Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Nearly two-dozen U.S. Space Force Guardians and U.S. Airmen participated in the Suicide Alertness for Everyone class Sept. 21, 2021, at Patrick Space Force Base, Florida. The course uses realistic scenarios to teach people how to help individuals who may be at risk for suicide. (U.S. Space Force graphic by Michael Frye)Nearly two-dozen U.S. Space Force Guardians and U.S. Airmen participated in the Suicide Alertness for Everyone class Sept. 21, 2021, at Patrick Space Force Base, Florida. The course uses realistic scenarios to teach people how to help individuals who may be at risk for suicide. (U.S. Space Force graphic by Michael Frye)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

Service members, civilians come together to save livesPublished Sept. 27, 2021
                    
                    By  Tech. Sgt. James Hodgman
                    
                    
                    Space Launch Delta 45 Public Affairs
            **PATRICK SPACE FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFNS) --**She stood in the cemetery staring at her father’s grave, trembling.
A few months ago, her father took his life. Today, she has decided to end her life. A world without her father is not one she wants to live in.
In her right hand, she holds a gun.
Before she can point the weapon at herself, she hears a voice call out.
That voice was U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Michaela Evans, Space Launch Delta 45 religious affairs noncommissioned officer in charge at **Patrick Space Force Base**. Evans was driving home to Palm Bay, Florida, Aug. 13, and noticed Sarah flailing her arms.
“She looked like she was in distress and I don’t like to see people hurting or struggling alone,” Evans said. “I stopped my car and approached her.”
Evans noticed Sarah was sobbing. She also saw the gun she was holding.
“I took a step back and asked if she was going to hurt me,” Evans said. “She said ‘No, I just don’t want to be here. This is for me.’ I asked if she was OK with me sitting down and talking with her. We just sat there and talked for a while until she calmed down.”
Sarah told Evans about her father’s suicide and how much she missed him. She also spoke about how the gun she was holding was his and about how painful it is to face life without her dad.
“I told her that I lost my dad at a young age and that my mother attempted suicide,” Evans said. “I shared with her how difficult that was and told her that she still has her mother, who loves her very much.”
The two continued talking until Sarah gave the gun to Evans and agreed to go home.
“I took her home, gave the gun to her mother and introduced myself,” Evans said. “She was emotional. She did not know where her daughter was or what she was doing. She gave me a hug and thanked me.”
The mother of the girl recently shared her appreciation for Evans’s actions.
“I truly believe God placed Michaela in the right place at the right time,” Stacey said in an emailed statement. “My husband took his life and my daughter was about to do the same with his gun at his memorial. Michaela didn’t care what my daughter had in her hand, she sat with her, cried with her, talked with her and brought her home.”
Sarah is now in an inpatient mental health facility.
Nearly two-dozen Airmen and Guardians participated in the safeTALK (Suicide Alertness for Everyone: Tell, ask, listen, keep safe) class at Patrick SFB, Sept. 21. The class uses scenarios, like the one Evans encountered, to teach people how to interact with someone who may be considering suicide and connect them with an intervention provider, such as chaplains or mental health professionals.
Laura Tasker, SLD 45 Sexual Assault, Prevention and Response coordinator, said the course builds on the training the military provides.
“We do annual suicide prevention training, but this class does a great job of using real-life examples that show you what to do and what to say,” she said. “It goes a little farther than our annual training does.”
During the class, Airmen and Guardians learned how to recognize when someone could be at risk for suicide, as well as how to engage with those individuals to keep them safe. According to the LivingWorks website, the safeTALK course is designed to help break down the stigma around suicide and provide people with skills needed to recognize when someone is in distress.
“I am always interested in learning more about how I can help people who may be struggling,” Tasker said. “I work with clients who experience trauma and they often think about suicide. I want to have as many tools as I can so I can help them.”
In 2020, the Department of Defense reported 689 suicides among military members, including 109 Airmen and Guardians. That is an average of 57 suicides a month.
Tech. Sgt. Aisha Jones, 45th Civil Engineer Squadron project manager for Simplified Acquisition of Base Engineering Requirements construction projects, said supervisors, commanders and leaders at all levels must demonstrate genuine concern for the people they work with.
“People complete the mission. If people are not cared for, there is no mission,” she said. “If we care for our people better, we can prevent suicide. We need to look out for one another and have empathy for people’s situations. I believe it’s time for us as a force to be preventive and not reactive.”
Jones also serves as a suicide prevention small group discussion facilitator at Patrick SFB. An important lesson she said she learned in the safeTALK class was to not judge others.
“A lot of people have difficulty discussing suicide,” she said. “This class stressed the importance of not judging someone. They may be reserved for several reasons and they may fear being judged. This lesson stressed the importance of providing a safe, judgement-free environment where people feel comfortable being vulnerable and sharing what they are going through.”AFWN 



USAF 



AF 



Air Force 



suicide 



prevention 



Patrick SFB 



Suicide Alertness for Everyone 



Tell 



ask 



listen 



keep safe 



safeTALK 



space force 



Airmen 



guardians

Related Links
        Suicide Prevention Resources Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fight
                    
                    SecAF Kendall AFA Warfare Symposium Q&A: Reoptimizing for Great Power CompetitionInnovation
                AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalists
                    
                    Chief Digital, Artificial Intelligence Office to host hackathon in HawaiiMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil