Posted on Feb 12, 2021
What should local leadership (division officers through the commanding officer) be doing to fight active duty suicide and depression?
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When the Navy cancelled NKO requirements for training (i.e., made it so local commands could write, deliver, and track training as they see fit), the purpose was to remove administrative distractions and improve leader engagement.
A couple of weeks later, I was standing at quarters in front of my division when one of my leading chief petty officers began passing around clipboards. Each was filled with a stack of PowerPoint printouts and an attached muster sheet. He told the Sailors to look through the printed slides during quarters and check next to their name on the muster that they had received training. It suddenly occurred to me that his intention was to collect the muster sheets and add them to our binder in the office as record of training conducted. Among these presentations was a set of slides on suicide prevention and awareness.
I was beside myself. There was even a spot for me to check that I had received the training, too. Instead of seeing the naval message as a chance to IMPROVE our training — to develop our engagement with the division on these issues — he saw it as a chance to throw it away. To him, this stuff had just been a big waste of time anyway, and he literally turned it into a check in the box.
Every time a Sailor commits suicide or updated military suicide data is released, I see online forums like "Shit My LPO Says" and "Decelerate My Life" immediately talk about how it's a failure from leadership at all levels. Many also immediately claim that the suicide was due, at least in part, to toxic leadership present at the local levels. Yet I've also seen these same Sailors gossip about people who self-report depression as "sadding out" just to get out of work, training, or contracts. So I take some umbrage at laying the blame on leadership, and yet I've clearly seen shipboard leadership drop the ball HARD.
Assuming these online Sailors are right, what should leaders be doing to improve the situation? Or is it crazy to tell shipboard leadership to stop a person from killing themselves? Is it even more crazy to immediately assume that the REASON they committed suicide was the military's "toxic workplace environment"?
A couple of weeks later, I was standing at quarters in front of my division when one of my leading chief petty officers began passing around clipboards. Each was filled with a stack of PowerPoint printouts and an attached muster sheet. He told the Sailors to look through the printed slides during quarters and check next to their name on the muster that they had received training. It suddenly occurred to me that his intention was to collect the muster sheets and add them to our binder in the office as record of training conducted. Among these presentations was a set of slides on suicide prevention and awareness.
I was beside myself. There was even a spot for me to check that I had received the training, too. Instead of seeing the naval message as a chance to IMPROVE our training — to develop our engagement with the division on these issues — he saw it as a chance to throw it away. To him, this stuff had just been a big waste of time anyway, and he literally turned it into a check in the box.
Every time a Sailor commits suicide or updated military suicide data is released, I see online forums like "Shit My LPO Says" and "Decelerate My Life" immediately talk about how it's a failure from leadership at all levels. Many also immediately claim that the suicide was due, at least in part, to toxic leadership present at the local levels. Yet I've also seen these same Sailors gossip about people who self-report depression as "sadding out" just to get out of work, training, or contracts. So I take some umbrage at laying the blame on leadership, and yet I've clearly seen shipboard leadership drop the ball HARD.
Assuming these online Sailors are right, what should leaders be doing to improve the situation? Or is it crazy to tell shipboard leadership to stop a person from killing themselves? Is it even more crazy to immediately assume that the REASON they committed suicide was the military's "toxic workplace environment"?
Suicide
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Training
Edited 4 y ago
Posted 4 y ago
Responses: 15
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I will tell you exactly what leaders should do.
- Ensure appropriate medical care is given.
- Create a treatment plan.
- Let the SMs focus on their treatment and healing as priority #1.
- Practice some fvcking empathy and sympathy.
- Conduct good training on PTSD/Suicides.
- Treat SMs with PTSD with dignity and respect.
- Find out what the home life is like.
- Ensure appropriate medical care is given.
- Create a treatment plan.
- Let the SMs focus on their treatment and healing as priority #1.
- Practice some fvcking empathy and sympathy.
- Conduct good training on PTSD/Suicides.
- Treat SMs with PTSD with dignity and respect.
- Find out what the home life is like.
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Honest answer? Giving half a damn. The bar really is that low. Servicemen can tell when their leadership cares more about their career progression or looking good than actually caring for those they lead.
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LT Brad McInnis
SSgt Addison R. SGT (Join to see) I almost lost a sailor to suicide when I was a young officer. I wish a couple of smart folks like yourselves had told me how much more I needed to pay attention to sailors life outside the ship. Luckily, my mistake wasn't fatal, and I paid much more attention afterwords.
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Contact your local Red Cross and let us set up Free Resiliency Training for your personnel on your schedule
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SGT (Join to see)
You know what we would joke about when we were hurrying up to wait for resiliency training? We would joke that the training was so terrible, so out of touch, that it made us want to kill ourselves. It's ridiculous that someone would read what LT Walker wrote and think to themselves, "I think those servicemen need more half assed check the box training. That will fix things right up."
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SFC Casey O'Mally
SGT (Join to see) - The problem, then, was that the training was being half-assed.
Resiliency training, properly done, properly resourced, properly invested, and properly modeled by senior leaders (to include showing up AND PARTICIPATING) pays immense dividends.
Just like calling two iterations of dime-washer drills "weapons training" instead of going to the GD range and shooting at GD targets with GD bullets sets you up for failure, calling a hurried-through slide deck of terminology "resiliency training" instead of actually discussing the skills, how to employ them, and having senior leaders get up and admit their faults and how they overcame them with these skills sets you up for failure.
Every single time I stood up in one of the sessions and discussed my own suicide attempts, people quit bull-shitting and listened. But it takes leaders who are willing to make this shit REAL, and to talk REAL and to LISTEN - and facilitators who give a f*ck - to make it work.
Resiliency training, properly done, properly resourced, properly invested, and properly modeled by senior leaders (to include showing up AND PARTICIPATING) pays immense dividends.
Just like calling two iterations of dime-washer drills "weapons training" instead of going to the GD range and shooting at GD targets with GD bullets sets you up for failure, calling a hurried-through slide deck of terminology "resiliency training" instead of actually discussing the skills, how to employ them, and having senior leaders get up and admit their faults and how they overcame them with these skills sets you up for failure.
Every single time I stood up in one of the sessions and discussed my own suicide attempts, people quit bull-shitting and listened. But it takes leaders who are willing to make this shit REAL, and to talk REAL and to LISTEN - and facilitators who give a f*ck - to make it work.
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SGT (Join to see)
SFC Casey O'Mally - By what I've just read I've never been to a resiliency training that wasn't half assed, because when I was active duty I went to plenty of them and none of them were anything like what you described. Death by powerpoint was the standard that was never deviated from. I never once had anyone stand up and tell their experience, leadership or otherwise.
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SFC Casey O'Mally
SGT (Join to see) I don't doubt it. No one cares about resiliency training until AFTER something happens.
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