Sadly, the method chosen for a suicide attempt is hugely important. Lethality of a firearms attempt is over 80%. Drowning and suffocation, C0 and jumping are all lethal at a far lower percentage, drugs and cutting barely above 1%. Fewer than half of people who survive an attempt ever try again, and only 1 out of 25 total attempts is fatal. By a huge margin the choice of method determines the outcome.

Youth suicide is particularly tough, given that it can happen in good, loving families with little or no warning. Kids just get physically competent long before their emotional/rational skills catch up and they often are poor and reluctant communicators.

I notice in news footage that modern U.S. infantry exercise strict muzzle control, I can't watch much of movie and TV depictions without screaming at the screen. I wonder about the differences between Dad's experience in Italy and yours. I never wanted to pump him for details, he spent about two months of daily combat broken by a couple of weeks R&R and retraining.

In his campaign the Germans held every piece of high ground, ridgelines and mountains and fortified lines. His outfit broke through several lines and he led several "fire and advance" assaults on dug in machine gun positions. He told me angrily one time that "young, and invulnerable young men very much fear death. They dive for cover and freeze when the machine guns open up...they have to be led". On his last such mission a soldier popped up above him on the slope and blasted him with a machine pistol, six holes though his rolled up fatigue jacket and one through the right breast. He had screaming nightmares into his 90s. I'm very grateful that I never had to face such ugly choices.

Anyway, I have some idea how tough that job is and I respect any person who has had to undertake it. Best of fortunes.