Photo By Nicholas Salcido | Brig. Gen. Milford “Beags” Beagle Jr., Fort Jackson commander, signs a...... read more read more
Subscribe
As we enter the month of September and focus on suicide prevention awareness, our theme for this year is “Be There.”
There are numerous programs, initiatives and efforts across the Department of Defense and our Army designed to stem the tide of suicides. Personal interactions, caring engagements and individual empathy toward others, in my estimate can carry a long way in reducing the number of civilian and Soldier suicides. “Being There” means being in the moment with other people when they need you. It means looking and listening for clues that something may not be right in someone else’s life.
It also means having the personal courage to be inquisitive and take the time to ask one or two questions to confirm or deny if things are OK with the people closest to you (co-workers, friends, and fellow Soldiers).
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention reported more than 47,000 suicides in United States in 2017. This statistic represents a ratio of 129 suicides per day, or 14 per 100,000 Americans.
Comparatively, Military.com reported more than 320 active duty service members took their own lives in 2018 with 135 of these being Soldiers.
These numbers all paint a very bleak picture, but we here at Fort Jackson have been successful in combating suicide through our relationships with each other.
If we all focus on our immediate spaces and those closest to us, the impact would cover more ground than one could imagine. It takes a personal commitment to simply be more concerned about the people around us. Automaker Henry Ford said it best “Doing more for the world than the world has done for you, ‘is success.’”
We don’t have to tackle the world’s problems, but tackling the problem one person at a time will help us stem the tide of a world problem and an Army problem.
Throughout September, Fort Jackson will conduct suicide prevention awareness events and provide information flyers and displays for Fort Jackson personnel.
Look for the list of activities across the installation and in the Leader to get plugged into the events here at Fort Jackson.
Victory … Starts Here
| Date Taken: | 09.05.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 09.06.2019 09:05 |
| Story ID: | 338658 |
| Location: | FORT JACKSON, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 46 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Be There: Tackle the problem one person at a time, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
