Yongsan takes stand in Army-wide safety

By Sgt. Samuel Han (IMCOM)October 16, 2012

YONGSAN GARRISON, Republic of Korea -- In a written message to the U.S. Army Community, Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the 38th chief of staff for the U.S. Army, explained that the U.S. Army was a resilient Army: one that was committed to taking care of its Servicemembers, Families and Civilians, and stayed effective even through hardships.

To raise resiliency and ensure its commitment to promoting the health of its members, the U.S. Army conducted an army-wide safety stand-down, Sept. 27.

At U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan, the stand-down took place in the Yongsan Multi-Purpose Training Facility, where Servicemembers and Civilians were given suicide prevention training. The presence of all members of the garrison exemplified the Army's commitment to ensuring that Servicemembers, Families and Civilians were healthy and taken care of.

The theme for this year was "Shoulder to shoulder, we stand up for life," which encouraged each person in a Community to collectively work towards eliminating suicide. In keeping with this theme, one of the prime focuses of the safety stand-down was to create an atmosphere where it would be okay to ask for assistance.

Jocelynn Reyes-Lashier, suicide prevention program manager for USAG Yongsan, explained that suicide and depression was something that all people, regardless of age, gender and rank could experience. As a result, a Community that fights suicide would have to begin by allowing members to feel connected with each other and able to share their problems with those closest to them.

The message for Servicemembers and Civilians, however, was not only that they needed to share with each other, but that members needed to care for each other and actively observe the way others were doing. A resilient Army would be one where members were actively looking out for each other.

During the safety stand-down Servicemembers and Civilians were educated on the proper ways to address Community members contemplating suicide. In addition, Servicemembers and Civilians were instructed to inform other members, such as Leaders and Chaplains, who were better equipped with resources to help those contemplating suicide. By doing so, the Community would be able to work towards eliminating suicide at USAG Yongsan.

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