September is National Suicide Prevention Month and Naval Station Rota plans to use this time to encourage Sailors to talk about the topic and take a more proactive approach to prevent suicide with the Navy's new "One Small ACT" message.

According to the Navy Suicide Prevention Branch, "One Small ACT" encourages simple yet meaningful interactions between peers, leaders and family members to promote cohesion, intervene and save a life, based on the Navy's Ask Care Treat (ACT) model. This message is part of the broader "Every Sailor, Every Day" campaign.

"The goal of the annual suicide prevention observances is not to prevent suicide on a singular day, week or month," said Capt. Michael Fisher, director, Navy Suicide Prevention Branch. "Rather, efforts aim to encourage the widest participation in educational activities, focusing on the prevalence of suicide as a call-to-action to change the way the public discusses, perceives and reacts to psychological health concerns and seeking help. For too long, psychological health has been a topic that we rarely discuss openly, until we experience the tragic loss of a shipmate or family member to suicide. Starting now, I am asking you to break down the barriers to speaking up and seeking help."

Sailors aboard Naval Station Rota who may be contemplating suicide, can seek help through chaplains, medical personnel and suicide prevention coordinators. Those people know that talking about feelings and asking the question, "Are you going to kill yourself?" can be tough, but is essential to help save the lives of their shipmates.

"A lot of people might be scared to ask the tough questions because they're afraid it will trigger something in the individual to actually go through with hurting themselves," said Chief Hospital Corpsman Javier Cortes, suicide prevention and awareness coordinator for Naval Hospital Rota. "That is a huge misconception. Asking them, 'Are you going to kill yourself?' will actually make them reconsider doing any bodily harm."

Suicide is defined as "death caused by self-directed injurious behavior with any intent to die as a result of the behavior," and according to Navy Suicide Prevention Branch's website, for every one suicide, there are at least 30 suicide attempts. Last year, 68 active duty and reserve Sailors took their own lives. So far this year, 31 active-duty and reserve Sailors have committed suicide.

Lt. Reginald Jones, one of Rota's chaplains, said he believes that talking about suicide and getting the topic out in the open is one of the best measures to prevent further suicides from happening in the future.

"The best thing Sailors can do to possibly prevent a suicide from actually being carried out, is being a good friend; a good shipmate," he added. "Be a person that your friends can come and talk to about anything. If a problem does arise in their life, they know they can come talk to you about anything, and that might prevent something tragic happening in the future."

Jones said he is a firm believer that anyone can be a suicide prevention specialist. It doesn't take a superhero to save a life or lend a helping hand.

"It takes a lot for someone to open up and talk about their feelings," Jones explained. "Everyone has them, but they're hard to talk about. You don't have to talk to a chaplain or a medical representative, but it's imperative that you talk to somebody to mitigate suicidal thoughts from turning into something more."

Rota has many events planned to bring suicide awareness and prevention to the forefront and hopefully make it an easier topic to discuss. These include a 5K run, hanging posters and providing training,

"We are trying to bring prevention and awareness to the forefront," said Chief Hospital Corpsman Michael Stanley, assistant suicide prevention and awareness coordinator for Naval Hospital Rota. "We want to intervene before someone goes too far down that road. If you see some changes in a person's behavior, it's OK to ask them the tough questions. You could be saving someone's life."

If a Sailor is having suicidal thoughts or showcasing suicidal behaviors, there are many avenues for assistance.

Sailors can call the Military Crisis Line at 1-800-273-TALK, which connects active-duty service members and veterans in crisis with qualified and caring Department of Veterans Affairs responders through a confidential, toll-free hotline.

There are also command chaplains, medical personnel and other shipmates. Cortes added that if a Sailor aboard Naval Station Rota dials 118 on a Defense Switched Network phone, it will immediately connect them to a crisis hotline in the U.S.

Before Naval Station Rota can provide the necessary support to base personnel and the forward-deployed naval force destroyers, the installation must ensure the Sailors are operational, both mentally and physically. Talking about suicide will not end a Sailor's career, but keeping it bottled up could end a life.

The 2015 Navy Suicide Prevention Month resources are available on the Navy's Suicide Prevention website, http://www.suicide.navy.mil .

For more news from Naval Station Rota, Spain, visit www.navy.mil/ .