Army producing new suicide-prevention video

By Laura M. Levering (Northwest Guardian)January 27, 2011

Suicide
Suicide prevention professionals who work at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., meet after viewing "Shoulder to Shoulder" and discussed how to incorporate the video into future training. The video was shot in part on JBLM and features local volunteers ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. (Jan. 27, 2011) -- A steady rise in the number of Soldiers who contemplate or commit suicide each year keeps the Army Suicide Prevention Program and behavioral health personnel striving for new ways to save lives.

The program's latest initiative, "Shoulder to Shoulder: Resiliency of the Army Family," is the third in a series of videos created for suicide awareness and prevention training at installations Armywide.

Joint Base Lewis-McChord was one of two installations selected for filming the 20-minute video.

A series of focus groups and interviews were conducted prior to filming "Shoulder to Shoulder," none of which was scripted. The video uses real people with real stories, in hopes of giving suicide a "face" viewers will identify with.

One focus group of leaders met in the "studio," a converted World War II barracks on Lewis North where the video was taped, to target ongoing Army initiatives and future direction of JBLM suicide prevention efforts.

The group included Walter Morales, program manager of DA Suicide Prevention and vice chief of staff, Health Promotion and Risk Reduction Task Force, Dr. Michelle Freedman, chief of Family and Child Services, Mark Brown, JBLM director of Human Resources, Sandi Vest of Child, Adolescent and Family Behavioral Health Proponency, Sam Smith, director of the Airman and Family Readiness Center, Patsy George, chief of Casualty Assistance and Robert Antry, chief of Military Personnel Division.

Morales said that coming to JBLM gave him a large pool of Soldiers to meet with from the thousands who have deployed and returned. He also said that while the majority of the video features Soldiers, his intent is to take feedback from the general population - to include family members and Department of the Army civilians - to produce training tools for suicide prevention.

"We're starting with the NCOs, because that's where the rubber meets the road," Morales said. "These are the men and women of the Army who are executing and implementing the policies not only with themselves, but with their Soldiers, their families and DA civilians."

The video will focus on building resiliency and understanding the complexity of transition in terms of its relation to stress. One of the challenges Morales discovered is that people do not fully understand the meaning of resiliency.

"My job is to put a face to resiliency, because for many people, it's just a concept," he said. "What I want to do is show what resiliency looks like - what we are doing on a daily basis to stay resilient, to cope with the stresses in life and to bounce back."

"Shoulder to Shoulder" puts a face to resiliency so that people will know what to do when stressful situations occur.

One major stressor troops experience Armywide is transition. Deployments, redeployments and frequent moves are some of the most-discussed transitions that can lead to suicidal tendencies. Morales said it's critical to expand on the meaning of transition by including "life events" such as the death of a family member, birth of a child, financial issues and marriage hardships.

"It's what is putting you in a different mindset, then having to transition how you live your life on a daily basis," Morales said. "I want to hear what is keeping them awake at night."

Despite being at war for nearly 10 years, statistics indicate that deployments are not the cause of suicide. Suicide occurs across all ranks and experiences in combat.

"The stressors that continue to afflict our population (are) mainly failed relationships, work-related problems, financial and legal issues - as well as those personnel that see themselves in transition," Morales said.

The Army has a number of programs in place to help, regardless of how big or small a person's problems appear. A lot of people know the resources are available, but either choose not to use them or don't realize they can really benefit from using them. "Shoulder to Shoulder" helps promote those programs, which in turn builds resiliency among the military community.

"Part of it is catching things before it gets to the point of somebody being so stressed out or they've lost their reasons for living that they become so despondent they think about taking their life," said Steve Kosylo, JBLM suicide prevention program manager and retired Army chaplain.

Two of the resources - or training support packages - currently presented on Army installations are "Ask, Care, Escort" and "Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training."

Morales said everyone has an important role in suicide prevention. The stigma often associated with getting help needs to be changed, and can be done with the support of leaders.

"We still have to do the best we can as leaders to provide the necessary resources to our Soldiers for them to get better," Morales said. "Leaders should be approachable so they can feel free to ask for help."

"Shoulder to Shoulder: Resiliency of the Army Family" is scheduled for release in September in conjunction with the Army's Suicide Prevention Month.

Training videos and all other resources on suicide prevention, health promotion and risk reduction can be found online at www.preventsuicide.army.mil/.

Related Links:

STAND-TO!: Suicide Prevention Month