of being reported.

Response by Cpl Joshua Pitts made May 11 at 2018 1:25 AM

Cpl Joshua Pitts — Fri, 11 May 2018 01:25:23 -0400

As soon as you seek help for something like suicide you no have the same oppertunities as those who have not. From that point on you may feel like a lesser person than you were before. It disqualifies you from military service before you enter. Suicide prevention does not come without collateral consequences.

Response by SGM Bill Frazer made May 11 at 2018 11:08 AM

SGM Bill Frazer — Fri, 11 May 2018 11:08:07 -0400

A. problem??? Yes indeed, 20-22 Veterans per day commit suicide, and 1 active duty SM. Since the VA started reporting in 1999, we have lost roughly ,6900 SM- that's more then we have lost in GWOT so far. We have lost 145,275 Veterans, that's equal to 36% of our WWII KIA. And this is just counting actual suicides- who knows how many car crashes, etc were suicides. I don't know that anything works well- as Veterans we have had some success with Peer counseling, yet you have "battle Buddies" Maybe if you ramp up battle buddies and leadership paying closer attention to folks attitudes and their problems before they go off? Its a Bitch CPL, welcome to leadership.