A day after nearly ending his life, Staff Sgt. Jonathan Baker heeded the pleas of his Army commanders in Alaska. He asked for help. What happened next is a story heard time and again among soldiers stationed here in the frigid interior of Alaska. Beset by a variety of problems – including crushing homesickness, failing relationships, financial problems, substance abuse and suffocating isolation – soldiers like Baker seek professional counseling. Get in line, they're told. Suicide in the military is on the rise, climbing from 20.3 per 100,000 troops in 2015 to 28.7 per 100,000 in 2020. In 2021, 17 soldiers in Alaska died by suicide, more deaths than the two previous years combined and far above its average of six per year from 2016 to 2020. Military officials gave USA TODAY open access to Fort Wainwright for a week in mid-February to speak with many of the 4,300 soldiers in the brigade – of all ranks, in small groups and individually – about the epidemic of suicide. What emerged was a picture of the harsh work and living conditions for soldiers posted here, consistent complaints about the lack of timely access to mental health counselors, and what the Army has done well and not so well to care for them. To read more, tap the link in our bio. 📸: Jessica Koscielniak, Michelle Hanks for @USATODAY