Grab the phone, not the gun Published March 31, 2015 By 509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs Staff Report WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. -- 288 -- that's the reported number of confirmed and suspected suicides involving active duty service members in 2014. 288 -- that's almost one suicide per day. If one suicide is too many, 288 is a crisis -- a crisis we can work together to deter. One simple way we can all help combat this crisis is by ensuring our teammates know what resources are already being offered to help them in their time of need. While we all want to help our brothers and sisters in arms before they begin to think about hurting themselves, we also need to ensure they know how they can reach out if their troubles continue to escalate. If that does happen, we want our folks to grab their phone and not their gun. No matter how dark your situation may seem, there is always someone who you can call and who will help you. There are many national suicide hotlines out there, but the best hotline may be closer to home. It's your supervisor. It's your first sergeant. It's your commander. Those three individuals are the perfect suicide hotline. They know you and they are willing to do whatever it takes for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They also can get you the relationship, financial or medical counseling you may need. And they can do it fast - very fast. But they need you to first grab the phone in order to put those options to work for you. If you don't have their phone numbers saved in your phone, save them now. Pull out your recall roster and punch them in; it only takes a minute. There are also numerous other resources out there for our service members and their families to use in times of need other than in-house options. There are national hotlines that are supported by the Department of Defense, such as the Military Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255. Also, Military One Source remains a great asset with trained staff available to answer calls at 1-800-342-9647. All three of these hotlines have operators who are not only trained to work towards safety, but they also have a great deal of resources at their disposal, including the ability to immediately contact other supporting agencies as needed. No calls to these lines get missed as someone is always standing by to offer help. So if you are hurting or feeling helpless, don't be afraid to reach out for help. You can tape this article to your refrigerator so you always have these numbers. You can cut these numbers out and keep them in your wallet. You can photocopy this page and display it in your squadron - whatever it takes to ensure you and everyone else knows there are always people to call. Most importantly, just remember to grab the phone, not the gun.