Written by William Miller

Veterans Day honors those who have served, but the true measure of respect comes afterward, when the ceremonies end and life begins again. Veterans spend years serving something larger than themselves. They build discipline, teamwork, adaptability, and courage. When that mission ends, they often face a deeper challenge than any battlefield: rediscovering meaning. Research shows that this loss of purpose and identity after service is one of the strongest predictors of suicide risk among veterans (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2023). Yet the same studies also show that the qualities forged in service can become the very tools that protect life when they are activated in the right ways.

Strength is not a trait given or lost. It is a skill that can be practiced. Veterans already possess the habits that evidence-based programs use to reduce suicide: trust, planning, resilience, and self-regulation. When these strengths are supported by community, peers, and structured training, they become protective forces.

Strength through connection

Bowersox et al. (2021) reviewed eighty-four peer-based suicide prevention programs and found that shared identity and belonging are key to lowering risk. Peers worked in four ways: acting as gatekeepers within social networks, providing crisis support, helping with recovery in hospital settings, and maintaining contact to prevent relapse. Each role increased hope and help-seeking while reducing isolation. The authors concluded that peers succeed because they rebuild community in spaces where veterans already feel understood. Trust becomes the first intervention.

Beehler et al. (2021) reached the same conclusion in their development of a community-based veteran peer model. Veterans in this study reported renewed meaning and well-being when programs focused on building trust, linking them to practical resources, and empowering them to take leadership roles. The strongest outcomes were achieved when veterans were treated not as patients but as partners capable of leading others. The result was a cycle of belonging, service, and purpose, the same cycle that military life once provided.

Digital communities can also carry this strength. Perepezko et al. (2024) evaluated a suicide prevention initiative embedded in a gaming community with a large veteran population. Peer supporters responded to distress signals in real time and helped users connect with resources. Veterans who engaged with this program described it as a family, reporting higher emotional safety and lower distress. The most dramatic gains came among those who were disconnected from formal mental health care, showing that belonging can reach where institutions cannot.

Inside the Department of Veterans Affairs, peer support has become a cornerstone of recovery-oriented care. Chalker et al. (2024) designed the SUPPORT program, a peer-led suicide prevention model for veterans with serious mental illness. The program trained peer specialists to teach crisis planning, coping strategies, and goal-setting through the lens of recovery and shared experience. Veterans not only learned suicide prevention skills but also built confidence in managing their lives. In 2025, a pilot randomized controlled trial was launched to evaluate outcomes (Chalker et al., 2025). Both phases emphasized empowerment and hope as measurable outcomes, not simply symptom reduction.

Pfeiffer et al. (2025) conducted a large randomized clinical trial of peer mentorship after psychiatric hospitalization. While overall rates of suicide attempts did not differ significantly between the intervention and control groups at six months, participants who consistently engaged with mentors reported greater hope, purpose, and perceived social support. During the pandemic, when isolation rose sharply, these veterans showed smaller increases in suicidal thoughts than those who lacked peer contact. The authors concluded that engagement itself—showing up, staying in touch, being seen—is a powerful mechanism of protection.

Strength through skill

Just as connection draws from camaraderie, the discipline learned in military service can be turned into practical skill for preventing suicide. Bryan et al. (2025) demonstrated this in the Military Suicide Prevention Intervention Research (MSPIRE) trial, which tested Brief Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (BCBT) with 108 veterans and active-duty service members who had recently faced suicidal thoughts or behaviors. Those receiving BCBT were seventy-five percent less likely to attempt suicide during the next two years, with a number needed to treat of only five. The intervention focused on emotion regulation, crisis response planning, and flexible thinking, the same self-control and strategic planning that service members practice under pressure. It worked because it taught veterans to use strengths they already possessed: preparation, adaptability, and mission focus. BCBT also proved that effective prevention does not require high-level specialists. Psychology interns and unlicensed counselors delivered the therapy successfully, showing that skill-based approaches can be scaled into communities.

These findings are supported by cognitive research. Moscardini et al. (2024) validated the Suicide Cognitions Scale–Revised with over ten thousand adults and found that specific beliefs, hopelessness, perceived burdensomeness, and unlovability, strongly predicted suicidal ideation and behavior even after accounting for depression. Rudd (2006) described these beliefs as part of a “suicidal mode,” a rigid mental state where a person’s worldview narrows and purpose disappears. Interventions like BCBT and peer coaching work by restoring flexibility, meaning, and belonging, effectively reopening the cognitive space that despair had closed.

Strength through restraint and responsibility

Verona et al. (2025) added a biological layer to this understanding. Their review of firearm suicide research showed that emotional arousal and impaired cognitive control can trigger lethal impulsivity. Veterans are more likely than civilians to own firearms, which makes prevention through secure storage and crisis planning essential. Even small actions, such as temporarily locking or transferring a weapon during periods of stress, can interrupt that split-second loss of control. This finding supports the emphasis on means safety in all effective interventions, from cognitive therapy to community coaching.

Stanley and Brown (2012) operationalized these ideas in the Safety Planning Intervention. Their research found that when individuals created a written plan listing personal warning signs, coping steps, and contact points for help, the likelihood of repeat suicide attempts decreased significantly. Plans built collaboratively with trusted supporters were the most effective. The study proved that structure and relationship together form the strongest protection—planning with purpose rather than reacting to pain.

Strength in practice

Programs like Veterans Talking to Veterans (VTTV) translate this entire body of research into real-world action. Founded by Dr. Julie Elledge and Mentor Agility in partnership with the Wyoming Veterans Commission, VTTV trains veterans as trauma-informed life coaches who lead small groups in their communities. Coaches help participants use narrative, reflection, and goal-setting to rebuild identity and meaning. Meetings combine the science of structured planning with the art of storytelling. Veterans talk about their experiences, make new plans for work or service, and connect with resources like housing, education, and legal aid. VTTV coaches do not diagnose or treat mental illness. They help veterans rediscover the same purpose and leadership that once defined their service. The program represents a blueprint for strength-based prevention: peer trust, skill-building, faith in personal growth, and practical linkage to support.

The responsibility beyond Veterans Day

The research is clear. Veterans thrive when they can serve, lead, and belong. Suicide prevention succeeds when it taps into those instincts instead of replacing them. Civilians can help by hiring veterans, offering mentorship, funding peer initiatives, and participating in housing, employment, and education programs that restore control and dignity. Families can reinforce hope by staying connected and helping veterans create personal safety plans. Faith communities can provide grounding and purpose. Each act of support reinforces the message that strength never leftit only needs a new mission.

The most powerful salute is not given during a parade. It is given through action. Reach out to a veteran who may feel alone. Help them find work that gives them purpose or connect them with a pro bono lawyer, financial advisor, or mentor who can ease the stressors that increase suicide risk. Invite them to share their story, listen without judgment, and remind them that their strength, discipline, and faith still matter. Each act of connection and support helps restore meaning and belonging, which are the most powerful protections against suicide.

References

Beehler, S., LoFaro, C., Kreisel, C., Dorsey Holliman, B., & Mohatt, N. V. (2021). Veteran peer suicide prevention: A community-based peer prevention model. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 51(2), 358–367. https://doi.org/10.1111/sltb.12712

Bowersox, N. W., Jagusch, J., Garlick, J., Chen, J. I., & Pfeiffer, P. N. (2021). Peer-based interventions targeting suicide prevention: A scoping review. American Journal of Community Psychology, 68(1–2), 232–248. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12510

Bryan, C. J., Khazem, L. R., Baker, J. C., & Brown, L. A. (2025). Brief cognitive behavioral therapy for suicidal military personnel and veterans (MSPIRE Trial). JAMA Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2025.2850

Chalker, S. A., Serafez, J., Imai, Y., Stinchcomb, J., Mendez, E., Depp, C. A., Twamley, E. W., Fortuna, K. L., Goodman, M., & Chinman, M. (2024). Suicide Prevention by Peers Offering Recovery Tactics (SUPPORT) for U.S. veterans with serious mental illness: Community engagement approach. Journal of Participatory Medicine, 16, e56204. https://doi.org/10.2196/56204

Chalker, S. A., Carter, J., Imai, Y., Depp, C., & Chinman, M. (2025). A recovery-oriented suicide prevention program led by peer specialists for veterans with serious mental illness: Protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial. JMIR Research Protocols, 14, e66182. https://doi.org/10.2196/66182

Moscardini, E. H., Pardue-Bourgeois, S., & Tucker, R. P. (2024). Suicide Cognitions Scale–Revised (SCS-R): Psychometric validation in a national sample. Journal of Personality Assessment, 30(2), 145–163. https://doi.org/10.1177/10731911211050894

Perepezko, K., Bergendahl, M., Kunz, C., Labrique, A., Carras, M., & Colder Carras, M. (2024). “Instead, you are going to a friend”: Evaluation of a community-developed, peer-delivered online crisis prevention intervention. Psychiatric Services, 75(12), 1365–1375. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.20230233

Pfeiffer, P. N., Abraham, K. M., Lapidos, A., Vega, E., Jagusch, J., Garlick, J., Pasiak, S., Ganoczy, D., Kim, H. M., Ahmedani, B., Ilgen, M., & King, C. (2025). Peer support intervention for suicide prevention among high-risk adults: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Network Open, 8(5), e2510808. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.10808

Rudd, M. D. (2006). The suicidal mode: A cognitive-behavioral model of suicidality. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 36(2), 182–193. https://doi.org/10.1521/suli.2006.36.2.182

Stanley, B., & Brown, G. K. (2012). Safety Planning Intervention: A brief intervention to mitigate suicide risk. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 19(2), 256–264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpra.2011.01.001

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (2023). 2023 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report. https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov

Verona, E., Bozzay, M., & Bryan, C. J. (2025). Contributions of biobehavioral sciences to the study and prevention of firearm violence. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 10(2), 132–148. https://doi.org/10.1177/23727322231196498