Lead Your Unit Through the Unthinkable: DoD-Aligned Suicide Postvention

A service member's suicide creates immediate leadership burdens no training fully prepares you for—from notifying next-of-kin to preventing contagion risk while maintaining operational readiness. This Defense Suicide Prevention Office (DSPO)-aligned guide provides the protocols, messaging guidance, and care coordination frameworks you need to support your people, protect your mission, and fulfill your duty as a leader during one of the most difficult situations you'll face.

• Execute immediate leader actions in the critical 24-72 hours—notification protocols, unit stand-downs, and preventing suicide clusters
• Deliver safe, evidence-based messaging that honors the fallen while avoiding contagion language that increases risk
• Coordinate comprehensive support for next-of-kin, unit members, and high-risk individuals through proven DoD care pathways
• Maintain your own resilience while carrying the weight of command during extended postvention operations

Critical guidance when you need it most—accessible offline during crisis response. The digital edition enables command teams to access protocols immediately after an incident, share consistent guidance across distributed units, and ensure every leader—from team leaders to senior commanders—follows the same evidence-based approach. Includes quick-reference decision trees for determining unit stand-down duration, identifying high-risk personnel requiring immediate intervention, and navigating the 72-hour critical window when contagion risk peaks. Searchable by scenario (e.g., "deployed environment," "training accident vs. suicide determination," "media inquiry response").