Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta addresses the audience at the fourth annual DoD/VA Suicide Prevention Conference June 22, 2012 in Washington, D.C. (DoD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo)

We hear about suicide in the news, read about it on the Internet, and each of us in our own way work toward preventing the loss of lives. Rarely, do we get the opportunity to discuss suicide as a community. I was privileged to be able to attend and present at the fourth annual DoD/VA Suicide Prevention Conference. For me, it was a great opportunity to share my perspective on suicide prevention and to learn from leaders, service members and notable civilian organizations.

During the three-day conference, the secretaries for the Defense Department, Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of Veteran Affairs voiced their concerns and future plan of attack to combat suicide. The secretaries spoke to the importance of ending suicides, providing quality programs and communicating suicide programs and research amongst departments, service branches, providers, peers and individuals.

	Photo courtesy of Sarah Heynen

“He was the last person to take his own life.”

These 10 simple words were repeated by several speakers on the TAPS Suicide Survivor Panel Session at the annual DoD/VA Suicide Prevention Conference, and they instantly brought me back to my own experience.

I can remember it like it was yesterday. The day our eyes locked was like one of those movie scenes where the world around stops and everyone else goes into some blurred montage — except it was real life, my life. I fell in love. I found my best friend. We lived on different continents but with frequent communication formed a bond and closeness that I had never experienced.

The next time my world stopped felt like a nightmare. I can also remember it like it was yesterday. The day I felt a pain so deep it didn’t seem possible and the animalistic screams of terror that I let out in pure reaction to the news.

	A Backpack Journalists Emarah Cousar (left) and Kat Boynton (right) pose with Navy Capt. Paul Hammer, DCoE director, at the fourth annual Warrior Resilience Conference in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Linda Dennis/A Backpack Journalist)

You or I might have hesitated approaching top military leaders at the fourth annual Warrior Resilience Conference, hosted by Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE), but 16-year-old journalist Kat Boynton was up for the task.

“I can be eye-to-eye with a three-star general and have a conversation and the confidence to speak well and present myself,” said Kat.

Boynton, whose Army National Guard father and brother have both deployed, reported on the conference with A Backpack Journalist, a program that teaches resilience to military kids through journalism, photography, writing, music and other creative forms of expression. She attributes her assurance and ability to talk to people with taking part in the program.

	Jake Rademacher, director of “Brothers at War,” with his brother, Army Capt. Isaac Rademacher at the fourth annual Warrior Resilience Conference. (Photo by: A Backpack Journalist)

First-time filmmaker Jake Rademacher discussed the documentary “Brothers at War” after it was shown at the Warrior Resilience Conference last week. The film follows his two younger brothers on the front lines in Iraq, but instead of speaking about making the movie, he first asked viewers: “What part of the film did you most strongly identify with?”

The audience had different answers.

An amputee Army veteran had a tough time returning home. A military spouse identified with the guilt Jenny Rademacher, wife of Army Capt. Isaac Rademacher, expressed when her husband deployed. An active-duty service member related to Isaac’s fear that his newborn daughter wouldn’t remember him. During his own deployment, an Army company commander reflected on Afghans moving a burning vehicle to save a soldier. In the movie, Jake films a group of dedicated Afghans side-by-side with American troops under fierce fire.

	Dr. James Bender, DCoE clinical psychologist, speaks with an attendee visiting the DCoE exhibit at the 2011 Air Force Caring for People Forum on July 20.

Government and non-profit organizations displayed informative exhibits at the 2011 Air Force Caring for People Forum, to showcase resources and programs for Airmen and their families. One particular program caught their eye: inTransition — a Defense Department program that supports service members transitioning between behavioral health care systems or providers.

Dr. James Bender, Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) clinical psychologist, was on hand to answer questions from providers. After he spoke to the group, they asked him to speak to their colleagues about programs to help Air National Guard members who were returning from deployment.

“The people we are talking to at this forum are on the front lines of treating service members. It’s pivotal that we get the word out to them about DCoE’s resources and programs,” Bender said during yesterday morning’s breakfast, hosted by the Air Force Community Action Information Board in Arlington, Va.