WEBVTT 00:00.481 --> 00:03.231 (dramatic music) 00:12.042 --> 00:14.014 - I received a phone call from my father. 00:14.014 --> 00:15.336 I was 19-years-old. 00:15.336 --> 00:18.028 I was stationed at Fort Bragg with the 82nd Airborne. 00:18.028 --> 00:21.192 My dad asked me a series of questions that I hadn't 00:21.192 --> 00:23.778 thought about for many many years. 00:23.778 --> 00:28.041 But at that moment, I made a decision cognitively to, 00:28.041 --> 00:29.516 yeah, I'm not gonna hide anymore. 00:29.516 --> 00:31.550 I need to let out something. 00:31.550 --> 00:34.288 I need to let out this secret that's been really 00:34.288 --> 00:36.303 gripping me by, binding me, keepin' me 00:36.303 --> 00:37.905 in this form of bondage. 00:37.905 --> 00:40.233 And that was one of childhood sexual abuse. 00:40.233 --> 00:43.338 My father just said, hey did this happen to you? 00:43.338 --> 00:45.229 And I said, yes, it did. 00:45.229 --> 00:48.169 The moment I shared that was not only the most freeing 00:48.169 --> 00:51.410 moment, but it was also one of the most scariest moments 00:51.410 --> 00:54.669 I've had in my life, because I felt a tremendous amount 00:54.669 --> 00:58.337 of shame and guilt and confusion just come rushing 00:58.337 --> 00:59.587 to the surface. 00:59.645 --> 01:02.371 There are moments in our lives when the trauma comes in. 01:02.371 --> 01:06.383 And so those are the times when we just need somebody, 01:06.383 --> 01:08.813 when you're in your barrack's room, you're at home, 01:08.813 --> 01:11.106 and you're ruminating and the thoughts are coming in, 01:11.106 --> 01:13.250 and you're feeling like the world is closing in, 01:13.250 --> 01:14.236 and you lose hope. 01:14.236 --> 01:15.352 Who do you call? 01:15.352 --> 01:17.711 And so for us, bridging that gap, of having 01:17.711 --> 01:21.545 those connections that two a.m. friend that you can call 01:21.545 --> 01:25.452 that'll be there, that'll listen, not even try to fix 01:25.452 --> 01:27.258 anything, they're just listening and they'll encourage 01:27.258 --> 01:29.412 you and they'll say, hey, I've got your six, 01:29.412 --> 01:30.850 I'm your wing man. 01:30.850 --> 01:33.547 And so this cars, this whole theme of Connections and 01:33.547 --> 01:37.486 Relationships Save, for us, for me, for our team, 01:37.486 --> 01:38.848 that's what it's all about. 01:38.848 --> 01:41.628 - It's important to raise awareness about suicide prevention 01:41.628 --> 01:44.795 because a lot of people still have a stigma attached 01:44.795 --> 01:47.935 to safety and mental healthcare, and it's important to let 01:47.935 --> 01:50.508 'em know that not only is it something that's necessary, 01:50.508 --> 01:52.371 but that it's okay to be talked about. 01:52.371 --> 01:55.325 - And the most important thing is for them to be there 01:55.325 --> 01:57.977 for each other, because the first person that's gonna 01:57.977 --> 02:00.910 notice or identify that a soldier has a problem, somebody 02:00.910 --> 02:03.168 in that squad, somebody in that team. 02:03.168 --> 02:05.032 And they need to be there for each other. 02:05.032 --> 02:07.256 - This event, it's all about healing. 02:07.256 --> 02:10.017 Even though it's a lot of guys reachin' out to us. 02:10.017 --> 02:11.999 And I think having events like this allows us 02:11.999 --> 02:12.881 to be vulnerable. 02:12.881 --> 02:14.770 Allows us to talk about this, 02:14.770 --> 02:18.354 without looking weak, but also doing it is something that 02:18.354 --> 02:19.995 we are not going to be judged. 02:19.995 --> 02:22.465 No one is judging you when you come to a car show. 02:22.465 --> 02:24.946 And it's all open ears, we're not wearing uniforms, 02:24.946 --> 02:26.783 and that's what we're here for and that's what this 02:26.783 --> 02:27.866 event is for. 02:28.121 --> 02:30.364 - We talk all the time in the Army about readiness, 02:30.364 --> 02:32.864 and you know, one of the components of readiness 02:32.864 --> 02:36.157 across the board, is just the readiness of an individual, 02:36.157 --> 02:38.835 their emotional resilience and their physical resilience 02:38.835 --> 02:40.877 and their ability to continue to fight. 02:40.877 --> 02:44.158 And our culture as a whole has a big problem with suicide 02:44.158 --> 02:46.155 and it's really something that we're tryin' to get after 02:46.155 --> 02:49.196 inside of the military, is to make sure that our soldiers 02:49.196 --> 02:53.578 understand the tools that are available and that, it's okay 02:53.578 --> 02:56.016 to ask for help and to seek help. 02:56.016 --> 02:58.672 - The Behavioral Health Department is full of a team of 02:58.672 --> 03:01.868 professionals, but most importantly, human beings, 03:01.868 --> 03:03.945 that can understand what you are going through, 03:03.945 --> 03:07.435 and can help you identify and develop an individualized 03:07.435 --> 03:11.403 personal plan to deal with your trauma, to deal with 03:11.403 --> 03:14.302 your depression, your anxiety, or whatever else you're 03:14.302 --> 03:15.293 going through. 03:15.293 --> 03:17.043 And to help you heal. 03:17.148 --> 03:18.145 - (Jason) I know there's hope now. 03:18.145 --> 03:19.396 I know that I can reach out. 03:19.396 --> 03:21.403 I have people in my life now that have said, Jason, 03:21.403 --> 03:23.626 under no circumstance will I ever leave you, 03:23.626 --> 03:25.505 whenever that moment is when you feel that you're in 03:25.505 --> 03:27.916 despair and you're struggling, hey, gimme a call. 03:27.916 --> 03:30.978 People need to know that when there's hurt, there's trauma 03:30.978 --> 03:33.487 that all that can be fully redeemed. 03:33.487 --> 03:36.124 As a chaplain, I always error on the side of hope. 03:36.124 --> 03:38.874 (dramatic music)