Photo By Staff Sgt. Scott Griffin | U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (Airborne) Sgt. 1st Class...... read more read more
Subscribe
Music has been part of Sgt. 1st Class Todd Freeman’s life since he was 11 years old. He hears melodies in his head and jots down lyrics in a red composition book when inspiration strikes. His marching and concert bands in a high school took first in national competitions, and in 2008 when he enlisted into the Army Reserve at 19 years old, there was no doubt in his mind about his military occupational specialty choice: 42R (Musician).
After enlisting, Freeman went on to college and continued to feed his passion for music during monthly battle assemblies and annual trainings with the 100th Army Band at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Several years went by and in 2014 he met Mary, who in 2017 would become his wife, and later the mother of his children Brandon and Riley. Freeman’s military career eventually led him out of the Army band and into the Suicide Prevention Program at U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (Airborne).
Freeman’s passion for Suicide Prevention goes back to his formative years.
“When I was in 7th grade, I came to school late one day and everyone was in the hallways wandering around,” Freeman said. “My friend – his name was Andy – I was in Band and Spanish class with him … he hung himself.”
“I honestly hadn’t experienced death in my life,” Freeman said. “I was devastated, completely inconsolable for a time.”
“I think that’s part of the reason why I jumped on the opportunity to work in Suicide Prevention,” Freeman said. “In doing this job, you realize that everyone’s dealing with something. More and more people I know have been affected by suicide. Everyone I talk to has their own story, and they all matter.”
Freeman’s past loss and empathy for his fellow Soldiers led him back to the red composition book.
“The first [creative writing] I did was a spoken word poem when I was at the 81st [Readiness Division,]” Freeman said. “The poem talks about how anyone can be at risk, but it took a lot out of me to perform it.” Based on his own experiences, Freeman was essentially reliving the emotional turbulence each time he performed the poem. “But that got me thinking outside of the box about ways to reach people.”
Freeman decided to connect Suicide Prevention and his musical background.
“Songs are essentially poems put to music,” Freeman said. “I decided to write a song to illustrate the complexities of mental health and bring more attention to the Suicide Prevention Program.”
Knowing music has the power to connect with people on a profoundly emotional level, out came Freeman’s red composition book again, where he jotted down lyrics and inspirations for his first song.
Freeman spent many late nights in the home studio he shares with his wife, Mary, crafting the song.
“He worked on it after putting the kids to bed at night,” Mary said.
Freeman completed the song but was never entirely happy with it.
“I was banging my head on the wall trying to change it to contain everything I wanted.” Turns out the emotional journey and process of recovery couldn’t be told in a single song.
Back to the red notebook, and Freeman wrote a second song, “Hold On.”
“Being in my role at SPP is easy enough to come up with the left and right limits of how we [show that emotional journey],” Freeman said. “If I’m going through this, I don’t want to hear about doctrine, I want to know that the doctrine is there to help me.”
So now Freeman had two songs and was actively trying to get them recorded, but people were busy, and Freeman was still unproven.
“’Hold On’ debuted over a year ago, and it was well received so I wrote a third song right after that,” Freeman said. “I sent it to my mom, and she loved it. She said, ‘this is beautiful, but these are all really sad.’”
Freeman’s mother suggested a balance, some light to dispel the encroaching darkness.
“So I wrote ‘Renewed,’ that’s where we’re on the other side, we’re happy,” Freeman said.
He could see the light at the end of the tunnel, but that light showed him how much more of the process he needed to illustrate. Out came the red composition book for the next song – ‘You’re Worth It.’
“You’re worth it was more of a conversation piece, putting myself in their positions, thinking about how that person would want to be interacted with,” explained Freeman. “There’s repeating affirmation, because this is a person feeling worthless. You’re worth it is one of my favorite songs because it’s something I needed, something positive for positivity’s sake,” he concluded.
Freeman also wanted to touch on subjects sometimes considered “off-limits” in the Army.
“With ‘Therapy,’ it’s interesting because it’s one of those taboo subjects, the stigma related with seeking help,” Freeman said. “I wanted to pull back the curtain and figure out what’s involved in that.”
“One of my good friends from Indianapolis – she’s got her own [therapy] practice – she helped me shape the song,” Freeman said. “What would a therapist want people to understand coming into this process?”
Ultimately, Freeman began pitching his project to various leaders and influences in Suicide Prevention as opportunities presented, only to face frustrations when responses faded out. He persevered, and eventually got the attention of Master Sgt. Lauren Urquhart, Director of Production for the U.S. Army Field Band, who saw the potential impact the songs could make with Soldiers.
Department of the Army G9 Sgt. Maj. Ruben Murillo also gave Freeman his support with one caveat – Freeman needed to add a seventh song, showing the journey beyond survival and fully back to a positive life.
Freeman completed the final song, and with Army music as a small subculture, word about the unique project spread. The seven tracks made it into the hands of Army Reserve band members who are also professional recording artists, and the entire project got the attention of Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Weimer.
Weimar is a music enthusiast himself, and found time to meet with the Soldiers about Freeman’s songs, with a scheduled 30-minute meeting turning into two-hours of serious discussion and an enthusiastic buy-in. Weimar is scheduled to present Freeman’s seven-song series at the Nominative Sergeants Majors Summit at the end of June in preparation for the Suicide Prevention Month Initiative coming in September.
Weimar himself had issued a simple but powerful charge to the force: “This [suicide prevention] matters in the Army.” To young Soldiers and their teammates experiencing challenges, an additional reassurance: “You matter to the Army.”
With just over one million Soldiers currently serving in the U.S. Army, Army Reserve and National Guard, Freeman’s hope is for every one of them to experience his songs, and to draw attention to the Suicide Prevention Program and their mission. His goal is to to connect with Soldiers facing pain and fear and life-threatening challenges and to show them how much they matter to the Army and their teammates.
| Date Taken: | 06.06.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.06.2025 16:24 |
| Story ID: | 499901 |
| Location: | VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 101 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, U.S. ARMY RESERVE SOLDIER BRINGS MUSIC TO SUICIDE PREVENTION, by SSG Scott Griffin, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
