HAFB taking measures to prevent civilian employee suicides

HILL AIR FORCE BASE — When Rick Buhl started working for the Air Force more than 20 years ago, bases didn't offer the support systems for civilian employees that exist today.

As director of the 309th Electronics Maintenance Group at Hill Air Force Base, Buhl and other supervisors now are required to attend suicide-prevention training.

The growing problem of civilian suicides at Hill has stirred base leadership, resulting in the base providing more services to tackle the issue. Since 2008, there have been 19 confirmed suicides at Hill, most of them involving civilian employees.

Buhl's own experience with suicide has affected how he deals with the issue. Two months ago, he said, one of his friends took his own life.

Now, Buhl looks for warning signs among his unit and offers advice to his employees.

"I try to tell my folks to get involved, understand the opportunities and be prepared if it does come about," he said.

A recent Rand Corp. study of military bases' needs and performance rates concluded that civilian services are lacking and outlined the need for on-base psychologists.

In January, that position was filled at Hill, making it the first psychologist position strictly for civilians in the Air Force.

"This position has never existed before," said Marc Ybaben, the recently hired psychologist. "In the Air Force, there is no other position like mine."

Ybaben has spent his few months on the base meeting with supervisors and letting them know about the services available to civilians at the base.

Ybaben sees anywhere from 80 to 100 patients per month. He also helps counsel co-workers and directors of employees exhibiting warning signs, taking a dozen or more phone calls in a week to help walk civilians through work situations.

"Someone in the unit will be having problems," Ybaben said, "and a supervisor or a co-worker will know that. And before, they didn't know what to do, or they didn't really have anyone that they thought they could take the person to."

The base also offers the Wingman Advocate program, in which 18 base employees go out to various units to talk to directors and employees as a prevention method.

Such services are part of a bigger change for the base. The real obstacle supervisors such as Buhl face is a cultural shift that values employees in a new way.

While HAFB is trying to tackle mental-health issues on the installation, the impact these and other services will have remains to be seen. New programs and positions such as Wingman Advocate and the occupational medicine psychologist are charting untested waters.

Buhl said he believes good, working relationships with employees have a lot to do with good mental health, and allowing employees to have a voice is a key component to his own leadership style.

But even the best leaders can't always prevent someone from committing suicide.

"You always wonder, 'Could I do more?' " he said. "That's a natural human reaction to it. But at the end of the day, it's a personal decision."

e-mail: gbarker@desnews.com