The Protection Division immediately acknowledged eleven United States’ army installations and instructions for suicide prevention applications and efforts carried out final 12 months.
It’s at army installations and instructions across the U.S. and the world the place devoted army and civilian personnel work to determine the foundation causes of suicide, determine those that could also be in danger for suicide and apply suicide prevention efforts, mentioned Deputy Protection Secretary Kathleen Hicks throughout an occasion on the Pentagon’s Corridor of Heroes.
“We need to acknowledge the entire installations right here for the exemplary suicide prevention efforts,” Hicks mentioned. “At present’s ceremony highlights your whole contributions. The honored groups replicate the wide-ranging and cutting-edge approaches that the division is taking to avoid wasting lives and deal with root causes.”
Eleven army installations and instructions have been recognized as having exemplary suicide prevention applications and efforts from September 2022 via August 2024. These embody:
Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. (Military);
Guam Military Nationwide Guard, Guam (Nationwide Guard);
Deployment Assist Command, Birmingham, Ala. (Military Reserve);
Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Level, N.C. (Marine Corps);
USS Makin Island, Naval Base San Diego (Navy);
Naval Development Battalion 18, Port Hueneme, Calif. (Navy Reserve);
MacDill Air Power Base, Fla. (Air Power);
The one hundred and seventy fifth Wing, Warfield Air Nationwide Guard Base, Md. (Air Nationwide Guard);
Air Power Reserve Command at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas (Air Power Reserve);
Area Methods Command at Los Angeles Air Power Base, Calif. (Area Power); and
Coast Guard Base Kodiak, Alaska (Coast Guard).
“All of those applications and initiatives are making an affect, they usually’re reaching individuals earlier than they’re at a degree in disaster,” Hicks mentioned.
Suicide and suicide prevention are complicated topics, Hicks mentioned, and it’ll take the experience and efforts of everybody inside the Protection Division and the army providers to sort out it.
“Suicide prevention is not nearly psychological well being,” mentioned Hicks. “There isn’t any single trigger that results in suicide, and there’s no single answer that can eradicate or scale back these tragedies. Suicide is a public well being problem, and the division is taking a complete, built-in strategy to reducing suicide threat.”
On the Pentagon stage, Hicks mentioned, Secretary of Protection Lloyd J. Austin III has over the previous 4 years furthered his personal set of initiatives aimed squarely at bettering the lives of service members and their households. Included there are efforts to enhance entry to psychological well being care.
“Final Friday, Secretary Austin introduced a brand new set of ‘Taking Care of Folks’ initiatives, his fourth in a collection over the identical variety of years,” she mentioned. “And as he has in every of the years earlier than, he made psychological well being and suicide prevention key options of his plan to make sure the success and well-being of service members.”
Hicks mentioned she is happy with the work performed at set up and command stage to determine and deal with the components that contribute to suicide and mentioned the Protection Division stays dedicated to suicide prevention.
“We stay squarely targeted on suicide prevention, from the secretary of protection to division and squadron leaders, and from the E ring right here within the Pentagon to each put up past, on land and at sea,” she mentioned. “Suicide prevention wants the eye of each chief at each stage all through the division. We’re dedicated to getting it proper, and we’re open to options generated by set up groups like we’re recognizing right here immediately.”
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