Decided to throw a quick thing together for Peace Officers Memorial Day. I was a bit hesitant to come up with this in the current political climate, but having being part of this community as a seasonal NPS LEO, I decided I'll go ahead and make something for all protecting our public lands. The news always posts about the officer that was shot and killed or those that broke the law themselves, but rarely do they post about the ones that do right and put their all in to helping the communities they serve. The issue of officer suicide is also rarely brought up and aren't really considered as line of duty deaths. Its only recently that some agencies have started to discuss and acknowledge that the job can be stressful in bad ways, and that it is okay to seek help when needed with no judgement. In the end, we are human.

Here we have a representative of the 4 big federal public lands agencies paying their respects at the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial in Washington, D.C. The main reason behind this is to not glorify all police, but my way of remembering all those that that have stepped up and literally gave their all to help serve their community. It is also for remembering those that have given everything to serve and protect, but in the process were not helped themselves. I have lost friends and acquaintances to suicide. I have coworkers that have had their coworkers suddenly go.

I'm glad that I worked in a setting that promoted us to take mental breaks, checked in on us after being exposed to a traumatic incident or our first fatality, and made us aware that everyone here wants to help you when things feel like they're getting dark.

I'm here if you need someone to talk to. Its been a tough few years for many people. Especially first responders.

To all currently serving: Keep up the good work, remember why you chose to take this job, help yourself, coworkers, and those in need, and stay safe!