FORT RILEY, Kan. - Army medics are in the business of saving lives, so are surgeons, but only a few Soldiers can claim they attempt to save the lives of other Soldiers from what could be done at their own hands.
Twenty-four chaplains and assistants from the 1st Infantry Division took part in the August Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training instructor's course at Riley's Conference Center.
During the week of training each Soldier had to maintain strict requirements, said Chap. (Maj.) Douglas Lax, 1st Inf. Div. Family Life chaplain, including attending 100 percent of the briefs as well as conducting their own briefs.
After each instructor is trained, they then teach 13 percent of each unit's total population on Fort Riley to be trained in a two-day ASIST course. Once trained, the Soldiers are known as "gatekeepers."
"ASIST is a map to give somebody a guide so that if they see or run into somebody either in the middle or about to make an attempt at suicide, the Soldier has something to guide them on what to say or do as a first line of intervention and get the other Soldier to safety," said Lax, explaining that a Soldier who attempts suicide would be taken to a chaplain, behavioral health professional or the emergency room.
The first thing taught to a gatekeeper is not to panic or be nervous, Lax said.
"That's a pretty scary shake up ... but the situation for this, you can't (panic) and you're it. Get to know that person and what they're feeling, and get them to open up first. It's not about us and how we feel but making that connection and joining with that person," he said.
As a gatekeeper gets to know the person making an attempt at their own life, they will then begin to know what created the problem.
"The next step is negotiation a safe plan," Lax said, hoping to always find more Soldiers willing to be instructors to keep 13 percent of all units trained as gatekeepers.
"Lives are important. People are important," Lax said. "Equipment we can replace and we can pay for and we can fix, but you can't replace that individual."
In 2008, 148 Soldiers committed suicide, Lax said.
"If we don't do something to get a handle on this, they are projecting we will break that record," he said.
To become an instructor, Lax explained the Soldier first must become a gatekeeper, and then go through a refreshing gatekeeper course the first two days of the instructor's course.
Those interested in becoming either a gatekeeper or instructor need to make their interest known to their battalion chaplains and chaplain assistants.
Social Sharing