Abstract:Stigma and high rates of suicide continue to increase in the United States military without strategic training regarding leaders' perceptions and experiences. The problem addressed in this study was the stigma and high rates of suicide in the United States Military. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to identify training strategies for military leaders to support service members at risk of suicide. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory was the guide for this theoretical framework. The sample of this study is armed forces personnel who have held the title of a military leader (E-8 and above; O-4 and above), which resulted in a purposeful sampling technique used to recruit 6 to 12 veterans, totaling 306 years of experience. Data was collected via semi-structured interviews and a focus group. The Zoom recording feature was used, and the recordings were transcribed. All data analyses were organized and categorized using manual coding and NVivo software. Moustakas' seven-step thematic analysis also identified emerging themes and patterns. Several key themes emerged from the interviews: combat-level suicide awareness training, leadership and cultural shifts, education and emotional intelligence, medical and specialized training, and concerns about senior leadership and support. The implications are recognized suicide attitudes and distorted thinking, recognize suicide behaviors, mental illness, and personal/ professional beliefs, advanced suicide awareness and mental health education, military mental health care resources, and combat-level technical development. The recommended contributions to this practice are to investigate the unclear outcome of first-term military members failing to seek mental health resources, to identify training strategies for first-term military members to support service members at risk of suicide, and to evaluate the pre- and post-impact of new virtual reality (VR) goggles on suicide awareness programs in participatory programs that are randomly selected.