At Fort Eustis, the battle against suicide intensifies

This started out to be a great day. This report about Chief Warrant Officer 4 Clifford W. Bauman provides a lot of hope. This approach will help as more and more talk about their own battles.

At Eustis, the battle against suicide intensifies
NEWPORT NEWS
By Hugh Lessig
September 27, 2012

( Sangjib Min, Daily Press / September 27, 2012 )
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Clifford W. Bauman, right, talks of his experience with PTSD during a round table discussion at Fort Eustis in Newport News on Thursday.

Plagued by anguish and misplaced guilt, Bauman began to drink and lose sleep. Co-workers who enjoyed his joking mood saw his work begin to suffer. He entered counseling, but he wasn't honest with his counselor and didn't make progress.

In December 2002, he downed 20 sleeping pills, wrote a suicide note and passed out. Bauman credits his brother – who "had a feeling" – with stopping by the house and saving his life. That day turned his life around.

"At that point, I realized I had to be honest, I had to be truthful," he said.

He not only progressed through private counseling, in 2010 he decided to tell his story in public. That launched him on a new phase of his life: Trying to reach soldiers who, like him, felt like they were losing control.

— Last year, two soldiers at Fort Eustis died of suicide. So far this year, two suicides are confirmed but officials said Thursday another six cases are under investigation as possible self-inflicted deaths.

The potential rising rate at the Newport News installation reflects the larger battle the Army is waging against suicide. On Thursday, the Army held a worldwide suicide prevention stand down, setting aside routine activity to focus attention on the problem and talk about dealing with soldiers who are suicidal, depressed and who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

Statistics indicate the Army has yet to turn the corner.

The good news, according to Betak and others, is that large numbers of soldiers are now coming forward to talk about mental health concerns. That suggests the Army is making progress in reducing the stigma that comes with taking that first step, Betak said.

In 2008, the Eustis behavioral health clinic logged about 3,500 patient visits, Betak said. That increased to about 9,000 in 2009 and 12,000 last year.

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