This is a day we on which, I guess, we should be celebrating like all get out. But last night I discovered some hard news. Such news is easier to bear when it is shared.
Jess Shipps spent eleven years in the Air Force. She spent a decade locating and bringing home the remains of soldiers who lost their lives in Vietnam, Laos, and New Guinea. For the last two years, she taught others her talent for video and photography.
Nine months ago, Jess left the service so that she could begin a transition from male to female. On Tuesday, shortly after sending a few people important to her the message
I tried.
Jess Shipps took her own life.
SPARTAn's,
It is with the heaviest of hearts that i announce to you today the loss of a great SPARTAn. Her name was Jess Shipps. Jess took her own life this morning. She served honorably in the United States Air Force. She decided to get out of the Air Force due to being Transgender at the end of her contract and began to transition. Jess was full of life and was a leader in our organization. She really was a talented and amazing person whom we got to know. She was more than a member, she was family. She was our sister. She has helped many of our members and for that we all stand together today as one in mourning her loss. If you knew Jess please feel free to leave a memory below. All of the memories collected will be passed to her family.
If ever you are feeling like you are at the end of your rope and there is no one to turn to---contact one of the following organizations:
*The Trevor Project- 1-866-488-7386
*The National Suicide Crisis line at 1-866-488-7386.
*Suicide Prevention Lifeline- 1-800-273-8255
*Veterans Crisis Line- 1-800-273-8255 Option 1
We are always here to help you. We care about all of our members and will always do whatever we can to ensure you feel that we do!
Semper Fortis,
Christopher Hooper
Director of Membership/IT Manager
SPARTA
I am horrified to say that Jess Shipps has passed away. She was a transgender military veteran of the United States Air Force. She took her own life due to the struggles very often faced by transgender women – especially veterans. I had been friends with her for two years and her story is one I shared oftentimes.
--Sgt. Shane Ortega, US Army
A copy of the message posted on Shipps's Facebook wall provided to The Advocate indicates that she had felt particularly despondent recently after extended unemployment. She described being unable to afford basic necessities or transition-related medical care, as well as being hurt by social rejection, yet also recalled better times when one of her greatest joys was to make others smile and laugh.
--Mitch Kellaway, The Advocate
She had the support of some of the members of SPARTA, but she had been trying to be so strong for everyone else that no one really understood how complicated [her situation was] and how she was suffering personally.
--Ortega
She was a go-to person for anyone that was feeling suicidal. If somebody needed someone to talk to, Jess is who we trusted. Jess leaves behind a great legacy. The countless number of lives she saved is a testimony to her strength and will.
--Hooper
Jess Shipps created and shared many Youtube videos through two channels that she operated anonymously.
By Jess Brown:
LolCat:
By lumberchick:
Ortega said Shipps had told him she loved her job in the Air Force and was "devastated" to feel like she had to leave. He also emphasized the difficulty that she faced in "becoming a second-class citizen" in a male-centric society, adding that the fact that she was a "tomboy" and not "hyper-feminine" — "she liked things like trucks, she liked the outdoors, fishing, camping, and those kinds of activities" — exacerbated some of her negative interactions in the wider world.
Everything she did, she did with integrity. She did it because it was the right thing to do. She tried to do the best she could for other people.
--Ortega
