Eve Sampson
Soldiers in the Army will receive a check-in from their leadership each day during the holiday season to combat suicide and self-harm, Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll announced in a memo that was disseminated across the force Tuesday.
Now through Jan. 15, 2026, an officer or noncommissioned officer “will check in on every soldier daily to see if they need help,” Driscoll said in the memo, with a plea for those struggling to “pick up your phone” and accept help during a season he said could leave people especially at risk.
In the memo, which has since been posted — and widely shared — on social media, Driscoll, who served in the Army, recounted his own struggles during Ranger School.
“Ranger School’s Winter Mountain Phase nearly broke me. I slipped and fell, couldn’t get up, and the cold crushed me. I was done in that moment. But my Ranger buddies picked me up and helped me start moving again,” he said, adding “that was the inflection point for me: I realized no one can go through life alone, we all break eventually, and we need each other.”
Driscoll called on the force to prioritize supporting each other during the holiday season and noted grim statistics.
“Last year, we lost 260 soldiers to suicide,” he said, adding that “signing those letters of condolence — and knowing we could have helped — is heart-breaking. I wish we never had to write another one.”
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