Photo By Staff Sgt. Christopher Calvert | Members of the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division’s behavioral health...... read more read more
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FORT HOOD, Texas – Behavioral health teams provide a direct link for Soldiers to address their issues and concerns. Their main goal is simple – keeping Soldiers fit to fight.
“If Troopers are facing any issues at all, we’re here for them,” said Capt. Rebecca Blood, behavioral health officer in charge with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division. “When they come to Troop Medical Clinic 12, we provide them with the utmost care and utilize every resource possible to assist them.”
To maintain the overall health and readiness of the brigade, Blood said her behavioral health team has implemented a new program recently to assist Soldiers in need.
“It’s a four-part series that focuses on a different issue each week,” said the Buffalo, New York, native. “Capt. Kumalo Bogan (brigade social worker) meets with the Soldiers two hours a week during the course of a month and focuses on prevention, including anger management, conflict resolution, stress management, building communication, as well as addressing any other issues the Soldiers may have.”
“It’s my goal to ensure leaders and their Soldiers foster a stigma-free environment for troops to seek help when needed,” she added. “Ultimately, we want to eliminate any attitude of Soldiers being deemed weak for seeking behavioral health assistance.”
In 2013, Blood and her fellow team members became the first organic behavioral health team assigned to an aviation brigade. Since being implemented, U.S. Army combat aviation brigades across the Army are now slated to receive their own teams in the future, said Blood.
“It’s been a work in progress, and we’ve learned a lot during the way,” said Blood. “Our command has been extremely supportive, and being the first gives us an extra sense of pride in the work we do.”
Spc. Armando Solano, a mental health specialist with HHC, 1st Air Cav. Bde., 1st Cav. Div., has been a part of the behavioral health team for more than a year now and has assisted Blood by identifying Soldiers’ needs and referring them to the best source of care, he said.
“When a Soldier comes into TMC 12, Sgt. Jack Buckwalter (mental health specialist) and I handle the initial contact and gather all benchmark information,” said the El Paso, Texas, native. “We utilize multiple tests to collect all the necessary information needed to provide the best care for our battle buddies.”
Once the Soldier’s needs are identified, several means of assistance are offered to alleviate current problems, as well as to prevent future issues from becoming worse, he said.
“We commonly provide techniques, such as progressive muscle relaxation for those with poor sleep hygiene (problems sleeping), and identify what’s causing the behaviors, so we can attempt to change the way the patients perceive and practice things.”
“There’s always a history of what’s going on,” he added. “It’s my job to gather the immediate, relevant and distant history in order to backtrack and find the underlying issues Soldiers are experiencing.”
Providing care on a daily basis and always just a phone call away, Solano said he and his team are fully equipped and prepared to ensure Soldiers remain fit to fight.
“They can come see us anytime,” he said. “We will do everything possible to take care of them. If we are unable to, we will make referrals to ensure they receive the care they need and deserve.”
| Date Taken: | 09.10.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 09.10.2014 14:35 |
| Story ID: | 141691 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TX, US |
| Hometown: | BUFFALO, NY, US |
| Hometown: | EL PASO, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 118 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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