The potential for
good was enormous, not only for and within the military community, but
national as well. I learned in time that I was not alone; many others,
professionals and lay, were thinking and active along similar lines.
I was convinced that the time was long past for both military and civilian
managers and supervisors, in both the public and private sectors to
acquire basic indoctrination in ci/sp as it pertained to the people that they
commanded or supervised. I wrote numerous letters on the issue,
recommending specific actions, and continued doing so after I retired in
1974. My appeals went to the Federal Executive, Congress, and the
media. I stressed the urgent need for proactive command (or agency)-
wide training and motivational programs to confront the suicide
phenomenon, and get organized to reduce suicide attempts and deliberate
self-destructive behavior among military personnel, members of their
families, and DoD and other Departments' employees.
The essence of my appeal was, first, for a set of formal objectives for the
federal military and civil services to move them toward collaboration with
community resources that were engaged in grass roots suicide
prevention; in essence, collaboration and teamwork between the federal
government, as an employer of people, and the communities in which
their people lived and worked.
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