As of March 1, the Army now grants all Soldiers who successfully complete the Ask, Care, Escort Suicide Intervention (ACE-SI) Tier 3 a personnel development skill identifier (PDSI) code. This PDSI recognizes the increased capability that qualified Soldiers bring to the service’s readiness and resilience requirements.
A PDSI is used in conjunction with a Soldier’s military occupational specialty to identify unique skills, training or experience acquired throughout their careers that enhance the Army and their organization's ability to carry out a mission. Establishing a PDSI results in a trackable training resource in the Total Officer Personnel Management Information System and Integrated Total Army Personnel Database. As proponents for the ACE-SI program, HQDA, Deputy Chief of Staff, G-9, Directorate of Prevention, Readiness and Resilience support the necessity of efficiently tracking certified ACE-SI Tier 3 instructors with a PDSI. This enables the Army to effectively utilize certified ACE-SI instructors across the enterprise.
To meet the ACE-SI PDSI qualifications, personnel must be certified ACE-SI Tier 2 instructors, successfully complete the three-day ACE-SI Tier 3 workshop and be assigned duties to support the suicide prevention mission within their organization. Additionally, personnel must host three ACE-SI Tier 1 workshops to certify ACE-SI Tier 1 instructors.
What Is ACE-SI?
As the Army’s enhanced suicide prevention unit training program, ACE-SI empowers service members by providing comprehensive instruction on how to intervene in crisis situations appropriately and deliberately, and how to recognize and assist at-risk individuals who are dealing with challenges. The program teaches participants to remain calm, to ask directly about suicidal ideation, to express empathy and to safely escort at-risk individuals to the appropriate response agency or to remain with them until help arrives. Under ACE-SI, Army members are taught their roles in postvention response after someone dies by suicide, as well as their reintegration responsibilities for individuals returning after receiving behavioral health support.
ACE Base +1 Training
ACE Base +1 training covers risk factors for harmful behaviors and protective (resilience) factors. Certified ACE-SI instructors explain the far-reaching effects of suicide and Army members’ prevention and intervention responsibilities. They equip students with conversation tools to promote active listening, ensuring that individuals in crisis feel heard and understood. The Base module is required annually and includes the steps of “Ask, Care, Escort.” It is accompanied by one of three additional (+1) modules selected by unit leadership. The additional modules are Reducing Stigma, Active Listening and Practicing ACE.
Who Can Conduct ACE-SI
Every unit/organization will have an ACE-SI Tier 3 training-certified leader to provide in-person training to certify Tier 2 and Tier 1 ACE-SI instructors. This person could be a Suicide Prevention Program coordinator, chaplain, religious affairs specialist or behavioral health counselor selected by their immediate commanders, Civilian leaders, or component Suicide Prevention Program manager, and certified by attending training workshops conducted by National Guard Bureau Ready and Resilient Schoolhouse, or Headquarters U.S. Army Installation Management Command.
All Army units will have ACE-SI Tier 2 and Tier 1 trainers to support commanders with prevention and intervention. It is recommended that they conduct the annual Personal Readiness Training, ACE Base +1, for their units. Instructors are supported by a behavioral health professional or an on-call chaplain.
Where to Find ACE-SI Educational Materials
Materials for the program can be found at: https://www.armyresilience.army.mil/suicide-prevention/pages/about.html
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