Photo By Maj. Jonathon Bless | David Woody Bartley, inspirational speaker and mental health advocate, speaks to ...... read more read more
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FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. – In August of 2011, David Woody Bartley was prepared to end his life on the edge of the Foresthill Bridge, the fourth largest bridge in the U.S. In September of 2025, he spoke with battalion and brigade, staff members and command team s from around the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) about the tools that saved his life. Most would call this suicide prevention, but Bartley prefers “life preservation.”
“The key to reducing the number of suicides is not to focus on suicide prevention, but instead concentrate on life preservation,” said Bartley. “Stopping someone from taking their life and helping them want to live are not the same thing.”
The presentation, which coincided with National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, was composed of three sections: the fight, the weapon, and recon. Each portion provided a different angle for the suicide prevention conversation, but all centered on one key theme--Hope.
“You cannot live without hope, but the good news is the converse of that is true,” said Bartley. “If we can create a particular experience of hope or soul, we can keep them here because there's not a single person in the world that will ever kill themselves when they experience hope.”
It began with the fight, a personal account of Bartley’s battle with suicide. From early trauma and struggles with mental health, with every step leading to that August day at the Foresthill Bridge. Before he could commit to that permanent decision, a sheriff’s deputy approached him. This deputy gave Bartley the weapon he would use in the fight.
“Here's what he didn't do,” said Bartley. “He made no [physical] contact with me at all. Here's what he did do; he made a connection. He created connection because connection creates hope, and hope saves lives.”
In Bartley’s case, “connection” was the weapon. When you know what the fight looks like and the weapon to combat it, the only thing left is knowing how to begin those crucial forays. Bartley considers recon the most misunderstood aspect of suicidality.
According to Bartley, the recon involves diving deeper than just looking for signs.
“We have taught people for years that these are the signs of suicide,” said Bartley. “Those signs are never there. So we're teaching people to look for things that aren't there and then when they don't see them, they assume everything's OK.”
Bartley asks leaders to a less reactive approach.
“It's not enough to wait for obvious signs,” said Bartley. “Prevention is proactive.”
Bartley challenged those present to create deeper connections with more people. He offered the advice of asking open-ended questions about how someone feels and asking them if they’d like to share. These efforts, Bartley believes, will bring us ever closer to preserving those lives that have been put on the line for others.
“I firmly believe every ounce of my being focuses on the force multiplier in the effective connection to create the greatest weapon that we have against the evil monster of suicide, preserving life as opposed to preventing something, will have great, wonderful results for the greatest Division within the Army,” Bartley concluded.
| Date Taken: | 09.19.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.19.2025 15:12 |
| Story ID: | 548774 |
| Location: | FORT CAMPBELL, KENTUCKY, US |
| Hometown: | AUBURN, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 27 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, The Fight, The Weapon, The Recon: Living with Hope, by SSG Kaden Pitt, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
Fort Campbell
