Safeguarding Our Heroes: Prioritizing Mental Wellness in the Military

Universidad del Sagrado Corazón (Escuela de Comunicación Ferré Rangel) San Juan, Puerto Rico.

La visualización de la información con creatividad, ética y cumplimiento. PER 605 Prof. José Hernández Falcón

Tarea #2: Captura de imágenes: fotorreportaje

The U.S. Army has a suicide rate of 28.9% – this doesn’t even account for the rates across all military branches combined. Despite over a quarter of their personnel being at dire risk, mental health stigma is still extremely present and seldom spoken about in the military. While new initiatives and policies have been developed to address this issue, many soldiers, marines, sailors and all servicemembers alike struggle with their mental health while in the service. Whether separated from family or witnessing action while deployed overseas, the mental health and wellbeing of soldiers and veterans alike who have altruistically signed up to serve their country has historically been placed at the back burner of the sociopolitical agenda. This report sets out to draw attention to these issues in hopes of fixing them.

This image of a soldier crying was taken February 13, 2024 on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey. It is intended to focus on the fact that service members have humanity beyond their uniform, many of whom struggle with mental health.

This photo was taken the same as the above, on February 13, 2024, on Joint Base Mcguire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey. It’s intended to showcase the daily vices that the majority of soldiers take part in as an attempt to self-medicate their anxiety and depression if only temporarily, to be able to mask their mental state enough to get through the work day without showing what most would claim a ‘weakness’.

This photo was taken the same day as the above in JBMDL, New Jersey. It is intended to symbolize soldiers when they’re off duty and have taken off their uniforms and represents the humanity beyond that many so often dismiss.

This photo was taken on the same date and in the same place as all of the photos above. It is intended to symbolize what many service members experience and what numerous rarely acknowledge – problematic drinking habits that military personnel often use to self-medicate instead of seeking help.

This photo was taken on February 13, 2024, at JBMDL, NJ. It’s intended to symbolize the lives of service members and veterans lost far too soon to their battles with mental health. This photo is intended to inspire action amongst all and destigmatize getting help that can save lives.

Destigmatize mental health in the military before it’s too late.