Friday, September 3, 2021
What is it?
The Army’s Suicide Prevention Program (ASPP) supports the People First priority through the development and enhancement of policies, training, awareness, data collection and analysis designed to prevent suicide.
Through this program the Army aims to prevent suicides by building a culture of resilience by increasing protective factors and encouraging help-seeking behaviors.
What are the current and past efforts of the Army?
The Army Resilience Directorate provides resources and programs prioritized to enhance unit readiness and the resilience of Soldiers, Family members and Army Civilians.
Deployed a new Suicide Prevention awareness campaign, “This is Our Army: Not Every Fight is on the Battlefield,” and is developing a new Suicide Prevention strategy predicated on the premise that suicide prevention will be accomplished through the positive action of unit leaders and the implementation of effective command policy and climate.
Fielded the newly redesigned Ask, Care, Escort Suicide Intervention (ACE-SI) training curriculum across the Force. This training is delivered by certified master trainers across all three components.
Published Suicide Prevention Battle Drill Cards with tips to guide unit leaders, Soldiers and Family members in recognizing and responding to suicide ideation.
Developed a new Suicide Postvention Handbook for Unit Commanders with structured actions that support units in returning to a readiness posture after a suicide event.
What continued efforts are planned for the future?
New Army Guidance: A revised regulation and pamphlet are scheduled for publication in fall 2021. A supplemental Commanders Guide to Implementing the Suicide Prevention Program is also in development. This guide provides the framework that will help leaders implement the tenets of the suicide prevention program. The guide will supplement a Chain Teach event to be led by the VCSA and rapidly exported across Army Commands.
Spiritual Readiness Pilot: Explores ways to complement Behavioral Health Care with unit-level Chaplaincy Care. This program will help Soldiers use spirituality as a resource for enhancing Soldier and Family appreciation of life, relationships and personal resilience.
Behavioral Health (BH) Pulse: Provides leaders with visibility of a variety of BH problems, BH utilization and risky behaviors.
Why is this important to the Army?
The strength of the Army is built on People. This program helps to build resilient, cohesive teams with engaged leaders who foster a culture of trust and intervention. An effective prevention program relies on compassionate leadership and the development of partnerships across all echelons of the Army.
Resources:
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The Army is working diligently to solidify a culture of cohesion and intervention to protect our Soldiers…from the invisible danger of mental and behavioral health issues, and other stressors that can increase the risk of suicide.
— Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth and Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. James C. McConville