Recap: September, October and November Webinars

By Mavia HansonDecember 29, 2022

(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

The Army Resilience Directorate (ARD) closed out the fiscal year webinar series in September with an overview of the Integrated Prevention Advisory Group (I-PAG). I-PAG is a workforce whose primary focus is to prevent harmful incidents and behaviors in the Army.

Attendees were privileged to hear from I-PAG Deputy Renee Johnson and I-PAG Prevention Evaluation Specialist Latoya Johnson. They explained the I-PAG initiative and reviewed the Secretary of the Army’s six priorities, behavioral health epidemiological consultations for the past decade and the I-PAG Phase 1 rollout.

I-PAG will use a community-based approach, working with Army commanders to prevent workplace violence and to implement safety measures across the Army that enable Soldiers, civilians and their Families to stay safe and focus on the mission.

In October, the webinar series kicked off the fiscal year with a presentation from Col. Robert Stelle of the Office of Special Trial Counsel (OSTC). The OSTC is a new legal office, independent of local chains of command, that can determine whether to take sexual assault and other covered offenses to court-martial. The OSTC will be staffed at both the HQDA and installation levels by experienced judge advocate officers with specialized training in special victim prosecution.

During his presentation, Stelle discussed the OSTC background; key legislative changes and what they mean for the Army; and OSTC-covered offenses, operations, structure and installation-level implications. OSTC attorneys will work closely with local Sexual Assault Response Coordinators, Victim Advocates and other survivor support personnel throughout investigations and subsequent actions.

For the November ARD webinar series, Lt. Col. Jacob Cool, Detachment Chief for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency — Europe, Kleber Kaserne, Germany, reflected on resilience and mental health in a webinar titled Out of the Ashes.

During the webinar, Cool talked about a personal tragedy, how the experience affected him and how his family overcame grief through resilience, mental health resources and community.

Cool discussed the four crisis response components, suicide prevention, mental health and how leadership can foster a climate of resilience. He also explained how a strong foundation of resilience can lead to a steady state of mental health.

Cool concluded with these key takeaways:

• Have the awareness, courage and perseverance to seek help.

- Put in the hard work.

- Do not wait to address problems; recovery is much harder the longer you delay.

• Let others help you.

• Integrate all four crisis response components during recovery.

• Understand that resilience is a process with no finish line. Visit the ARD webinar gallery here for previous webinar recaps. To join the next live webinar, sign up here to get email announcements.