Life Counts

Suicide, a Human Tragedy

September 27th, 2010
Suicide Prevention Poster Warning Signs

Warning Signs Poster

The knife shakes in his hand. He moves the small three inch blade slowly down his arm. He’s rehearsing this. The cold steel of the blade slowly scrapes back up his arm as his tears fall onto his pale forearm.

With his mind running wild and his eyes filled with tears and hate, he grits his teeth. He knows that it is coming soon. He’s planned this all day, almost looking forward to it in class. It is supposed to take all of the pain, the suffering, the frustration and hate.

Thoughts of his mother ring through his head. He remembers being a small child with his mom. He remembers holding her hand in the parking lot, and the love that he felt with that. He would look at her and smile. Love fills his heart.

Insanity instantly comes and rips out the love. He remembers her, his now ex-girlfriend. He remembers the pain that he’s caused her, and how she has now turned his entire family against him. My family no longer even wants me on this planet, he thinks to himself.

He removes the cell phone from his pocket and quickly clicks to the text messages from just moments before hand.

“Some advice: If you decide to come home, don’t. You’re not welcome here anymore. –Mom”

“I heard about what you did. It’s good to know that after Friday, you’ll no longer be my son. – Dad”

Tears stream down his face. Gritting his teeth, he says, “I hope you’re happy with this decision, Mom and Dad.” He places a hand towel in his mouth to soften the yelling.
The knife raises high in the air. His heart starts to beat a little faster.

A picture of his ex-girlfriend is on his desk, and it reeks of pain. It causes the knife to fall.

As if everything comes into slow motion, the knife falls and his heart beats faster. There is still time to turn back. He can’t. He doesn’t want to. This is the only way out. His mind races with thoughts as the knife falls faster and faster. His heart beats faster and faster.

Instantly the knife pierces the skin directly between the wrist bones. The pain is unbearable. There is no turning back now. Once you commit, you commit.

The cold steel of the blade has dug at least an inch into his left forearm. He quickly pulls the blade toward his body, while still encased within his arm. The skin peels forward like a zipper on a pair of blue jeans. The blood spills out furiously. He can’t calm it. It’s going too fast. It’s all going too fast.

Instantly, pictures of his best friends come into his eye line, and his life flashes before his eyes. Childhood crushes, television, middle school teachers, amazing times at amusement parks, sunsets with girls, driving with the top down, his entire feeling of life—gone.
Going…
Going…
Gone.

This is an example of how it feels to commit suicide. This was one tragic mistake too many. This could have been prevented. The pain that led to it could have been prevented by his mistakes; however, the suicide itself could have been prevented by the roommate and best friend, who eventually found his body the next day.

His shipmate, his roommate, the only one he cared about anymore. The only one he thought even cared about him ignored the signs that he had shared with him. He ignored them, and regardless of what the best friend was doing, he should have been able to stop this.

Suicide is one of the leading causes of deaths for Sailors in the Navy. So far in 2010, it has claimed 28 victims. It is 100% preventable, and even with all of the training going on, it’s still happening. People still ignore the signs. They still never think that they’ll be THAT GUY, but yet, when presented with the situation, they turn into him rather quickly.

There are posters that advertise for Sailors not to become THAT GUY in the bar, or even back at the barracks, which turns into the nasty drunk that the Navy is aggressively trying to stamp out. However, that is not always the definition of THAT GUY. The other definition of THAT GUY is the one who often looks the other way, changes the subject, or even tries to be the hero and solve the problem himself/herself by not taking them to the proper counselors. Sometimes, being the hero can make your “Sailor in Distress” turn into just another dead Sailor.

Don’t let that happen. Suicide isn’t painless, and stamping it out, like the alcohol related incidents aren’t a solo job. They belong to all of us as Sailors. As Sailors, we have a responsibility to our shipmates. We have a responsibility to not let our guard down, even when we have other things to do. We have a responsibility to come together as a team and solve this problem, case by case, problem by problem, Sailor by Sailor.

If you or another Sailor notice or even suspect a shipmate of contemplating suicide, report it up your chain of command, call the Chaplin, or even if you’re the potential victim, call the Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-SUICIDE. As Sailors, damn it, as human beings, we have a duty to never leave a shipmate behind.

The article above by SA Geoff Breedwell was motivated by a very recent suicide attempt of one of his Shipmates.


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2 Responses to “Suicide, a Human Tragedy”


  1. NCCM(ret) says:
    December 2, 2010 at 1:15 pm

    NAVADMIN 382/10

    R 021503Z DEC 10
    FM CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1//
    TO NAVADMIN
    INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1//
    BT
    UNCLAS/N06520//
    NAVADMIN 382/10
    MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/DEC//

    SUBJ/SUICIDE PREVENTION QUARTERLY UPDATE//

    REF/A/DOC/OPNAV/04AUG2009//
    REF/B/DOC/OPNAV/22DEC2009//
    REF/C/MSG/CNO WASHINGTON DC/231556Z APR 09//
    NARR/REF A IS OPNAVINST 1720.4A – SUICIDE PREVENTION PROGRAM.
    REF B IS OPNAVINST F3100.6J – SPECIAL INCIDENT REPORTING (OPREP-3 PINNACLE, OPREP-3 NAVY BLUE, AND OPREP-3 NAVY UNIT SITREP) PROCEDURES. REF C IS NAVADMIN 122/09 – SUICIDE AND SUICIDE ATTEMPT REPORTING.//

    RMKS/1. THIS QUARTERLY SUICIDE PREVENTION UPDATE ADDRESSES THE CRITICAL ROLE VIGILANCE AND EARLY INTERVENTION PLAY IN SUICIDE PREVENTION. IT IS IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE SUICIDE PREVENTION IS AN ALL HANDS EFFORT. SUICIDE AWARENESS TRAINING PROVIDES INFORMATION ABOUT RISK FACTORS, WARNING SIGNS, AND RESPOND TO GET A SHIPMATE TO SAFETY. TO STRENGTHEN OUR SUICIDE PREVENTION NETWORK, I ENCOURAGE ALL TO REVIEW THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE AT HTTP://WWW.SUICIDE.NAVY.MIL AND SHARE THIS KNOWLEDGE WITH YOUR FAMILY AND SHIPMATES. BY IMPROVING AWARENESS, ELIMINATING MISPERCEPTIONS, AND REMOVING BARRIERS THAT PREVENT OUR PEOPLE FROM SEEKING THE SUPPORT AVAILABLE TO THEM, WE CAN ACHIEVE OUR GOAL OF SAVING LIVES.

    2. 2010 SUICIDE STATISTICS TO DATE. PRELIMINARY REPORTS INDICATE WE HAVE LOST 29 ACTIVE-DUTY SAILORS AND FOUR SELECTED RESERVE SAILORS (NOT IN A DUTY STATUS) TO SUICIDE FROM 1 JANUARY TO 31 OCTOBER 2010. DURING THIS PERIOD, MORE THAN 1,300 SAILORS REACHED OUT FOR HELP, OR SOMEONE REACHED OUT TO HELP THEM, CONSISTENT WITH OUR SUICIDE PREVENTION TRAINING.

    3. DOD/VA 2011 ANNUAL SUICIDE PREVENTION CONFERENCE. THE DOD/VA ANNUAL SUICIDE PREVENTION CONFERENCE “ALL THE WAY HOME: PREVENTING SUICIDE AMONG SERVICEMEMBERS AND VETERANS” WILL TAKE PLACE 14-17 MARCH 2011 AT THE HYMES CONVENTION CENTER IN BOSTON, MA AT 900 BOYLSTON STREET. LEADERS, CARE PROVIDERS, SUICIDE PREVENTION COORDINATORS, AND TRAINERS WHO WISH TO ATTEND CAN FIND REGISTRATION INFORMATION AT HTTP://WWW.DCOE.HEALTH.MIL/EVENTS.ASPX.

    4. KNOW YOU ARE VALUED AND YOUR LIFE IS WORTH LIVING. PLEASE EXTEND THAT MESSAGE TO THE PEOPLE IN YOUR WORKSPACE, FAMILY, AND DAY-TO-DAY LIFE. SOME USEFUL NUMBERS FOR YOUR COMMANDS AND FAMILIES ARE THE NATIONAL LIFELINE 1-800-273-TALK AND MILITARY ONE SOURCE 1-800-342-9647. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SUICIDE PREVENTION, GO TO HTTP://WWW.SUICIDE.NAVY.MIL.

    5. MY POINT OF CONTACT: LCDR BONNIE CHAVEZ, OPNAV (N135F), AT (901) 874-6613/DSN 882, OR VIA E-MAIL AT BONNIE.CHAVEZ(AT)NAVY.MIL.

    6. RELEASED BY VADM MARK FERGUSON, N1.//
    BT
    #0000
    NNNN

  2. NCCM(ret) says:
    January 25, 2011 at 8:34 am

    NAVADMIN 024/11

    R 241935Z JAN 11
    FM CNO WASHINGTON DC
    TO AL NAVADMIN
    NAVADMIN
    INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC
    BT
    UNCLAS
    FM CNO WASHINGTON DC//N09//
    TO NAVADMIN
    NAVADMIN 024/11
    MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N09/JAN//

    SUBJ/SUICIDE PREVENTION QUARTERLY UPDATE// REF/A/DOC/OPNAV/04AUG09//

    REF/B/DOC/OPNAV/22DEC09// REF/C/MSG/CNO WASHINGTON DC/231556ZAPR09// NARR/REF A IS OPNAVINST 1720.4A, WHICH ESTABLISHES THE NAVY SUICIDE PREVENTION PROGRAM AND DIRECTS COLLECTION OF DATA ON NAVY SUICIDES. REF B, OPNAVINST F3100.6J, AND REF C, NAVADMIN 122/09, DIRECT THE REPORTING OF SUICIDES AND SUICIDE-RELATED BEHAVIORS VIA THE OPREP-3 REPORTING SYSTEM.// POC/CHAVEZ/LCDR/OPNAV (N135F)/TEL: (901) 874-6613/DSN: 882 OR EMAIL:BONNIE.CHAVEZ(AT)NAVY.MIL//

    RMKS/1. 2010 NAVY SUICIDE PREVENTION STATISTICS INDICATE THAT PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE DURING THE PAST YEAR. AS A RESULT OF YOUR CONCENTRATED EFFORTS, 10 FEWER SAILORS TOOK THEIR OWN LIVES IN 2010 THAN DID THE PREVIOUS YEAR. ANOTHER MEASURE OF YOUR EFFORTS IS THAT APPROXIMATELY 1,500 SAILORS CHOSE TO PURSUE HELP AS OPPOSED TO COMMITTING SUICIDE. THESE SAILORS REACHED OUT TO A SHIPMATE, FAMILY MEMBER OR LEADER WHO REMEMBERED TO “ACT”: A-ASK THE QUESTION, C-CARE AND HELP THE PERSON FIND T-TREATMENT. NAVY’S SUICIDE PREVENTION APPROACH IS DESIGNED TO BUILD RESILIENCE THROUGH OPERATIONAL STRESS CONTROL (OSC), WHICH ADDRESSES THE PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH OF SAILORS AND THEIR FAMILIES,
    AND BY IMPROVING AWARENESS OF THOSE IN NEED AND THOSE IN A POSITION TO HELP. IT IS CLEAR THAT INTERVENTION, ACTIONS YOU TAKE, IS HAVING A PROFOUND EFFECT.

    2. REGRETTABLY, WE LOST 42 ACTIVE AND RESERVE SAILORS TO SUICIDE IN 2010. REMEMBER THAT THE PAIN OF SUICIDE DOES NOT END WITH A FUNERAL OR MEMORIAL SERVICE.

    3. FEEDBACK AND RESEARCH INDICATE THAT DURING TRANSITIONS, BOTH PROFESSIONAL (PCS MOVES, RETURN FROM DEPLOYMENT, AND SEPARATION FROM ACTIVE DUTY) AND PERSONAL (CHANGE IN MARITAL STATUS OR LOSS OF A LOVED ONE), SHIPMATES ARE AT INCREASED RISK OF MAKING REGRETTABLE DECISIONS. DURING THESE PERIODS, WE MUST BE VIGILANT AND WILLING TO ACT TO PREVENT IRREVERSIBLE ACTS OF SELF HARM.

    4. FINALLY, WE MUST RECOGNIZE AND ACT UPON CONDITIONS THAT KEEP SAILORS OR ANYONE IN OUR NAVY FAMILY FROM GETTING THE HELP THEY NEED WHEN THEY NEED IT. I THANK ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE TAKEN THE LEAD IN BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS, PROVIDING RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUPPORTING OUR SUICIDE PREVENTION PROGRAM. PLEASE KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK.

    5. FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO http://WWW.SUICIDE.NAVY.MIL AND http://WWW.NAVYNAVSTRESS.COM. THE NATIONAL HELPLINE NUMBER IS 1-800-273-TALK OR 1-800-273-8255. NAVY POINT OF CONTACT IS LCDR BONNIE CHAVEZ, OPNAV (N135F), AT (901) 874-6613/DSN 882, OR VIA E-MAIL AT BONNIE .CHAVEZ(AT)NAVY.MIL.

    6. VICE CHIEF SENDS.//
    BT
    #0001
    NNNN

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