JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. (AFNS) -- Citizen Airmen and their loved ones worry about the risks of combat, but they should know that a far greater risk lies in suicide, according to statistics compiled by Air National Guard officials.
In fact, the Air Guard's suicide prevention program, "Wingman Project" at
www.wingmanproject.org, states that for every Airman killed in combat, seven Airmen take their own lives.
Air National Guard officials are providing such facts, along with the resources and tools to prevent suicide, through the "Wingman Project", which was named as one of the best suicide prevention programs in Air Force last year.
"We are trying to use ... 'Wingman Project' as a way to get the word out and to get those materials out there to the field," said Col. Doug Slocum, the director of safety at the Air National Guard Readiness Center.
The website lists the National Suicide Prevention Hotline as well as suicide training and resources available online and in the states and territories. The state hotlines and program links are available on an interactive map.
Colonel Slocum said Airmen and their families and friends can read articles and watch videos on suicide awareness and intervention. They can also join in on Internet blogs and other social media activities.
The "Wingman Project" goal is to train citizen Airmen and their families to recognize the signs of suicide and get help for that person.
Everyone can learn to recognize the warning signs of someone at risk of suicide through the tools that the "Wingman Project" offers, Colonel Slocum said.
The site offers tiers of training on how to ask the right questions and how to get help for someone.
Follow-on classroom training can certify users in Ask, Care and Escort and in Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, which prepare members to intervene to stop a suicide.
"Suicide is preventable," Colonel Slocum said . "There are very few suicides that just happen out of the blue."