The U.S. Air Force Needs to Address Its Suicide Crisis
Commanders need to acknowledge the systemic problems that cause low morale and suicide
While serving in the U.S. Air Force in 2006, I remember hearing the news that a friend and colleague had gotten into some trouble after a night of heavy drinking. This friend, I’ll call him Joe, was a noncommissioned officer and a highly respected team leader who could seemingly solve any maintenance problem that the E-3 Sentry aircraft threw at him.
On the night in question, Joe left a bar in a drunken haze and allegedly used a knife to slash multiple car tires of vehicles parked outside. Witnesses identified him, but Joe fled the scene before authorities could arrive.
I imagine it hit Joe hard (once he’d sobered up) to realize he would likely face severe disciplinary action for his rowdy night out — above all else the loss of his rank, forfeiture of his pay, and numerous civil penalties. These revelations must have been emotionally crushing to a man who, up until that point, had a spotless record.
I speculate here because I had no way of knowing how Joe really felt. Frantic phone calls to his cellphone went straight to voicemail.
