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Army speeds up suicide awareness plans

Army News Service

Release Date: 2/26/2004

By Sgt. 1st Class Marcia Triggs

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Feb. 26, 2004) - The implementation of certain suicide prevention initiatives have been accelerated, to include a 1-800-number, to help curb suicides among Soldiers during these stressful times, said an Army personnel official.

In 2000, prior to the terrorist attacks on America, the Army revamped its suicide prevention program. The campaign, "Soldiers, Leaders and Communities Saving Lives," was developed to train everyone in the Army community on how to recognize early signs of suicidal behavior and how to intervene.

"We know that the stress level of our Soldiers has increased since Sept. 11, therefore programs that were being considered now have been implemented and fully funded by G1, (the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel)," said Lt. Col. Jerry Swanner, the Army suicide prevention program manager at the Pentagon.

Soldiers can now talk to a trained professional about any of their problems, by dialing the 12-digit phone number, 1-800-464-81077 if they are overseas; and 1-800-464-8107 for those who are stateside.

"Army One Source is a 24/7 crisis hotline that makes behavioral health professionals more accessible," Swanner said. "Soldiers can talk freely, and it won't go in their medical records."

About three years ago Swanner convinced Training and Doctrine Command to fund a training workshop called "Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training" or ASIST. The focus of the training is to provide anyone who might come in contact with a person at risk of committing suicide with the confidence and tools to take immediate life-saving actions.

Recently units like the 1st Infantry Division at Wurzburg, Germany, had at least two Soldiers in each company get the ASIST training, so they could instruct suicide awareness classes before the unit deployed to Iraq.

Fort Lewis, Wash., is another installation that has adopted ASIST as part of its suicide prevention plan.

"More than 330 Soldiers and civilians have been trained at Fort Lewis, and there is an ASIST coordinator whose primary responsibility is to conduct suicide prevention training for every civilian employee on the post," said Maj. Thomas Cox, the post family life chaplain.

Fort Lewis' program stands out among other Forces Command installations, Swanner said. Decreasing suicides takes more than chaplains giving briefs. It takes leadership involvement and an overarching community focus, he said.

"We've seen installations that don't have installation-wide programs, and they continue to miss Soldiers that would have been caught if the post agencies were working together to fight suicides," Swanner said. "If an Army Emergency Relief counselor is meeting with a soldier with financial difficulties, the counselor should be able to recognize if that Soldier is at risk of committing suicide."

It is evident throughout the I Corps and Fort Lewis community that its suicide prevention program, "Dare to Care," is a high priority for the commanding general, Cox said.

The Installation Public Affairs Office produced a video of Lt. Gen. Edward Soriano, the I Corps and Fort Lewis commanding general discussing suicide prevention with young Soldiers. The video is routinely aired on the post cable channel, Cox said.

Also every Soldier and civilian employee received wallet- and dog-tag size suicide awareness cards. More than 10,000 suicide awareness "desk cubes" were purchased so that all leaders down to the platoon level can have one on their desk.

Other installations are incorporating suicide prevention in more on-post programs, like the Deployment Cycle Support Contingency Plan, Swanner said.

In pre-deployment briefings Soldiers find out that suicides are more likely to happen in a deployment environment because there is access to lethal means, Swanner said.

"What we know from U.S. statistics is that households with firearms are at a five times greater risk than those households without firearms," Swanner said. "Then once Soldiers re-deploy they are briefed again. During both briefings we're encouraging help-seeking behavior."

Part of the Army's plan, Swanner said, is convincing Soldiers to get help and talk to a mental health professional before the situation worsens.

The Army's suicide prevention model focuses on four major areas: encouraging help-seeking behavior, developing life-coping skills, raising vigilance on suicide awareness, and integrating and synchronizing unit and community programs.

Great suicide awareness programs don't mean that there will be no suicides among Soldiers, Swanner said. Suicide is a human phenomenon, and until society can solve the problem of suicide the Army will continue to deal with it, he said.

However, Swanner emphasized that to combat the spread of suicides senior leaders have to get involved. "Suicide impacts all ranks," he said. "Everyone has to be attuned to the issue of suicide because the greatest success comes from leaders talking about it."