Photo By Senior Airman Felicia Przydzial | Master Sgt. Vandora Cooper, 22nd Air Refueling Wing Commander’s Action Group...... read more read more
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MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. – To the person reading this,
You are not alone.
There are programs, agencies and Airmen who are willing and ready to help. There is light at the end of the tunnel.
492 service members died by suicide in 2022, up 3% from the previous year, according to the Department of Defense Annual Report on Suicide in the Military.
To brighten this light, we ask you: “What is your why?”
While you may struggle to come up with one, we bet you if you think about it for a few minutes, you can list off a few. If you’re still struggling, we recommend you take a walk down the Dole Center hallway for some inspiration.
Down the hallway, you will see the “Your Why, Our Strength” exhibit set up to honor September as Suicide Awareness Month. The 22nd Air Refueling Wing Integrated Resilience Office and the Innovation Lab gave each squadron a wooden Airman statue. On these statues, you’ll find writing and drawings from people across Team McConnell who filled them up with their reasons why.
“The exhibit encourages individuals to reflect and express their personal motivations and support networks, strengthening cohesion,” said the prevention coordinator at the McConnell resiliency office, Nicole Schmalbach. “This exhibit highlights reliance within the McConnell community. It also highlights the role of protective factors in preventing self-directed violence, reinforcing that every individual’s purpose contributes to the strength of the team.”
Family, pets, coworkers and religion are just a few of the things people wrote as their reason why; Their motivation that drives them to be who they are. You’ll also notice every squadron did something different with their cutout. The 22nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron painted their statue like the sky and wrote on cloud-shaped cutouts attached to the statue. The 22nd Security Forces Squadron painted their squadron logo on their Airman’s chest.
The exhibit is open until the end of the month, and hopefully it gives you the push you need to talk to a Military and Family Life Counselor, a Chaplain or someone at the Mental Health Clinic. You can also contact Military OneSource or call 988 for more resources.
We are happy to have you here, so why don’t you stick around for a while.
From,
Team McConnell
Ducemus…We lead!
| Date Taken: | 09.23.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.23.2024 11:04 |
| Story ID: | 481504 |
| Location: | MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, KANSAS, US |
| Web Views: | 40 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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