Losing one Travis Airman is one to many

  • Published
  • By Chief Master Sgt. Michael Williams
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing command chief
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  I'm very proud to be a part of this great organization and have the privilege to serve with the most outstanding Airmen. In the past three weeks I've witness some tremendous effort and hard work exhibited by all and unfortunately some stress.

Our senior leaders realize that stress sometimes is the result of stretching our people to their limits. Regrettably that's not going to change. Our heightened ops tempo and increased state of readiness, in my opinion, are here to stay. Therefore, we must rely on you to ensure the safety and welfare of all Airmen...especially now more than ever before.
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n the past two years suicides and safety mishaps have dramatically skyrocketed. We need every Airman to accomplish the Team Travis mission. Losing one Airman to an injury or fatality is one to many. It's imperative that we remain vigilant to the signs and symptoms of these sometimes transparent adversaries: loneliness, depression and suicidal ideations.

These symptoms are real, can go undetected and usually alcohol plays a contributing factor. Communication is vitally important. We must make time to listen to our subordinates, co-workers, peers, family members, etc. Often times people cry out for help in some form only for the recipient not to take the plea for help serious enough to act.

As a wingman, your responsibility is to identify any signs or symptoms and take action by referring them for assistance. Our installation has numerous agencies to assist you with identifying the signs and symptoms of a problem before the situation escalates.

I encourage everyone to become intimately familiar with those agencies. But more importantly, I encourage you to know your people, communicate with them and motivate them to adopt a wingman…don't wait until they commit an infraction or experience a life threatening incident, at that time it's too late.

As commanders, chiefs, SNCOs, first sergeants and NCOs we are responsible for the health, morale and welfare of our airmen. However, every Airmen must consider themselves as our first line of defense, if we are going to combat this sometimes silent adversary. Bottom line…We need all our people in order to continue protecting the national security of this great nation of ours…look out for your fellow Airman and remember one injury or fatality is one too many.