The power of Be the One

The American Legion has a mission from the post to the national level to end veteran suicide and destigmatize the need to ask for mental help. That mission is Be the One.

The American Legion is calling on everyone to Be the One to save the life of a veteran. And the Department of Arizona American Legion Family is answering that call.

During its fall conference in Oro Valley, Ariz., Nov. 4, the department held a Be the One walk as well as a fireside chat with National Security Commission Chairman Matt Shuman and National Executive Director/Chief Marketing Officer Dean Kessel to learn more about Be the One and how everyone can save a life.

At 6 a.m., around 25 Arizona members of the Legion, Sons of The American Legion, Auxiliary and Legion Riders gathered outside the El Conquistador Hotel to walk in support of Be the One and show the community of Oro Valley how they too can be a part of the mission to save lives.  

“We are trying to push this out into the community because the reality is anybody, anybody can check in on a veteran,” Shuman said. “If we can better educate the community that anyone can be the one to call a veteran, call a friend, check in on them, invite them to an event, see how they’re doing, what we like to call a Buddy Check at The American Legion … that’s how all of us singlehandedly will put an end to this pandemic of veteran suicide.”

Department of Arizona Commander Steve Sperl walked alongside the Be the One flag that led the walk. He said, “Be the One is as simple as just being there, answering the phone, saying hello, inviting them in for a conversation.” And he gave an example. Recently while at work as a government civilian at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, “I noticed a young man didn’t answer me the way he normally does. I invited him into my office and asked him what was wrong.” Sperl then connected the veteran to a counselor within the squadron “and got him on the right path to talk about what’s going on with him.”

The Legion Family members walking made a stop at a coffee shop to share more camaraderie and their why to joining the Be the One walk. Jennifer Kritzer, a member of Post 29 in Phoenix, joined the walk to bring awareness to Be the One but also because the mission is personal.

“I lost my brother to suicide. So (Be the One) comes very personal to me,” she said. “So I want to be the one who makes a difference in somebody else’s life. I don’t want any family to ever have to experience what my family has gone through.”

It’s personal for Sperl too and why Be the One is at the forefront of his efforts leading as department commander. 

“I’ve deployed several times to good and bad places during my military career, and I was honored to bring everybody home from those deployments. But what I couldn’t do is take care of them when they got home. And I lost two of my close friends due to suicide. So that’s what it means to me to lead this organization from the heart.”

After the coffee and walk, Legion Family members attending the fall conference gathered for a brief presentation on Be the One from Kessel and the fireside chat. Kessel opened with a statement to the audience that “I believe in my heart that there’s no organization in this country that is better positioned to do this (end veteran suicide) because of our reach at the local level and our voice at the national level. That’s the power of this organization and the power of people in this room.”

The first question to Kessel from Shuman was why and how Be the One started.

With mental health and veteran suicide being an issue that veterans from the global war on terrorism face, “it’s incumbent of the veterans in this room to solve that problem so they’re in a better place for the next generation of Legionnaires,” Kessel said. Kessel approached Dave Berkenfield, a retired U.S. Navy SEAL who serves as team manager for Chip Ganassi Racing’s (CGR) Extreme E, because of the Legion’s partnership with CGR about the Legion’s vision to end veteran suicide. But he had a question – how do you measure success?

“Dave doesn’t mince words, ok,” Kessel said, explaining that with paper work in front of Berkenfield showing the Legion’s vision and question on measuring metrics, “he took the papers on the desk, and he dropped them. He leaned into me … he said, ‘Dean, the only f***ing number that matters is one.’”

Soon after, Be the One became a mission.  

“We want to talk about one … talk about the one we saved today,” Kessel said. “I don’t have all the answers. The answers are in this room. That’s how we solve this. It’s not coming from national on down and spread out. It’s going to come from somebody here.”

Additionally, Be the One is the project of American Legion national commanders now and moving forward, and Kessel is speaking with the Sons and Auxiliary on that same messaging. “Think about the power of the messaging, the power of our entire organization – well over 2 million people – working on this issue. We are going to make some things happen with that.”

Shuman then asked if Be the One is working. To which Kessel replied, “yeah,” and gave a powerful example.

During this year’s INDYCAR race in St. Petersburg, Fla., the Legion had its Be the One mobile activation unit for veterans and family attending the race to visit. A young man in the Navy walked up asking for help. “Here was his headspace,” Kessel said. “He was active duty, and he was getting ready to go back out for the 17th time and he said, ‘I don’t want to go. And the only way I don’t go is if I’m not here.’”

The Legion service officer onsite found out the young man was from Jacksonville and loved to ride motorcycles. The service officer not only connected the Navy veteran to mental health services within the VA, but he is also now a member of a Legion Riders chapter in Jacksonville.  

“The Riders have wrapped their arms around this young man,” Kessel said, adding that “we check on him twice a month through the VA. So a pretty powerful day.”

Chip Ganassi Racing won the race that day in St. Petersburg but not in the No. 10 Honda Be the One car that Alex Palou drove. But Kessel still called Chip Ganassi and said, “Congratulations on your race but I’ve got to tell you that we won twice today.” And Kessel shared the story of a life saved.

Ganassi, the son of a World War II veteran, “got choked up. He said, ‘Dean, I’ve never in my life had an opportunity to save somebody’s life through a sponsorship.’ He thanked me and us and is proud to be a partner with The American Legion. This man loves this organization and will do whatever it takes to help Be the One. That’s the power of what we’re doing.”

Shuman then asked how every Legion Family member can Be the One.

Kessel emphasized the need to intervene before there is a crisis, before a veteran or loved one makes the 988 call.

“What can we do? Listen. Take notice,” he said. “The biggest thing is loneliness. If somebody walks through your door at the post, make a beeline there to talk to them. Stop what you’re doing and go say hello, welcome. When you are in the service, you’re part of a tribe. When you come out of service you lose that to some extent. Talk to them because they want to be part of a tribe; they want to be part of a family. We are a Legion Family.”

Shuman added that Legion Family members should call or visit a Legion member they haven’t seen in a while to check in. “If somebody stops showing up to your post, figure out why.”

Because as Kritzer said during the Be the One walk, suicide affects the whole family.

“Suicide is not just a veteran problem. It is a family problem,” Kessel said. “It is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. That’s what it is. I know people who weren’t veterans. I’ve got a friend of mine who killed himself. He thought, ‘my family is going to be better off. I am an anchor around this family.’ But then all that does is you’re transferring the pain from that person to the family when you do that. You’re not releasing it; you’re transferring.

“I’ve heard people talk about that The American Legion can be that second home. I think that’s where our impact is.

“It is so powerful what’s happening in our organization with what we want to do with this mission. I promise you there is nobody situated in this entire country to end this than the people in this room and The American Legion.”