NOTE: This podcast aired on 12/12/18 at 10AM ET http://www.blogtalkradio.com/hopeilluminated
“I don’t expect my friends to understand what I’ve been through. When I’m around Veterans, like-minded Veterans, I don’t have to explain myself. They already know.” ~Male Veteran
In this podcast, Master Sergeant Christopher D. Jachimiec shares the tragedy of losing his brother Adam to suicide. We explore our shared grief experiences as sibling survivors of suicide loss and the making meaning process. Out of catastrophe we have options — to get buried under, to gloss over or to go through. Chris found his higher purpose was “honoring the dash” — our lives are not about the start date or end date, but what happens in between.
During the interview, Chris shares so many resources (many listed below), key steps in the journey of healing, and lessons learned from Viktor Frankl.
Pictures of Chris and Adam growing up.
ABOUT MASTER SERGEANT CHRISTOPHER D. JACHIMIEC
Master Sergeant Christopher D. Jachimiec is the Section Chief, Quality Assurance for the 99th Communications Squadron, Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. He serves as the principal advisor to the commander on cyberspace policy, evaluations and compliance for 130 assigned individuals and provides guidance on cyberspace efforts to six wings and over 52 tenant organizations. He leads 20 Wing Inspection Team members who ensure established directives and public law is being adhered to. He advises and mentors organizations and teams on continuous process improvement and problem solving methods.
Sergeant Jachimiec was born in Palos Park, Illinois in 1980 and graduated from Muskego High School in Muskego, Wisconsin in 1999. He entered the Air Force in September 1999. His background includes various duties in the Security Forces and Radio Frequency Transmission Systems career fields along with service in the First Sergeant Special Duty Identifier. His stateside assignments include Creech and Nellis Air Force Bases and his overseas assignments include Osan Air Base and Ramstein Air Base. His deployment experience includes tours to Al Jaber Air Base, Kuwait and Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan in support of Operation SOUTHERN WATCH and Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. Additionally, Sergeant Jachimiec was one of thirty Airmen selected to augment the United States Secret Service during the 2012 Presidential Campaign, is a certified Master Resilience Trainer and leads peer support groups in the local community.
SHOW NOTES
References:
Linn-Gust, M. (2002). Do They Have Bad Days in Heaven? Surviving the Suicide Loss of a Sibling. Chellehead Works. https://books.google.com/books/about/Do_They_Have_Bad_Days_in_Heaven.html?id=1FOPsq4hOIwC&source=kp_cover
Jill Harrington-LaMorie, John R. Jordan, Kim Ruocco & Julie Cerel (2018) Surviving families of military suicide loss: Exploring postvention peer support, Death Studies, 42:3, 143-154, DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2017.1370789
Pak, Kyna & Holloway, Marjan & Tucker, Jennifer. (2014). Suicide Postvention for the U.S. Armed Forces: Literature Review, Conceptual Model, Lessons Learned.
Ramchand, Rajeev, Lynsay Ayer, Gail Fisher, Karen Chan Osilla, Dionne Barnes-Proby, and Samuel Wertheimer, Suicide Postvention in the Department of Defense: Evidence, Policies and Procedures, and Perspectives of Loss Survivors. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2015. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR586.html.
Springer, Shauna. (2016). Reflections on Veteran Suicide, Resilience and Tribe. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/free-range-psychology/201610/reflections-veteran-suicide-veteran-resilience-and-tribe
Resources:
Military and Veterans Survivors of Loved Ones to Suicide https://www.facebook.com/pg/milsolosnv/about/
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, afsp.org
Defense Suicide Prevention Office, dpso.mil
Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, taps.org
Be There Peer Support, https://www.militaryonesource.mil/be-there
Veteran's Crisis Line, https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/help-yourself/veterans/
Vets4Warriors: vets4warriors.com
Objective Zero: www.objectivezero.org/
America's Warrior Partnership: https://americaswarriorpartnership.org
Team Rubicon https://teamrubiconusa.org
Team Red, White and Blue https://www.teamrwb.org
Merging Vets and Players www.vetsandplayers.org
GiveAnHour https://giveanhour.org
Project Sanctuary https://projectsanctuary.us
Melinda Moore, Ph.D.: Posttraumatic Growth after Suicide http://www.posttraumaticgrowth.com/index.php/author/melindamoore/
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