Many of you attended the Professional Development day session in October and heard from some of our veterans about their experiences in the military and adapting to college life. Building on that knowledge I wanted to bring awareness to another battle they may be fighting—suicide. Maybe you’ve heard about the statistic 22-a-day but think it’s a figure that doesn’t touch our campus. You should know that it does.

The transition from military, to civilian, to campus life carries a unique set of challenges for veterans. Many have experienced trauma in war and combat and suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), other injuries (seen and unseen), depression, and suicidal thoughts.

All of our students face a myriad of challenges, however, in addition to those, veterans also face issues unique to them due to their experiences in the military. Some of those being:

• The loss of their sense of purpose or identity.
• Difficulty relating to traditional college students.
• The lack of structure, clear expectations, or direction.
• Hyper vigilance.
• Loss of community and connection.
• Feeling alone – lack of others who understand what they’ve been through and are dealing with.

Add these on top of the normal stressors of life, and things can become a breeding ground for depression and anxiety, which in turn contributes to a higher suicide rate. So what can we do as a community to help?

Be aware of the signs:

• Depression, anxiety, hopelessness.
• Impulsive or aggressive behavior.
• Substance use/abuse (increase in).
• Change in academic performance.
• Withdraws from participation in class (change in classroom behavior) or activities once enjoyed.
• Starts giving away possessions.
• Expresses dark or morbid thoughts.

In closing, my point in bringing awareness to this topic is not to say veterans are a fragile group and we need to treat them with kid gloves. It is simply awareness of the factors. I grew up in a Marine Corps family and was raised with a very deep respect, pride, and gratitude for those that have served and are serving. I enjoy the opportunity to know some of the veterans on campus. They have so much knowledge and life experience to share that we can learn from. Talking with them, laughing with them, or working on a project with them just plain leaves me encouraged. They are a focused, determined, and driven bunch and yet in an instant would give you the shirt off their back if you needed it. What have I learned from them? Simply care, be aware, and never be afraid to ask someone, “How are you, you doing okay?”