THREAD: This is SSG Jason Lowe. He was 27, a top performer within his @82ndABNDiv unit and had just graduated 2nd in his class in the Army's Advanced Leader Course.
Four days after graduation, he took his own life inside his Fayetteville, N.C. apartment.
SSG Ryan Graves found him.
"He wanted to be the best," he told me. "He probably was one of the best."
The @82ndABNDiv has lost ten paratroopers to suicide this year. That number stood at four 2019 and six in 2018.
So - what could be fueling the increase? The division has pinpointed a few reasons - but Maj. Gen. @CDonahue1792 believes the forced isolation inflicted by #COVID19 has a hand in the uptick.
The @82ndABNDiv has also had a tough year with 2 sudden IRF deployments and COVID travel restrictions. SSG Lowe's brigade came home from Afghanistan and were ushered immediately into quarantine. Home leave was delayed for months. Leaders say the unknown made an impact on morale.
These comments from CSM Anthony Gregerson really punched me in the gut:
"How do you get after this invisible enemy you don't know people are going through?"
The division is setting up peer support groups and creating a sober living barracks on @FtBraggNC - but Maj. Gen. @CDonahue1792 told me the Army first needs to get over the stigma surrounding mental health conversations.
After Lowe's death, chaplains visited the field where his artillery battery was training for three weeks. They did report more soldiers coming forward wanting to talk and asking for help. Maybe that provides some solace in this tragedy, if that's at all possible.
If you've made it this far, you can read and watch my full story below. Incredibly grateful to the soldiers who opened about a topic we can't talk about enough.
If you're struggling, please reach out to the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255
bit.ly/3i975KF
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