Air Force Featured Stories

  • Be there, be aware: Help prevent suicide

    When we focus on our health, it’s easy to pay attention to physical health versus mental well-being. Ignoring mental health concerns like anxiety and depression can lead to worsening symptoms and more serious issues. For some people, these issues may include an increased risk of suicide.

  • Airman overcomes suicidal thoughts, strives to help others

    Being part of the Air Force is not an easy task. Airmen are charged with supporting and defending the U.S. from all enemies, foreign and domestic. As a result, the military life has many stressors and responsibilities. Deployments, financial strains, intensive training, long work days and adapting

  • Suicide prevention month: stopping suicide is everyone’s battle

    September is Suicide Prevention Month, a time for Americans to build awareness and help understand suicide in our culture. More than 40,000 Americans lose their life due to suicide each year and research shows that rates in the military and the general population are very close. The loss of anyone

  • Fighting against violence in the KMC

    Interpersonal violence can happen to anyone. It not only affects the people it happens to, but also those around them. Potential assailants may target someone’s friend, relative, colleague, or even themselves, hurling roadblocks into the missions of their units. Airmen and civilians in the

  • Overcoming the shadow of death: An Airman’s fight against depression

    Staff Sgt. Srun Sookmeewiriya or Sook, as many people know him, may seem like a happy and carefree Airman at first glance. The 313th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron NCO in charge of reports regularly puts forth an earnest effort to keep his unit alive and running, so his dark past and

  • #BeThere before the call

    When the phone rings in the middle of the night, it’s like an alarm going off in your brain. No one calls at one in the morning to say they were “just thinking of you.”I received one of those calls 13 years ago and woke to my mom telling me my dad had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The

  • Every Airman plays a role in suicide prevention

    The Air Force is determined to prevent suicide, but an Airman doesn’t need to be a specialist or doctor to do that. Sometimes all it takes is starting a conversation. Everyone has a role to play. That’s a key part of the Defense Department’s #BeThere campaign, which encourages making a difference

  • Beale Airman recognized for heroic act

    An Airman from Beale Air Force Base, California, was awarded the Airman’s Medal July 29 for his heroic actions in saving the life of a fellow Airman.

  • Journey to recovery

    Then-Tech. Sgt. Janet Lemmons realized she couldn’t breathe in the hospital room. It was as if there wasn’t enough space for her family’s grief and the air collectively. She had to get out.

  • AF senior leaders host suicide prevention summit

    Subject matter experts of mental and behavioral health, community support and Airmen across ranks and career fields gathered to discuss resiliency and suicide prevention at Joint Base Andrews from Sept. 22-25.

  • Follow up: It can be a matter of life, death

    Really taking care of Airmen means more than passing them off to a helping agency, assuming they're good to go, and then moving on. It means following up over the long term and not allowing ourselves to believe that anyone is immune from needing a helping hand, and more than just once. It may be

  • Putting face on prevention training

    The Air Force recently changed its annual suicide prevention training from a computer-based (CBT) course to face-to-face training.

  • The sun shines on Ironman

    Staff Sgt. Joshua Hull, the NCO in charge of the Minot Air Force Base Honor Guard here recently accepted the challenge to compete at the IRONMAN Sept. 21, in Lake Tahoe, California.

  • Suicide prevention: What you can do

    September 8th through the 14th is National Suicide Prevention Week. However, many people are hesitant to get involved in the discussion on the topic of suicide prevention. This is concerning because the ability to get involved and intervene is critical to saving lives.