Is enough being done to stop/prevent suicide with Servicemembers and Veterans?

I have one of the best chaplains in the world as my battalion chaplain. He taught the ASIST with another chaplain last spring. I sent four Soldiers to the training. I then utilize them to teach the class to the unit. I find that most Soldiers are more engaged when it is one of their peers up there with personal stories. Too often we as higher ranks tend to PowerPoint it all. My team does marker boards and write down what the group says. This is interactive and it changed with each class. I also attend most, if not all, of these classes for the duration to show that it is very important issue (to include make-up briefings). I will offer up ideas as well as resources such as giveanhour.org that my chaplain introduced me to and some of my Soldiers are utilizing. I also hand out the chaplain's phone number.

After the training I empower my leaders to take away weapons from Soldiers who are questionable at the moment. They are closer to them than me and they can make that call and we then escort them to the chaplain or have the chaplain come to us. They also notice changes and ask myself or others to talk to them to see their thoughts. I have asked the chaplain to talk to some to give me an assessment if they are suicidal. I do not ask what the issue is to respect the confidentiality between the chaplain and the Soldier, but I ask if he considers them a potential threat to themselves or others.

If a Soldier needs more assistance we will seek resources for inpatient, outpatient, or multi-step program.

The key thing for any of this to work is to care. You must show that you care and that they matter to you.

Sir,

I think the greatest thing that any commander can do is remove that invisible barrier between the junior enlisted, the NCOs, and the officers, and be able to talk plainly to each other when personal problems arise.  We shove Suicide Prevention briefings down everyone's throats as a check-the-block measure, but it always comes as a shock when someone reveals they've been thinking about it, or worse, they go through with it.  

A few years ago, after AIT, I was having major financial problems and wasn't able to find a job.  I went from going through all the training for my MOS and doing really well and being able to take care of myself for the first time in my life to couch-surfing at different friends' homes merely months after getting out of IET and transitioning back to a TPU status.  I was having to ration those little quarter packages of ramen for a day.  I blame it on inexperience, but I didn't raise a peep to my leadership because I was afraid that I was going to be that needy PFC that always wants something, because I was afraid of getting kicked out, being the guy that had "issues", etc.  This was all in concert with some other personal issues that I never took the time to resolve, which really started building to a head.

It got bad enough to the point that I missed a drill, and instantly, I started getting calls asking about where I was and how I was doing.  Lucky for me, every echelon of my leadership all the way up to the battalion commander made time to speak with me in person and check and see how I was doing.  I don't know what happened, but I broke and spilled the beans about how I was living.  From that point on, things started to get better.  Instead of spending the money on gas to get to drill, I caught a ride with a friend that lived in town.  I dropped my pride and found a job working at the local Best Buy (not glamorous, but it paid the bills).  I reconnected with my dad and moved back in with him.

I can't speak to the more experienced soldiers that have these issues because of PTSD, divorce, and the trauma of serving in two wars that have lasted over a decade, but as a young junior enlisted soldier, I did not get any better until my leadership took an active interest in my welfare, and to be fair, it would have been a lot easier had I had the maturity to talk openly about the problems months earlier.  Once that barrier was removed, my life began improving over the next few months.  That entire part of the NCO Creed about "...the welfare of my soldiers" isn't a joke or something you just memorize for a board and then dump.  The NCOs and the officers that went out of their way to make sure little PFC Bradley was doing okay really lived that ideal, and I think that's what really separates leadership that looks at Suicide Prevention as a "check the block" exercise, and the leadership that exists and operates on a higher scale.

EDIT: I guess the BLUF of all of this is "Know your soldiers and communicate with them consistently", communicate meaning that not only do you pass on information that they need, but you take the time to know how they're doing.

One of my personal goals is to ensure active duty, reserve, and veteran service members are aware the VA has substantially changed and is reaching out to provide helpful information about behavioral health problems, treatment benefits, and where to refer friends, colleagues, partners, and family members:

• http://www.ptsd.va.gov/apps/AboutFace/info/about-us.html

• http://www.ptsd.va.gov/apps/AboutFace/veterans.html
• http://www.ptsd.va.gov/apps/AboutFace/clinicians.html

• http://www.ptsd.va.gov/apps/AboutFace/info/get-help.html
• http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/where-to-get-help.asp
• http://maketheconnection.net

• Veterans Crisis Line: [login to see]

• http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/pages/military-sexual-trauma-general.asp

• Military Sexual Trauma Crisis Line: [login to see]

something you may disagree with me, what was not discussed at all or very little is sobriety

No, but hell no. This is not rocket science. Take the funding from the refugees and put the funding
towards Veteran's Suicide and mental health services. Period.

There is alot that is going on to help prevent Suicide. There are tons of safety briefs about suicide and the signs to look for, there are numbers to call, there are people you can go see. The problem is the stigma that goes with a person who is suicidal. Once people are educated in that it will help alot. I have been hospitalized twice once for suicidal idealization and once for attempted suicide. I can tell you that i knew what was goign on where to go and how to ask for help. But i was affraid of what people would think of me if i did ask for help. What we need is to keep an eye out and if wee see a hint of someone walking down that bath is to talk to them. Straight up ask are you thinking about suicide? Believe it or not you will get an honest answer.

SPC Miller in a word, no, not enough is being done. If it were the suicide rate would be zero. Sadly, that ideal has not been achieved in any demographic in society or at any time in our nation's history in or out of the Service. We keep trying and never leave a fallen comrade alone. Leaders, NCO's in particular should know their Soldiers. What is their personal situation? Are they having relationship issues? Do they suffer from PTSD? Are they in a bad way financially? Leaders cannot solve every problem, but early identification of red flags can lead to early intervention before a problem spirals out of control. Along with that, what are the Soldier's team members doing to assist the at-risk Soldier? Do they who have more peer-to-peer contact with them let their first line know there is an issue? Do they remain silent so as not to rock the boat or endanger their relationship? I am glad this is "a huge issue with you". I hope you do the right thing if a battle buddy has signs and red flags that you will demonstrate the personal courage and integrity to get them help.

I firmly believe those who want to commit suicide go to a long term facility where they are safe, and have the time to think without the daily stresses. We also need better ways to heal them, one therapy session per week is not enough for some troops.

No