I was assessing a patient who was a former Army combat medic.  He was retired from the army and trying to live a normal civilian life.  He was plagued with symptoms of PTSD and was suicidal when he came to our Behavioral Health Department.  During the assessment, I asked about his suicidal ideation, depression, and anxiety.  He initially denied all, but his demeanor changed.  He asked me if I had ever served in the military to which I responded, no.  I thanked him for his service.  He began to retreat into his shell where he knew it was figuratively safe.  He looked very sad and said I would not understand.  He also shared that he didn't want to talk to his wife because, in his words, she didn't understand either, so he retreated even further.  I told him we have a nurse who served in the military and that his military occupational skill placed him on the front lines.  This piqued the patient's interest.  I asked Steve Moughon, RN if he had a moment to speak with a fellow veteran.  Steve stopped charting and immediately came over and greeted the patient.  Steve's compassionate demeanor placed the veteran at ease, and he began opening up to Steve.  The patient spoke about the horrors of combat, and how devastating it was still being alive when others were not.  He elaborated by explaining that he served as a combat medic who was expected to fix mangled bodies and save lives with only a first aid kit.  He confided that he had to hear dozens of battle buddies beg him not to let them die as they were in fact actively dying in his arms.  Steve took the veteran to a consult room on the unit to speak with him one on one.  He listened with compassion, he offered knowledge and wisdom from their shared military experiences.  The two men talked for 20 minutes about experiences the general population will never understand.  Interestingly, the veteran worked as an EMT briefly following his discharge from the army; again, Steve was able to speak with him about those shared experiences as he too was a medic prior to becoming a nurse.  Steve listened and offered support which helped the patient express things that he never wanted to say out loud.  By the end of the conversation, the patient smiled for the first time since admission.  He asked to call his spouse whom he had previously not wanted to talk to about his experiences.  This is just one example of Steve's compassionate care and how he meets our behavioral health patients' needs every day.