WEBVTT 00:10.740 --> 00:12.796 Staff Sergeant Harrison is one of my 00:12.796 --> 00:15.290 really good friends from back at Joint 00:15.290 --> 00:17.620 Base , Elmendorf Richardson we 00:17.630 --> 00:21.380 originally met in technical school , he 00:21.390 --> 00:23.750 was really determined in what he wanted 00:23.750 --> 00:25.694 and you could definitely tell when 00:25.694 --> 00:28.300 something was up . It was only the 00:28.300 --> 00:31.440 really most people that would really 00:31.440 --> 00:33.384 pay attention and ask him what was 00:33.384 --> 00:34.160 going on . 00:40.240 --> 00:42.407 When I left for basic training , I was 00:42.407 --> 00:44.129 dating , dating my high school 00:44.129 --> 00:46.129 sweetheart . Time . She had kind of 00:46.129 --> 00:48.351 given an ultimatum if we're not getting 00:48.351 --> 00:50.462 married , we're gonna break up at the 00:50.462 --> 00:52.573 father's permission and married her . 00:52.573 --> 00:54.684 They rushed into it , he was going to 00:54.684 --> 00:57.600 Alaska , they were from Ohio to go from 00:57.600 --> 00:59.711 her , living with her mom and dad and 00:59.711 --> 01:01.822 him living his mom and dad to being a 01:01.822 --> 01:03.989 family . I felt like it was too much . 01:08.240 --> 01:12.070 I went to I in May when I came back , 01:12.070 --> 01:14.180 the house was packed up and she had 01:14.180 --> 01:17.900 moved out . They just 01:17.900 --> 01:20.650 couldn't really amicably split up . 01:22.640 --> 01:24.820 He felt like he was not only being 01:24.820 --> 01:27.660 cheated on , but cheated life . 01:30.040 --> 01:31.984 That started probably about a nine 01:31.984 --> 01:33.929 month journey in a very depressive 01:33.929 --> 01:36.630 state . I was ashamed that that was 01:36.630 --> 01:38.741 taking up so much my leaderships time 01:38.741 --> 01:40.797 because when you get in that in mind 01:40.797 --> 01:42.686 that you think that you're just a 01:42.686 --> 01:45.670 burden . He was a man , firstly in the 01:45.670 --> 01:49.200 military , going through a divorce from 01:49.200 --> 01:51.400 a woman he loved , I was ready to do 01:51.420 --> 01:53.476 anything to be with her . It kind of 01:53.476 --> 01:55.730 just came crashing down around him . It 01:55.730 --> 01:57.786 kind of clicks , clicks on that says 01:57.786 --> 01:59.897 that if I would have hurt myself if I 01:59.897 --> 02:02.174 were to drive off the side of the road , 02:02.174 --> 02:04.286 she has to care for me . If she cares 02:04.286 --> 02:06.563 for me , she'll she'll be back with me . 02:06.563 --> 02:09.690 We would tell him maybe you should go 02:09.690 --> 02:13.640 talk to somebody . I need 02:13.640 --> 02:15.918 help . Somebody help me , I'm drowning . 02:15.918 --> 02:17.640 Please , please come rescue me 02:19.540 --> 02:21.373 sometimes . It takes the outside 02:21.373 --> 02:23.207 opinion to kind of put things in 02:23.207 --> 02:25.429 perspective . I don't believe the force 02:25.429 --> 02:27.318 has a stigma with airmen going to 02:27.318 --> 02:29.540 mental health . It's their men who have 02:29.540 --> 02:31.596 a stigma of going to mental health . 02:31.596 --> 02:33.707 They're afraid that just because they 02:33.707 --> 02:35.970 go , they might get med boarded and 02:35.970 --> 02:38.026 they get kicked out . But that's not 02:38.026 --> 02:40.137 the case . As I was making my way out 02:40.137 --> 02:42.570 of that dark , dark area of my life , I 02:42.570 --> 02:44.630 moved on a mental health . I 02:44.630 --> 02:46.686 specifically want to talk to in flak 02:46.686 --> 02:48.686 military family life counselors 1st 02:48.686 --> 02:50.908 having somebody objectively that didn't 02:50.908 --> 02:53.074 know everything about me , didn't even 02:53.074 --> 02:55.130 know me if my job didn't know what I 02:55.130 --> 02:57.241 did accept other than I was a service 02:57.241 --> 02:59.019 member . That really changed my 02:59.019 --> 03:01.074 perspective . This was just a one on 03:01.074 --> 03:03.241 one type of counseling for him . There 03:03.241 --> 03:05.408 was no doubt in my mind that after the 03:05.408 --> 03:07.574 first , the first appointment that she 03:07.574 --> 03:10.020 cared , my provider cared . It helped 03:10.020 --> 03:12.340 me realize the areas where I could grow 03:12.340 --> 03:14.507 as a person , even if it meant growing 03:14.507 --> 03:16.673 as a person without her . In my life , 03:16.673 --> 03:19.520 mental health is here for us to really 03:19.520 --> 03:21.800 work through our deep selves . My 03:21.800 --> 03:23.967 provider is going to get me to where I 03:23.967 --> 03:25.967 needed to be and equipment with the 03:25.967 --> 03:28.078 tools to fix my situation . It really 03:28.078 --> 03:30.078 centralizes problems that we aren't 03:30.078 --> 03:32.244 even aware of . It's different when an 03:32.244 --> 03:34.411 objective person comes . And it's like 03:34.411 --> 03:36.633 I can tell by how you treat and how you 03:36.633 --> 03:38.856 act and how you're handling this , that 03:38.856 --> 03:40.744 you're worth more than that . One 03:40.744 --> 03:42.856 action . Come to the realization that 03:42.856 --> 03:44.967 you have a problem and you're willing 03:44.967 --> 03:47.750 to accept that it's you . It's better 03:47.750 --> 03:49.972 to get it off your chest and begin that 03:49.972 --> 03:53.190 process of healing , then to sit back 03:53.190 --> 03:55.630 and hurt and potentially do something 03:55.640 --> 03:57.930 that you can't come back from . That is 03:57.930 --> 03:59.930 a permanent solution to a temporary 03:59.930 --> 04:03.760 problem . The 04:03.760 --> 04:05.871 friends that I've built through these 04:05.871 --> 04:07.704 tedious situations , They really 04:07.704 --> 04:09.649 embodied the wingman culture . The 04:09.649 --> 04:12.170 women culture is always being there for 04:12.170 --> 04:14.281 somebody , luckily I had , you know , 04:14.281 --> 04:16.059 friends like Sergeant Sanders , 04:16.059 --> 04:18.590 Sergeant fever and my commander to help 04:18.590 --> 04:20.812 me get the help I needed . If your team 04:20.812 --> 04:23.090 is good , the mission is gonna be good . 04:23.090 --> 04:25.650 The number of airmen going to go see 04:26.340 --> 04:28.451 mental health or any of the resources 04:28.451 --> 04:30.451 that the air Force has to offer are 04:30.451 --> 04:32.451 going up . And I feel that that's a 04:32.451 --> 04:34.673 good thing because it means that people 04:34.673 --> 04:36.896 are reaching out there getting the help 04:36.896 --> 04:39.062 that they need , helping get people at 04:39.062 --> 04:38.510 those healthy levels . That's how you 04:38.510 --> 04:41.360 stop this . That's how you help prevent 04:42.040 --> 04:44.300 the most preventable thing to our 04:44.300 --> 04:46.660 fellow airman and four clear . Starting 04:48.140 --> 04:50.196 my career hasn't just bounced back . 04:50.196 --> 04:52.300 It's flourished because of the 04:52.300 --> 04:54.522 dedication that I've seen because their 04:54.522 --> 04:56.810 forces , a family . He is kind of the 04:56.810 --> 04:59.180 epitome of bouncing back . Andrew's 04:59.180 --> 05:01.402 career has not been negatively impacted 05:01.402 --> 05:03.660 by anything that I believe 05:05.740 --> 05:07.960 guy's a rock star . If I didn't have 05:08.440 --> 05:11.640 the level of care that I did , I don't 05:11.640 --> 05:12.750 know if I'd still be here .