FORT BLISS, Texas (Sept. 28, 2015) -- "It's one team, one fight; you're not alone," said Sgt. Charles Stokes, motor transport operator with 1st Armored Division Sustainment Brigade, during the recognition ceremony for successful suicide interventions at the 1st Armored Division Headquarters on Fort Bliss, Texas, Sept. 22.
The 1st Armored Division recognized four Soldiers, including Stokes, for successfully intervening and preventing, respectively, in four separate suicide attempts. The Soldiers recognized were: Staff Sgt. Anthony Goosey, ammunition specialist with Fort Bliss Garrison Command; Staff Sgt. Tobias Mondragon, wheeled vehicle mechanic with the 93rd Military Police Battalion; and Spc. Abiel Cordova, generator mechanic with 2nd Squadron, 13th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team.
"I tended to my battle buddy when he needed the help," Cordova said. "He wanted to commit suicide and I went to his place as fast as I can."
Suicide is a problem everywhere in the military. In an effort to prevent suicides on Fort Bliss, the Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, or ASIST, is a mandatory class for Soldiers new to the post.
In ASIST, Soldiers are trained to recognize signs and behaviors of someone who's at-risk, said Stokes, an ASIST instructor. "Every life matters."
"In my experience as an instructor, I could tell one of the participants in my class was going through something," Stokes said. "I could tell from her behavior in the class and the way she carried herself."
Stokes applied the knowledge he learned in ASIST and applied "ACE" as well.
"A, I asked her the big question, if she's thinking of killing herself; C, I cared for her by allowing her to tell me her story, I listened and let her vent for three hours; and E, I escorted her to the chaplain, stayed and waited for her to finish and I continued to follow up with her through phone calls," Stokes said.
With the training in place, Soldiers learn to prevent suicide before it happens.
"I learned from the training we had, that if someone calls you and tells you that they are contemplating suicide, it's important to keep them on the phone," Cordova said. "You have to buy yourself some time to get to the person or get the person some help - that's exactly what I did."
A fellow Soldier or caregiver needs to talk to the person at risk and help them through tough times can make the difference between life and death.
"A person at risk, feels like they have nothing to live for, so you have to help that person find a turning point, a reason to live," Stokes said. "You find that from hearing out their story."
Suicide does not choose a victim, life struggles can happen to anyone.
"It could happen to anybody," Cordova said. "It feels good to help someone knowing you saved their life."
Additionally, every Soldier is a caregiver and a lifesaver. Soldiers can use the skills they learned from ASIST and Master Resiliency Training, or MRT, to provide the help for someone at-risk, Stokes said.
"I incorporated MRT to help her 'hunt the good stuff' and from there I kept talking to her to find her turning point," he said.
The training given to Soldiers here are applicable in many ways, but ultimately is a tool to help someone at risk.
"A person at-risk will have a tunnel vision but they will always have a reason to live," Stokes said.
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