Photo By Capt. Austin May | Sgt. Sean Laughlin, heavy equipment mechanic, 411th ECC, paints birds flying into the...... read more read more
A few miles inland from the Arabian gulf in southern Kuwait, Camp Arifjan buzzes with activity as thousands of US and coalition service members work day and night for a safe, stable, and prosperous Middle East. Inside this frenetic base, there are a few places that provide an oasis from the sweltering summer sun, endless stream of emails, and heavy decisions. One such refuge is the Camp Arifjan Red Cross, a 24/7 resiliency center of crumbly home-cooked deserts, massage chairs, and smiling volunteers working here in their time off and out of uniform.
In addition to providing the base community a home away from home, the American Red Cross works as a steady-state partner to the Department of Defense providing health services support and managing an emergency messaging network. It connects families with individuals serving overseas in regard to deaths, serious accidents, suicide, and births – staff at the Arifjan Center process 1,000 of these messages per month across the Middle East and Africa. Suicide, whether thoughts of, attempts, or completions, tragically impacts the service member and veteran community substantially more than their civilian peers. Between 2006 and 2020 in the US, 8,262 current or former military members died from suicide; in turn, 562,411 non-serving Americans died. That translates to a rate of 42 per 100,000 among the military and 18 per 100,000 among the general population. For those diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury – common in the recent wars with IED & suicide bombing attacks – the rate is 56% higher than their peers and three times that of the general population.
September is National Suicide Prevention Month, a time for communities to connect and raise awareness among those suffering and all of us. First declared in 2008, this is part of a constant effort by the DoD and partner organizations to combat this scourge. Changing the culture around mental health, building better infrastructure for therapy and wellness services, championing resiliency all play a part. So too does the American Red Cross. With that in mind, the Camp Arifjan station here decided to place suicide awareness and prevention at the center of its efforts and the center of its main room. The Jordan room, named in honor of 2LT Travis M. Jordan who died following a struggle with suicide, looks like your usual recreational area with puzzles & board games on shelves, a great big TV for Netflix watch parties, and a dozen chairs and tables. But more than all that, at the back of the room and impossible to miss, the eye catches a mural of a teal and purple ribbon fit for a giant turning into birds flying away into the sky.
This painting, drawn by hand by Sgt. Sean Laughlin, a heavy equipment mechanic with the 411th ECC, immediately connects with suicide prevention through the movement's official teal and purple ribbon. The feather and the birds speak to that innate yearning for freedom. A freedom from the shackles of our own making, our mind, our past, and those of loved ones near or far. Lorie Warchol, Camp Arifjan site lead, American Red Cross, sees it as “a beautiful tribute to suicide and those we've lost.” Laughlin found inspiration for the image from a tattoo design he once saw; it made him think of 'releasing and letting go' as a theme.
After completing the project and renovating the room in late August, Warchol shared the new look with Michael Jordan, vice president of Service to Armed Forces, American Red Cross and Travis' father. He wrote back, “My eyes immediately filled with tears, tears of gratitude.” It was somber yet perfect timing, he and his wife had just returned from visiting Travis' grave at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona. “We miss Travis every minute of every day and we simply live with a big hole in our hearts...if one other person's life can be saved, then we are honoring Travis' legacy.”
When he's not keeping Task Force Spartan equipment up to speed, Laughlin volunteers around the Red Cross involved in everything from mentoring other volunteers to building furniture to redecorating the walls. He was just named Volunteer of the Month, while currently he's helping the station gear up for a month focused on mental health in our community here at Camp Arifjan. Between a wishing wall, origami birds in remembrance of those lost, and regularly scheduled burning of messages of forgiveness – or grief, anger, guilt, and a thousand emotions besides – we will let go and march forward together as an assembled family of Americans and coalition partners, service members and civilians.
41,000 Americans die by suicide each year, but it doesn't have to be this way. Reach out, talk to someone, whether a friend or stranger in need or for yourself. Click here for the CDC's Suicide Prevention. Reach the Veterans Crisis Line by calling 988, or by sending a text to 838255.
| Date Taken: | 09.19.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 09.21.2023 08:02 |
| Story ID: | 453934 |
| Location: | CAMP ARIFJAN, KW |
| Web Views: | 188 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Whoever Saves a Life Saves the World, Kuwait, September 2023, by CPT Austin May, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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