On November 22, 2010, Andrew O'Brien attempted suicide while still in the Army, just over a year after being back from Iraq. On that day, he just decided he was done. He had tried to get help from an on-base psychologist, but he he felt as if he had no one to talk to, and he didn’t want to seem weak to his battle buddies.

He went home and took four full bottles of different types of pills, drank a few beers and punched holes in the walls across his house. All of a sudden, he felt the pills kicking in and felt himself dying. He quickly realized he had made a mistake and called 911.

O'Brien woke up the next day in the hospital with no recollection of how he arrived there. His staff sergeant at the time was there and watched as he was strapped down to a bed to get coal into his body.

It was unclear whether O'Brien was going to live through the night because doctors were unsure of the damage done to his kidneys. That day changed his life forever. It is when he decided he wasn’t going to be another number on the veteran suicide chart. He was going to help lower it.

O'Brien has written a guide to help families understand what a soldier thinks and to help prevent more soldier suicides. He speaks on his experience in hopes of educating others of the struggles some military men may go through.

He went on to found The Vetpreneur Tribe, an online community of Veteran Entrepreneurs dedicated to take their business to the next level. They accomplish this by taking the high standards they learned in the military and build upon them in the civilian sector.

Suicide Prevention, Military, Army, Mental Health, Veteran Affairs, Veterans Veterinarians, Entrepreneurship, Business, Business Leadership, Management, Overcoming Adversity, Inspirational,