It's never as bad as you think it is

The Army has come out with yet another Suicide Prevention Training that we as Chaplains and Assistants are presenting to all of our Soldiers. Most of them hear that they have to sit through this class and their immediate reaction is groaning...they've heard it all before. They are tired of hearing the same thing over and over again. But yet, as they heard the same thing over and over again, Army related suicides and suicide attempts have drastically increased over the last 7 years, and we have yet to take care of our own to find a solution to this problem. The theme of this training is "Shoulder to Shoulder: No Soldier Stands Alone" I like the idea behind the theme, that we need to stand shoulder to shoulder, get close to each other, so close that we know what is going on with each other, that we know when someone is having a bad day, week, month, or whatever. We stand so close to each other that we know when something is wrong. This new training is not the Army's typical death by powerpoint where the Chaplain gets up and reads a bunch of slides saying the same thing over and over. This new training is focused on an interactive video based on real soldiers who either attempted, or committed, suicide. The soldiers being training take on the role of the soldier getting hit time and again to the point of feeling hopeless...and then they become the NCO looking out for their buddy who feels the same way. The point of the training is for the soldiers to make decisions that determine the outcome. If they choose the wrong path, the soldier dies. But if they make good decisions and seek or offer help when it is needed, they save the soldier's life. Its a really neat training, and I really like it. I probably won't be saying that by next Sunday, as I am finishing my 20th training of the same material, but it really is something different. Last night we trained our key leadership, and this morning we trained the first round of joes, and it seemed to go really well.

Unfortunately, for 2 soldiers in my battalion, this training may have come just 2 weeks too late. By God's Grace, we did not lose either soldier, but we have received a wake-up call that there are soldiers dealing with problems that we don't know about. There are soldiers putting up a good front, that everything is ok with them, when they are really hurting inside and need someone to talk to, someone to help them find a way to deal with the pain and hurt that they have bottling up inside. I ask each one of you who reads this to pray for these two soldiers, and for all the soldiers who are struggling with relationships back home, with the stress of deployment, the loss of loved ones, whatever they are struggling with. Please pray for them that they can find comfort and peace and that they can see that it really isn't all that bad, and there is hope, even in this desert.