It is a sad fact that the military is losing servicemembers to suicide at a rate that continues to climb.

One former Army officer is poised to explore the problem, identify causes and, hopefully, work toward a solution ... through a film he is crowdfunding through Kickstarter.

John Shaff, who described himself as a take-action sort of person that was driven to serve, spent four years on active duty as a military intelligence officer and then subsequently a public affairs officer. He ended his time of service at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in January 2014.

Since then, he has focused his time and energy, not to mention contributed all of his own finances, to creating a film that could elevate this issue in the public eye.

"Film can bring together the sights, the sounds and the people suffering from the problem and it can reach the public," he said.

The largest study ever conducted on suicide in the military, the Millennial Cohort Study, released findings in March 2014 that showed no direct correlation between military suicide and deployments or combat; furthermore, only six percent of suicides were tied to severe mental illness like manic depression.

Building on that research, the thesis of Shaff's film, entitled No Way Out, is that sustained abuse from toxic leaders is correlated to suicide; therefore, training leaders how to influence their subordinates without abusing them will decrease suicides among active duty and veterans as well as decrease overall behavioral health issues and thereby increase operational effectiveness.

"It's important for backers to understand that the film will have more questions than it does answers," he said. "In any academic pursuit you have to begin with a hypothesis and based on the results and findings out there, things point to toxic leadership as that hypothesis, but we want to explore the cause and effect of that. I do not want to conclude things for my audience."

He cited a metaphor shared with him by a military therapist, that of the "soldier's cup'" (though it is applicable to all servicemembers). The cup is filled with stressful experiences throughout their career, to include combat, and according to Shaff's research and theory, many suicides are the result of a cup being filled with something other than combat.

Yet Shaff is clear that the link between toxic leadership and suicide is really just beginning to be studied. Not all toxic leaders create suicides and conversely not all suicides are a result of toxic leadership. However, through the research, expert testimony and eyewitness' interviews, Shaff wants to show where the two intersect, and where they do not.

As he includes on the project's page: Senior military leaders may take an adversarial position to our efforts. We will do all that we can to work with the military to tell the story of the problem and the solution.

"I was an Army leader, so it is symbolic that I am talking to my peers that about this problem and the changes that need to take place," he explained. "We will do everything we can to interview key figures but we cannot force anyone to appear on camera."

The fund drive will conclude May 28, at which point Shaff will have had to raise $100,000 in order for the project to move forward. Presently, he has raised less than $2,000, but Shaff is hopeful that individuals and organizations will back his innovative approach.

"Even if the campaign is not funded I am already happy with my investment. I brought attention to it and have reached lawmakers," Shaff admitted. "Yet if the film is made and doesn't become a conversation starter and a way to generate concern, I will consider it a failure."

For more information or to back the project, go to www.kickstarter.com/projects/johnshaff/no-way-out.