For starters, this battle buddy and I were in the same platoon during basic, and are currently in the same “class” for AIT.
Throughout basic he acted very strange but in a funny way. Like he would purposely do things to get our platoon smoked or randomly say things out loud which many people found annoying. However, I grew to appreciate his character at the time because it lightened the mood.
Now that we are in AIT he hasn’t changed much. Until the other day he hinted at “blowing his brains out” after someone jokingly made a comment about his appearance. Now I know the military is known for having dark humor but I have had personal experiences of people close to me exhibiting signs of a spiral so that really alarmed me.
We were also talking during chow and he opened up to me about his past and struggles with substance abuse, and how he plans to go back to drinking when we are given the privilege of signing out on the weekends. Idk I’m just concerned and I’m not sure if I’m just overthinking due to my own experiences and losing my sister to mental health issues and perhaps he isn’t spiraling. But I don’t want to overlook the clear signs that he is showing and as a result something bad happens. Advice would be appreciated 🫠