09/30/2022
A few hundred Soldiers, civilians and Family members from Fort Knox, Kentucky, arrived at the quarter-mile track and one-mile trail before dawn recently to work toward reaching the “Walking for 7,816+” goal during this year’s Sexual Harassment and Assault Response Prevention event.
09/29/2022
One hundred and thirty-four leaders with the 369th Sustainment Brigade completed Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) training about retaliation and its effects. Participants discussed key points of SHARP, such as reprisal, the withholding of favorable actions for personnel or imposing negative measures against them; and failure to act, which includes insufficient reporting of offenses or not reporting them at all.
09/29/2022
United States Army Garrison (USAG) Daegu hosted two Resiliency Day events in September as part of Suicide Prevention Month initiatives focused on outreach within the community. USAG Daegu Commander Col. Brian P. Schoellhorn and USAG Daegu Senior Enlisted Leader Command Sgt. Maj. Jonathon J. Blue signed pledges to intervene if they notice suicidal risk behaviors in others. They also discussed the importance of individual outreach with Soldiers and civilians.
09/29/2022
Although it is near the end of September, Suicide Prevention Month, it is important to keep awareness strong about death by suicide and to be there for fellow service members, Family and friends throughout the year. The following transcription is an interview with Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) public affairs directorate and a Soldier who survived a suicide attempt and who is now supporting the CJTF-HOA mission.
09/26/2022
A panel of experts will publicly discuss the Army’s improvements to quality of life for Soldiers and Families and efforts to prevent harmful and violent behaviors, at the Association of the United States Army Annual Meeting and Expo, Oct. 10, in Washington. The panel will discuss how the Army is prioritizing People First by improving the Army’s culture and quality of life, including the Quality of Life Task Force’s work to address domestic and intimate-partner violence, suicides, sexual harassment and sexual assault.
09/23/2022
Madigan Army Medical Center’s Department of Behavioral Health hosted a National Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month event recently to raise awareness among the Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, community and honor those who have passed.
09/21/2022
During this year’s U.S. Army Command Assessment Program season, candidates at Fort Knox, Kentucky, will be some of the Army’s first Soldiers to compete for record in the new Army Combat Fitness Test. Up until recently, tests have been conducted only for familiarity and preparation.
09/21/2022
Coordinators of the Value Your Life event prompted roughly 250 21st Theater Sustainment Command (TSC) Soldiers to carry and then unload life’s “burdens” at Rhine Ordnance Barracks, Kaiserslautern, Germany. Service members worked in teams to carry sandbags, symbolic of life stressors, along a 3.6-mile course that had stations staffed by support agencies including 21st TSC’s Unit Ministry Team, Ready and Resilient program, behavioral health and military Family life counselors, the U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz Army Substance Abuse Program and Army Community Services.
09/21/2022
The Army is implementing additional changes designed to further improve the Army Sexual Harassment/Assault Response & Prevention Program. The changes outlined are codified in Secretary of the Army Directive 2022-13, Reforms to Counter Sexual Harassment/Sexual Assault in the Army, which was published Sept. 21.
09/20/2022
The Defense Department is offering two online courses that provide support and guidance for those affected by death by suicide. The first course covers communication techniques, ways to connect or stay connected to a support system, and reminders of how to maintain physical and mental health during this difficult time. The second class, for service providers, would be highly beneficial to chaplains, family-support personnel, military leaders and supervisors at all levels.
09/19/2022
The Army is encouraging Soldiers to “connect to protect,” to help them stay resilient when facing extraordinary challenges. They can do this by getting to know their teammates. According to the Army Resilience Directorate, strong social connectedness is a protective factor that helps prevent suicide. The service provides training and resources to facilitate personal resiliency, to improve communication and to enhance relationships with friends, Family members and teammates. These bonds, when cultivated every day, can serve as a support system during tough times.
09/17/2022
Senior leaders from across the 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 29th Infantry Division, Virginia and Kentucky National Guard, gathered at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo, for a suicide prevention and awareness seminar to discuss ways that they can play a pivotal role in preventing suicide in the military and in Veteran communities.
09/16/2022
Bayne-Jones Army Community Hospital, along with units from across the installation, sent 18 Soldiers to the Applied Suicide Intervention (ASIST) and safeTALK facilitator course held at the Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk, in Louisiana. These Soldiers are now skilled, supportive trainers who will guide others through the safeTALK workshops. The workshops are designed to help participants learn how to recognize when someone is thinking about death by suicide and to connect that individual with an intervention provider, such as an ASIST trainee. The goal is to build a safety network of intervention providers and to increase their reach and impact in order to prevent deaths by suicide.
09/14/2022
U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys’ Wellness Week, hosted by the garrison’s Army Substance Abuse Program and Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers team, kicked off at Camp Humphreys Family theater; it will end with a 5k fun run on Marne Avenue. The three-day event was part of a monthlong suicide prevention initiative to highlight available on-post and off-post resiliency resources and to foster a strong sense of community with the members stationed at Camp Humphreys, Korea.
09/12/2022
Members of the 15th Signal Brigade community at Fort Gordon, Georgia, hosted an event at the Cyber Fitness Center to recognize World Suicide Prevention Day. September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, but 15th Signal Brigade leaders are helping to ensure that Soldiers keep this matter at the front of their minds year-round. Soldiers were encouraged to take part in activities that included games such as relay races and basketball, for the purposes of increasing suicide prevention awareness and building morale.
09/12/2022
Throughout the military forces at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, command teams and leaders are working hard to reduce the stigma of behavioral health and to make it standard practice for service members and Families to take care of their behavioral health needs early on. The Department of Behavioral Health at Brooke Army Medical Center has a team of professionals who provide care to all active-duty service members, activated Guardsmen and Reservists, and active-duty Family members in need of behavioral health services.
09/07/2022
The Army uses the ACE model — Ask, Care and Escort — to remind Soldiers, leaders and civilian team members that if they notice someone who seems to be struggling emotionally, they should check on them, ask how they’re doing and, if appropriate to the situation, ask directly about death by suicide. If someone says they’ve been having suicidal thoughts, the listener should demonstrate care and compassion and assist the individual in finding professional help. During Suicide Prevention Month, it’s a good time to remember this simple method of looking out for one another. It’s also a good time to think about the things we should do in our own lives to help ensure we don’t find ourselves in crisis.
09/07/2022
Death by suicide is an important issue in the military. For more than a decade, the U.S. Army Public Health Center’s Division of Behavioral and Social Health Outcomes Practice (BSHOP) has collected and analyzed surveillance data on suicidal ideations, death-by-suicide attempts and deaths by suicide. BSHOP has also conducted epidemiological consultations (EPICONS) to help expand understanding of the risk and protective factors that affect death by suicide among Soldiers. This article provides some of the themes reported in BSHOP’s annual death by suicide surveillance reports and a summary document titled “A Decade of Behavioral Health EPICON Findings.”
09/06/2022
September is recognized nationally as Suicide Prevention Month, and community members have several opportunities to participate in the annual campaign at Fort Drum, New York. The first event is Pass It Forward, which allows Soldiers, Family Members and civilians to visit Magrath Sports Complex for a round of disc golf. “I started looking at the leading risk factors for death by suicide, and two of the top ones are relationship issues and work stress,” said Bill Van Orman, manager of the Fort Drum Suicide Prevention Program. “The disc golf event isn’t about training or education. We are inviting people to come out, spend some time with your Family, or with your friends or teammates, and play a game that is fun and easy to pick up.”
09/02/2022
In addition to the annual report release and press briefing, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III issued a memorandum for senior defense leaders, noting that the report’s release, “demonstrates in stark detail that sexual harassment and sexual assault remain persistent and corrosive problems for our service members. The report underscores the importance and urgency of our work.” Austin added, "The unprecedented investments that we are making now and in the forthcoming years are intended to restore the trust of our service members, as well as those considering military service.”
9/02/2022
Investing in people is a top priority for the Army. Emphasizing the overall health of service members is paramount in all that the Army does and is an important component to its readiness success in the face of global threats. To that end, the Army’s Resilience Directorate is working to improve Soldiers’ well-being by providing policies, resources and capabilities to increase their readiness and resilience. The goal is to boost service members’ mental fitness while addressing issues such as divorce, post-traumatic stress and high rates of suicide.
09/02/2022
Death by suicide is a public health issue, and prevention is a top priority for our military. Suicide can be due to several factors; the primary reasons for service members and their Families are failed or failing relationships, work stressors, legal and financial struggles, and misusing substances. People with risk factors may feel trapped or isolated. They may use ineffective or deleterious coping strategies to respond to situations, such as keeping to themselves, trying to ignore the root causes of the problem or engaging in high-risk behaviors. We must understand these factors and recognize the reluctance to seek help.
09/02/2022
Capt. Anthony Priest has a personal connection to the focus of Light Up the Night, an event hosted by his behavioral health team at 1st Signal Brigade at Camp Humphreys, South Korea. After his friend died by suicide, he was compelled to learn more about the types of people who take their own life and determined to figure out how he could fill the void for those who feel truly alone in the world.
09/02/2022
The advice of Dr. Sam Williams, a death-by-suicide response expert, was unabashedly blunt: “Move toward them; don’t walk away,” he insisted. “Don’t dance around [words like death by suicide and are you going to kill yourself]. And remember that no amount of effort or feelings of discomfort are more costly than saving a life.” He gave this warning as the guest speaker at the Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month kickoff breakfast at Memorial Chapel’s Family Life Center in Fort Lee, Virginia, which many installation leaders attended.
9/1/2022
The Department of Defense (DOD) released the Fiscal Year 2021 Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military. Required by Congress and published by DOD’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, this report contains survey results, reporting data and outcomes of military justice cases. It also provides updates on the department’s efforts to prevent and respond to sexual assault throughout fiscal year 2021.
