Page 2 - Nellis AFB Bullseye Oct. 2 2015

2 October 2, 2015
www.aerotechnews.com/nellisafb
On/off duty — we are Airmen 24/7
By Staff Sgt. Darlene Seltmann
99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. — My
job as a public affairs professional consists
specifically of communicating with the
public to gain support for our Air Force
personnel, resources and missions.
Although my job’s primary purpose is
to strengthen the bonds between the Air
Force and the public to promote public
understanding and support of the Air
Force, I can tell you we make our share
of mistakes that don’t always cast the Air
Force in a positive light.
Living in the digital age, social media
has become the new norm in our ways
of interaction in both our personal lives
and workplaces. Organizations often use
it to promote and control their reputation
and can use it as a source to feed their
audience.
Follow up; it can be a matter of life, death
By Capt. David Liapis
92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. — She was
a hero. She was someone who had the courage to act
when it mattered most. She was a true wingman. She
saw the warning signs of depression and suicidal ide-
ations in a friend, she made the right calls, made the
right decisions and her friend’s life was saved.
This Airman knew the warning signs well, because
she had been there before.
I had the opportunity to meet this life-saving Air-
man after learning of her proactive intervention. I
sat with her in my office as she tearfully related to me
some of her personal experiences with depression and
thoughts of taking her own life, and how that helped
her know what to do when she realized her friend felt
she had reached the end of hope.
This Airman was able to meet with me that day
because she sought help, and, thankfully and more
importantly, she was there for her friend when she
needed her the most. She said, “Asking for help is not
a weakness. It’s a strength. You’ve got to be able to
admit you need help, and that takes strength.”
About a year after I spoke with this “hero Air-
man,” I was informed that she had tragically taken
her own life. I was stunned. How could an Airman
Bullseye News Staff
Paul Kinison, Publisher, Aerotech News and Review
Barry Anderson, Advertising Sales
Karl Dean, Advertising Sales
Stuart Ibberson, Editor
Tinna Sellie, Editorial Layout
CONTACT: Advertising Sales (702) 876-4589
For display ads: e-mail barryanderson@aerotechnews.com
or e-mail KarlDean@aerotechnews.com of the products or services advertised.
For classified ads: e-mail classifieds@aerotechnews.com
CONTACT: Editorial Staff (702) 876-4039
For editorial staff: e-mail bullseye@aerotechnews.com
Commentary
“Our actions and words represent
our branch of service 24/7.”
— Staff Sgt. Darlene Seltmann, 99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
Unfortunately there will always be
individuals with less than innocent
agendas who use the various social
media platforms. We can’t control that;
however, we can control our responses
and our professionalism.
Regardless of your personal thoughts,
feelings and/or beliefs, the best advice
that can be given is to just take a step
back and think about what you do be-
fore you do it. What are the potential
consequences of your actions and is it
something that could represent our ser-
vice positively?
who seemed to have risen from depression, and had
even saved someone’s life, end up in a frame of mind
where taking her life appeared her only option? What
went wrong? Why didn’t her previous experiences and
knowledge work?
The major lesson I learned from all of this was
that preventing suicide is not a one-time event. This
Airman’s saga demonstrates that we cannot assume
that once someone has received mental health treat-
ment and successfully walked through dark times
that they’re inoculated and won’t relapse and require
further help. We also can’t assume that just because
someone acknowledges that they know asking for help
is a sign of strength that they will actually do it, even
if they have in the past.
I’m not insinuating that anyone who has sought
mental health help or has expressed suicidal ideations
should be on perpetual suicide watch. What I’m get-
ting at is that we need to be engaged with our Airmen
and know how they are doing no matter how “stable”
or “unstable” we perceive them to be.
I was stationed at what was then Elmendorf Air
Force Base, Alaska, and our wing commander was
Brig. Gen. Thomas Tinsley. I remember attending a
commander’s call at the base theater where Tinsley
encouraged us to be good wingmen and to seek help
if we needed it. He was clear in his delivery, confident
The Bullseye is published by Aerotech News and Review, available for purchase and use of patronage without regard
a private firm in no way connected with the U.S. Air Force, to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital
under exclusive written contract with Nellis Air Force
Base, Nev. Contents of the Bullseye are not necessarily the non-merit factor of the purchaser, user or patron.
official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. Government, the
Department of Defense or the Department of the Air Force.
The appearance of advertising in this publication,
including inserts and supplements, does not constitute
an endorsement by the Department of Defense, the
Department of the Air Force or Aerotech News and Review
Everything advertised in the publication shall be made
The Bullseye newspaper can also be viewed online @ www.aerotechnews.com
Printed by Aerotech News and Review, Inc. (877) 247-9288 * www.aerotechnews.com
BULLSEYE
Facebook.com/NellisBullseye
Air Force. By doing this, I hurt my cause
more than I helped it.
Although correspondence was done
from my personal social media account,
As minor as you may believe your I was still speaking on behalf of my office,
actions are, they can still create a nega- my career field, and the Air Force.
tive image of you, your workplace, your
career field and the Air Force. Did I get anyone injured? Was there
any loss of life? No. Were aircraft still
I recently took part in something that able to fly? Yes. Did the Air Force mis-
ending up making its way around the sion still get accomplished? Of course
Air Force and amongst my entire career it did.
field. It was humiliating.
Nevertheless, my actions still reflected
I made an irresponsible decision to poorly on my office, our wing, entire
engage with a community page that base, and on my career field as a whole.
was speaking poorly and criticizing my You may think the actions you take at
workplace. I became defensive of my home do not represent your workplace
office’s position on the topic and the or the Air Force, but I assure you they do.
overall role public affairs plays in the
One thing we must all keep in mind,
whether we are in or out of uniform, or
whether we are at work or at home, our
actions and words represent our branch
of service 24/7.
as a leader, and by all appearances had it all together.
It was for these reasons I was shocked to learn only a
couple weeks after that commander’s call that Tinsley
had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. What
went wrong? He was a general officer. I guess I assumed
at the time that someone like him shouldn’t be at risk.
Mental health issues and factors that lead to suicide
are no respecters of rank, job, gender or age. We can-
not fool ourselves into thinking there’s a demographic
that’s “safe” and to whom we don’t need to pay atten-
tion. Every Airman matters and we need to care for
each other accordingly.
Really taking care of Airmen means more than
passing them off to a helping agency, assuming they’re
good to go, and then moving on. It means following
up over the long term and not allowing ourselves to
believe that anyone is immune from needing a helping
hand, and more than just once.
That follow up may be the difference between life
and death.
Editor’s note: If you or someone you know is think-
ing about hurting yourself or others, help is available.
Contact mental health, a chaplain, family advocacy or
someone in your chain of command today, you can find
helpful resources on your base’s resiliency Web page or
the Air Force’s suicide prevention Web page at http://
www.af.mil/SuicidePrevention.
articles must include a byline (author of the story).
For all submissions, a name and phone number of a
status, physical handicap, political affiliation or any other
person to contact must be included in the event questions
arise.
The deadline for submissions to the Bullseye is
no later than Wednesday, 4:30 p.m., one week prior All material is edited for accuracy, brevity, clarity
to desired publication date. Briefs are due no later and conformity to the Associated Style Guide, to include
than Wednesday, 3 p.m. one week prior to desired military ranks and proper writing etiquette.
publication date. Articles must also be submitted no
later than Wednesday, 4:30 p.m., one week prior to Corrections: The Bullseye staff members strive for
desired publication date unless the editor provides accuracy each week. If you notice an error in fact, contact
an exception to a late-breaking story or article, and the Bullseye staff at (702) 876-4039, or e-mail bullseye@
aerotechnews.com, and we will consider publishing a
correction when appropriate.