This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know has suicidal thoughts, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Shortly after being honorably discharged due to an injury in 2014, ex-Marine Cole Lyle of Alexandria, Virginia, found himself in a “pretty bad place.”
He was in the middle of a divorce, unemployed, and out of school.
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He said he realized his family didn’t understand what he was going through. He was dealing with post-traumatic stress and panic attacks.
“Certainly, I was drinking too much,” he told Fox News Digital in a telephone interview. rice field.”
Before that terrible deed was committed, a fellow Marine showed up at the door with a movie and food and sat with Lyle through the night.
The next morning, Lyle said he woke up feeling “very clear” and with a renewed sense of purpose.
“The only thing I can really attribute [it] I have been clearer than I have been in a long time, so this is divine intervention,” he said.
“My focus was, ‘Why don’t I have anything?’ ‘I have the opportunity to do anything.’
“The only thing I can really attribute [it] This is divine intervention as I have been clearer than I have been in a long time. ”
Lyle put his new purpose into action.
Today, he serves as Executive Director of Mission Roll Call, working to help other desperate veterans by using their advocacy message to make a difference.
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Lyle previously worked for years with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as well as with the United States Corps and other veterans organizations. He will be on Mission Roll Call headquartered in Augusta, GA in October 2021.
“Our goal is suicide prevention, and we do that by advocating for policies in Congress, the White House, and the VA that will improve the quality of life for veterans and ultimately reduce suicide rates,” he said. said.
Quality of life for veterans is key
Lyle said, “Now the VA stats are [are that] 17 veterans die every day, equivalent to 6,205 a year. Too many. ”
As Fox News Digital previously reported, the number of suicides among veterans could be much higher, and that the veterans’ suicide rate could be as much as 37% higher than the numbers reported by the VA. is shown.
The withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan in August 2021 “worsened” the mental health issues many of Lyle’s friends had.
Lyle said moving veterans away from the military chain of command and into civilian life can create a mental health crisis, and civilians mostly understand what veterans go through. He emphasized that he did not
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Lyle aims to extend the reach of Mission Roll Call to veterans nationwide.
This group includes veterinarians in its process. The group will send out brief surveys and polls via the organization’s email and text message lists to gauge interest and popularity of potential advocacy items and allow veterans to consider the issue themselves.
“The best way to deal with [the issue of suicide and mental health] Advocating for policies to improve the quality of life for all veterans,” Lyle said.
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“Of the country’s more than 18 million veterans, only 50% of the country’s veterans use veterans.Therefore, there is half of the population who are not involved in VA at all. [with] A seasoned service organization. ”
In Lyle’s opinion, the VA needs to be “fundamentally changed” by taking a more holistic approach to addressing the issue of veteran suicide, he said.
Lyle said the VA looks at the suicide epidemic “primarily through a mental health lens.”
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“I think it’s a reactionary, failed approach,” Lyle said.
“Looking at the current situation and the amount of money VA has put in over the last four years, it’s just not working,” he added.
Preventing veteran suicides also requires cooperation between the VA, various branches of the military, and the Department of Defense (DoD), he said.
“[Veterans were] Ask, “What was it for?” I could see the writing on the wall. ”
“There needs to be more cooperation between these two agencies to effectively address this issue because they haven’t and they don’t really work well together,” he said. Told.
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” [Department of Defense] VA needs to be more proactive about how to address this issue,” he said.
Fox News Digital has reached out to both the VA and DoD for comment.
“The purpose of the Veterans National Suicide Prevention Report is to count all veterans’ suicides,” Joe Williams, a public affairs expert with the Department of Veterans Affairs, said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. , to be able to prevent all veterans from committing suicide.
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“Ending veteran suicide and saving lives is a top priority for veterans, and we are taking every step to ensure our veteran suicide data is accurate,” he said. Because the first step in solving this problem is understanding it.”
“The bottom line is: One veteran’s suicide is too many. The VA can continue to accurately measure veteran suicides and end veteran suicides,” Williams said.
The Department of Defense also responded.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Department of Defense spokesman Maj. increase.
Dietz cited ways in which the two organizations could work together, including Articles 101 and 102 of the Hannon Act. Suicide Data Repository and Veterans Crisis Line/Military Crisis Line. And a 9-8-8 effort.
“Additionally, the Department of Defense and the VA collaborate on federal-wide committees and groups, such as the National Alliance for Suicide Prevention and the Federal Working Group for Suicide Prevention. [and] An interagency task force for military and veteran suicide,” Dietz said.
In response to this feedback, Lyle said that while the VA’s collaboration with the Department of Defense is “great”, he feels it falls short in the real world.
“Sure, I was drinking too much. I had a gun and was about a pound off the trigger from shooting me in the head.”
“Speaking to segregated military personnel, I would say that the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs have a strong commitment to meaningful transition assistance and electronic health record management to make reintegration into civilian life as seamless as possible and hopefully reduce rates. , there’s still a lot of collaboration on veteran suicide,” he said.
Reactions to withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021
Lyle said the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan in August 2021 had “exacerbated” the pre-existing mental health problems of many of his friends.
A lot of people were thinking about suicide, he said.
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“[They were] Ask, “What was it for?” I could see the writing on the wall,” he said.
“And then the opportunity came for the mission roll call.”
Lyle himself has taken a unique approach to dealing with his own mental health challenges. He has his German Shepherd service dog.
In 2015, Lyle teamed up with Kaya, who was trained to help Lyle with post-traumatic stress.
Kaya said, “When I was having an anxiety attack, I was trained to wake me up from a nightmare and perform something called ‘animal-assisted intervention’.
“It’s been very helpful to me,” he revealed.
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According to Lyle, there is power in community.
“I think the more community organizations are empowered to find veterans and work with them and make the connections they lost after transitioning from the military, that is a real and effective path to order,” he said. I got