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So on May 6 of 2019, the sun was shining, the sky was blue, clouds were that puffy white.
2019年的5月6日，阳光灿烂，天空蔚蓝，云蓬松而洁白。
It was a perfect spring day. I was walking back to my office, and my phone rang.
这是春天里一个完美的日子。我正在往办公室走，突然手机响了。
And it was one of my lieutenants. I said, "Hey, John. How are you?"
是我的一个中尉打来的。我说：“你好，约翰。最近还好吗？”
He said, "Sir, I'm good. But I've got some bad news."
他说：“长官，我很好。但是我有一个坏消息。”
He said our executive officer died that weekend.
他说我们的执行长官在那个周末去世了。
We went back and forth, "What do you mean, what are you talking about?" I asked him what happened.
我们继续交谈着，“这是什么意思？你在说什么？”我问他发生了什么。
He said, "Sir, he killed himself."
他说：“长官，他自杀了。”
I walked around my office for a couple of hours in a complete fog, trying to understand what had happened, why.
我茫然地在办公室里徘徊了几个小时，尝试去理解究竟发生了什么，以及背后的原因。
I had just communicated with him a few months earlier. And I had no idea that this officer was in trouble.
我在几个月前刚和他交流过。我完全没有想到这位军官正陷入麻烦之中。
And I fault myself as a leader for not having known that.
也并不知道这件事是我作为一个领导的失职。
I went on this process of trying to figure out why, what's happening in the veteran community, why are these things going on.
于是，我开始尝试弄清楚退伍士兵群体中正在发生什么，事情为什么会这样。
I read reports from the Department of Veteran Affairs, Department of Defense,
我阅读了来自退伍军人事务部和国防部的报告，
I've read national studies on mental health and the issues associated with it.
我读了关于心理健康和相关问题的国家研究。
I'm going to share with you some of the things I found out.
我将和你们分享一些我的发现。
Department of Veteran Affairs has taken the lead on veteran suicide, and it's actually their number one priority.
退伍军人事务部负责带头调查退伍军人自杀事件，这其实也是他们工作的重中之重。
Based on the reports they have and the numbers that I've calculated,
根据他们的报告和我的计算，
between 2001 and 2019, during the time of the Global War on Terror, my approximation is there's 115,000 veterans who have died by their own hands.
在2001年到2019年全球反恐战争期间，据我估计，大约有11万5千名退役老兵死于自杀。
I also looked at the Department of Defense report that lists casualties.
我同时也阅读了记录伤亡者的国防部报告。
This particular report lists the casualties from October of 2001 specifically to November 18 of last year.
这个报告列出了从2001年10月到去年11月18号的所有伤亡军人的信息。
During that time frame and the Global War on Terror, there have been 5,440 active duty members killed in action.
在那段时期的全球反恐战争中，有5440名现役军人在行动中阵亡。
So by my numbers, 115,000 approximate suicides, 5,440 killed in action.
所以根据我的统计，有大约11万5千人自杀，5440人在行动中阵亡。
What does that mean to me? We have approximately 21 veterans ending their lives by their own hand for every one that is killed by an enemy combatant.
这对于我来说意味着什么？每当一位军人在敌人手中牺牲，就有21位退伍军人结束了自己的生命。
It's a staggering, staggering number.
这是个非常惊人的数字。
These national studies that deal with mental health tell us that
这些关于心理健康的国防报告告诉我们，
if you have any type of genetic mental health issue within your family that can be passed on,
如果你的家族存在有可能导致精神健康问题的遗传基因，
or if something has happened to you in your childhood that was traumatic,
或者你在童年经历过创伤，
your ability to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, significantly decreases.
你处理创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）的能力会明显下降。
They also tell us that if you want to have a full evaluation, determine if somebody has PTSD,
他们也告诉我们，如果你想要一个全面的评估，判断某人是否患有PTSD，
you need to have a minimum of one hour interview with a mental health expert that's trained to detect what PTSD is to determine if you suffer from it.
你需要和一位心理健康专家进行至少一个小时的面谈，他们受过相关的训练，可以判断你是否患有PTSD。
Now let me talk about what happens when you enter into the military.
现在我来讲讲，当你进入军队后会发生什么。
When you join the armed forces, you're going to go through a medical exam,
当你入伍之后，你需要通过一个健康检查，
you're going to take a physical fitness test, you're going to take a drug test,
你需要参加一个体能测试，你需要参加一个药物检测，
you're going to take a vocational test so they can figure out what you're good at and hopefully place you in that type of job category.
你需要参加一个特长考试，这样他们才能弄清你善于干什么，然后有可能将你放在合适你的工作岗位上。
But would you believe that with approximately 115,000 suicides over the last 20 years,
但是你能相信吗，得知过去二十年间有超过11万5千起自杀，
and the data that we know from the national studies on how to determine if somebody is going to be able to cope with post-traumatic stress disorder,
以及根据国防报告的数据，我们也知道了如何判断某人是否有能力克服PTSD，
we still don't have a standardized mental health evaluation for our recruits entering into the service.
我们却依旧没有一个用于服务新兵的心理健康评判标准。
That's something I think that needs to change.
这是我觉得需要改变的地方。
Number two, when you leave the service
第二点，当你退伍的时候，
When I left the service in 2003, I had to attend some mandatory classes, about two days' worth of classes, and then I was on my way.
我在2003年退伍的时候，需要参加一些为期两天的强制性的课程，然后我才可以正式退伍。
Today, it's a little different. Today you'll actually get a call
现在，这一流程有了一些变化。现在，你会接到一个电话，
if you're on what we call terminal leave or paid time off that you're trying to use up before you actually are fully discharged.
如果你在享受退伍前的终端休假，或者剩余的带薪休假。
I talked to one veteran who got a call.
我曾和一个接到过这个电话的退伍士兵聊过。
He was on his way home from work, and the only thing he could think of was, "How quick can I get off this?"
他当时正在下班回家的路上，他唯一可以想到的东西就是，“我如何才能尽快摆脱这件事？”
And I think the call lasted maybe 10 or 15 minutes.
我记得这个电话持续了大概10到15分钟。
But yet the national studies tell us it needs to be an in-person, one-hour interview.
但是国防报告告诉我们，这应该是一个一对一，持续一个小时的面谈。
I think that's something that we can improve upon.
我认为这也是我们可以改进的地方。
There's another thing that the Department of Veteran Affairs talked about in the reports.
退伍军人事务部还在报告中提到了一件事。
They said that our service members that are self-medicating tend to be at a significantly higher risk of suicide.
他们说选择自我治疗的军人们有更显著的自杀风险。
So those veterans that are self-medicating with alcohol, or drug abuse
也就是那些选择用酒精或者滥用药物来进行自我治疗的，
and in fact, the Department of Veteran Affairs has classified opioid use disorder, OUD, as one of the epidemics.
事实上，退伍军人事务部已经将阿片类药物使用障碍（OUD）定义为一类流行疾病。
So as I talked to marines from my unit and tried to learn more about it, I started to find out some really, really alarming things.
所以当我与我所在的海军陆战队的士兵聊天想要获取更多信息时，我发现了很多绝对需要引起重视的事情。
I had a marine who came back from Iraq and he went to the hospital for a "back pain" and he was prescribed some opioids.
我有一个从伊拉克回来的士兵，他曾经去医院治疗背痛，然后他使用了一些阿片类药物。
He also suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
他也同样患有PTSD。
He became addicted to these painkillers, because not only did it mask the pain in his back,
他变得对这些止痛药上瘾，不仅仅因为它们可以消除他背部的疼痛，
but it helped him to cope with some of the horrific things that he had to see, experience and do over in the Middle East. And he eventually overdosed.
也因为它们可以帮助他应对一些他在中东看到、体验到和做过的非常糟糕的事情。结果导致了他用药过量。
Another challenge we have is that when you're on active duty, you are under the Department of Defense.
我们要面对的另一个挑战是，当你还是现役军人的时候，你隶属于国防部。
And so all of your doctors, all your health care is in that category.
所以你能接触到的所有医生和医疗设施，都属于那个种类。
When you leave the service, you are now part of the Department of Veteran Affairs.
在你退伍之后，你隶属于退伍军人事务部。
So these active duty members that seek help for their mental health issues and are diagnosed with PTSD or other mental health issues,
所以这些需要心理健康疏导，并被诊断患有PTSD或其他心理健康疾病的现役军人，
when they leave the service, there's no transition to a doctor that's in the Department of Veteran Affairs or perhaps out in the civilian world because of privacy acts.
当他们退伍的时候，因为需要遵守隐私法，所以他们无法平稳过渡，以顺利接受退伍军人事务部或者外界的医疗服务。
Now there's some good news in this. Just recently, it was legislated that a database will be built
现在我们有了一些好消息。就在最近，有新的立法提出将建立一个数据库，
that will house both Department of Defense health records and Department of Veteran Affairs health records.
来容纳国防部和退伍军人事务部的健康档案。
But I want to take that thought a step further. My company was 204 marines and sailors strong.
但是我希望能更进一步。我的公司由204名海军陆战队队员和水手组成。
As I looked at and I talked to my marines from my unit, what we came up with is we are well in excess of a dozen of our members that committed suicide.
当我们在一起聊天时，我们意识到，也曾有十几位我们的同伴选择了结束自己的生命。
When I talk to senior leadership in the battalion, and battalion is about six to seven hundred marines,
当我和这个营的领导聊到这个话题，一个营大约有600到700名海军成员，
they estimate that we're in the hundreds who have committed suicide.
他们估计，我们有数百个成员死于自杀。
So let's take this database that we're building, and let's go a little bit further with it.
那么，我们不妨赋予这套即将建立起来的数据库更多功能，让它能关注更多的东西。
What if when a veteran passes away, whether it's natural causes, overdose or suicide,
如果我们有一位退伍军人去世了，不管是因为自然原因，用药过量或者自杀，
we're able to feed that into the Veteran Affairs who is then able to access Department of Defense records,
我们都可以将这一事实反馈到退伍军人事务部，再由他们通过查询国防部的数据，
identify what type of units they were in, what contingencies and operations did they participate in,
分辨出这个老兵来自于哪个部门，他们参与过什么紧急行动和任务。
and let's build the data points to try to figure out are there units that are more susceptible to develop post-traumatic stress disorder
我们也可以建立数据点，想办法弄清楚有没有更容易发展出PTSD的部门，
so that we can get them the mental health prior to going on deployment, prior to being in theater.
这样我们就能让他们在被部署之前，在进入战区之前得到心理健康方面的帮助。
If they're in theater, get them the mental health while they're in theater,
如果他们身处战区，可以就地给他们提供医疗服务，
and get them mental health counseling and help before they even come home out of theater.
在他们离开战区回家之前，给予他们应得的心理疏导和帮助。
And by the way, if we can build those sets of data points to be able to do that,
另外，如果我们能够成功设立这些数据点，
we don't just apply them to the military, we can also use that for the general population.
我们不会只把他们运用在军事领域，也可以用在广大公众身上。
If we put our minds together and our resources together, and we openly talk about this,
如果我们团结一心，调动所有可用的资源，开诚布公的谈论这件事，
and try to find solutions for this epidemic that's going on in America, hopefully we can save a life.
并且尝试为当前在美国肆虐的这一流行病找到解决方案，我们也许就可以拯救一条生命。
Those are my thoughts, my ideas, I hope that this talk is not the end of this discussion but rather the beginning of it.
这些是我个人的一些想法，我希望这个演讲并不是相关讨论的尾声，而是这个话题的起点。
And I want to thank you for your time today.
非常感谢大家的聆听。
