YONGSAN GARRISON, Republic of Korea -- Suicide is a critical issue that impacts several people in the military. These may be people who have lost their spouses, brothers, sisters, parents, siblings, and co-workers. They may also be survivors themselves. It is easy to assume that suicide is something that we will never experience or be a part of. The statistics, however, seem to indicate otherwise.
Reports from the U.S. Army Suicide Prevention Office indicated 37 completed suicides (28 active duty, nine not on active duty) as of this month, March 7. Last year, the Army had confirmed 274 completed suicides (162 active duty, 112 non-active duty), and in 2010, the Army reported 155 deaths from suicide. This shows that something must be done. Thus, in order to lower this number, U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan has decided to kick off the Ask Care and Escort Suicide Intervention training.
ACE-SI training was developed by Public Health Command and was mandated by Army Regulation 600-63, Army Health Promotion. This annual training provides basic information on suicide awareness and prevention for Soldiers and civilians. It focuses on the identification of suicide warning and danger signs, and suicide intervention skills development.
The target audience for ACE-SI training is the Chaplain Corps, junior leaders, first-line supervisors and social and behavioral health service providers, such as the Army Substance Abuse Program or Army community Services. In addition, ideal participants include but are not limited to: Unit Prevention Leaders, Master Resiliency Trainers, Behavioral Health Technicians and Unit Ministry Teams. In addition, the training is open to Korean Nationals and their family members.
The training is scheduled to be held at the Yongsan Theater / Multi-Purpose Training Facility on Mar. 19. Two sessions are available: 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. To sign up for the training, contact Jocelynn Reyes-LaShier, the suicide prevention program manager, who can be reached at DSN 736-3294 or by email at jocelynn.m.lashier.civ@mail.mil. Sign up no later than March 15, 2012 to attend the training.
(Jocelynn Reyes-LaShier, the suicide prevention program manager, contributed to this article.)
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