Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Leticia Samuels | State senior enlisted leader, Army Command Sgt. Maj. John Swart of the North Carolina...... read more read more
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RALEIGH, N.C. - Soldiers of the North Carolina National Guard, retired military and civilians alike came together in observance of the 3rd Annual Gratitude Walk for the U.S. Army’s Suicide Prevention Month at the N.C. Guard’s Joint Force Headquarters in Raleigh, N.C., Sept. 10, 2013.
Nationally, the Guard’s aim is to stomp out the stigma associated with suicide, support our survivors and reinforce the message that suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.
The N.C. Guard’s State Senior Enlisted Leader, Army Command Sgt. Maj. John Swart, is very passionate about the significance of suicide prevention.
During Swart’s speech, he repeatedly stressed the importance of the NCNG’s Integrated Behavioral Health Service (IBHS) that provides soldiers with an effective avenue to deal with issues that may be caused by numerous stressors that affect our force.
“It takes the strength of a soldier to ask for help” said Swart.
Swart also spoke about how vital it is that leaders know their soldiers.
“Leaders and first line supervisors must stay in contact with their soldiers” said Swart.
During a deployment to Kuwait from 2011-2012, Swart crossed paths with a soldier from the 1452nd Combat Heavy Equipment Transportation Company, 11-year veteran, Army Staff Sgt. Robert Serena. Serena, who is a survivor of suicide, told his story to Swart about wanting to commit suicide.
After Serena’s first deployment and after battling marital problems, Serena became a heavy drinker which led him down the dark road of depression and later evolved into thoughts of suicide.
Luckily, a battle buddy found him after an attempted overdose and saved his life. Serena received counseling for his problems and then made a vow to regain control of his life.
To this day, Serena remains forever grateful to his battle buddy who saved his life.
Moved by Serena’s story, Swart made it possible for Serena to come tell his story before NCNG members and others participating in the Gratitude Walk.
Serena was emotional as he described his attempt at taking his own life and confessed to the crowd that only after six years, did he tell his family about his failed attempt. After telling his family, Serena became an advocate for suicide prevention and now shares his story with as many people as he can.
“I wanna share my story, get it out there and hopefully touch soldiers' lives and family members' lives and maybe help them understand what I went through and what signs to look for and let them see there’s answers; Life gets better” said Serena.
Sept. 10 is World Suicide Prevention day as deemed by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP). The three-mile-long Gratitude Walk being held on this day is only fitting.
Everyone who participated displayed smiles and danced to the playing of the NCNG’s 440th Rock Band before the event began. As one of the members of the band counted down to start the race, everyone cheered with excitement! They all energetically walked with vigor along the designated route.
In addition to the NCNG’s IBHS, other organizations were on hand to provide support services as well: the USO for North Carolina; Hopeline; the Raleigh Veteran Center for the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Triangle Survivors of Suicide, just to name a few.
| Date Taken: | 09.13.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 09.13.2013 21:56 |
| Story ID: | 113639 |
| Location: | RALEIGH, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 164 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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