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The Airman

  • Published
  • By Thomas Kistler
  • Joint Base Charleston Public Affairs
It's cold, dark and rainy outside. The thoughts that come are cold and dark too, swirling inside the Airman's head. Life sucks. Perhaps the problem's at work. Maybe it involves a personal relationship. It could be the Airman's in trouble and thinking about the consequences.

As the sky clears, a friend stops by. They talk.

"No, I wasn't thinking about hurting myself," the Airman says. "But I'm alright now. Just let me work it out for a few days, and I'll be fine."

But the Airman isn't fine. Sleep doesn't come. Food is unappetizing. Work, once a shining example praised by the commander, requires constant supervision. Friends? They just want to joke around. The Airman's in no mood for talk.

But talk is exactly what people need in those situations. Unfortunately, many Airmen don't get the needed help because of the incorrect notion that seeing a counselor is something a coward would do. This is untrue. Seeking help is an act of courage.

Today, the Air Force has numerous programs to help Airmen who are in need of psychological intervention or counseling. The challenge is getting Airmen to use them.
Some say they don't want to get counseling because their co-workers, supervisors and subordinates will make fun of them or think they are weak.

The Air Force has been fighting that perception for years.

"Air Force senior leadership, from the secretary and the chief of staff on down, have made it very clear that asking for help is a sign of inner strength," said Maj. Gen. Frederick Roggero, the Air Force's top safety official. "The Air Force has invested a lot of resources to ensure there are many agencies ready to help our Airmen, and our leadership has worked hard to tear down perceived barriers to such avenues of hope."

Others run away from counseling because they are afraid it will hurt their careers. They believe performance reports will be downgraded and high-level projects with higher-headquarters visibility will go to other members of their units.

Chief Master Sgt. Rob Tappana is living proof that counseling does not hurt one's career. In an online comment to an Air Force Link news story on www.af.mil, he explained how it actually helped. The chief has been to counseling twice. Once after a divorce and again when he was a master sergeant. He's still on duty after almost 31 years and believes his career actually prospered because of seeking help.

"Now is the time to open all doors to Airmen and eliminate the perception that seeing a mental health provider automatically damages a career or jeopardizes a security clearance," said Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James Roy in a June 17, 2010, news story.

The third obstacle to get over is the member's family. How can a woman see her husband as a manly hunk when he has admitted problems and seen a counselor? Will a husband trust his wife to be alone with the children if she has been to the mental health clinic?

Airmen throughout the Air Force get medical attention every day for bruised legs or broken arms. Why wouldn't they do the same for bruised spirits or broken hearts, said Chief Tappana.

While many people admit they didn't really want counseling at the time, they realized after the first few sessions they began to see improvement in their lives. Soon they were glad they had taken the first step toward normalcy and made the appointment.

Eventually, the Airman did talk. First to a friend, then to a superior and finally to a counselor at the mental health clinic. Soon the thoughts brightened and a sunrise inside the Airman's head heralded a new day, a new outlook on life and a new start serving the country the Airman loves.