Military suicide prevention reminds everyone to take care of each other

Strength, resiliency, and knowing your people … key elements of suicide prevention
Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling
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By Air Force Staff Sgt. Anna Oluich
579th Medical Group


Suicide prevention is more than training, it’s more than a pamphlet; it is about people - our greatest asset.

Taking care of each other goes beyond rank, title, or position. It is seeing a soldier, sailor, Marine, airmen, Coast guardsman, civilian or contractor first and foremost as a human being.

When someone chooses to take their own life, the loss has a great impact on family, friends, and our military mission.

For those who’ve been affected by suicide there are a lot of questions which usually go unanswered: “Why?” “How could someone take their life?” “What could I have done to prevent this?”

While the answers to these questions are important, the unfortunate truth is that despite our best efforts, we may not be able to prevent all suicides.

We are a military under great demands. Now more than ever, we are operating under stress and at a high tempo. Add to this other everyday stressors such as living away from home, relationship issues, legal concerns or economic strain. These stressors combined, cause some people to find themselves mentally stretched to the limit.
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