Photo By Staff Sgt. Bryan Dominique | The 32nd Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, retired Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, leads a...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. – Suicide, post-traumatic stress, and traumatic brain injury were on the list of discussion topics at the American Lake Conference Center, Wednesday.
The 32nd vice chief of staff of the Army, retired Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, led the discussion with senior leaders from across Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
“There’s some genetic impact on concussions. That’s where the science is going,” said Chiarelli to the crowd. “That’s why some can have two, three or even four concussions and not be impacted at all, but others can have two and it will have a huge impact,”
From 2005 to 2012 - during the height of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan - the Army saw a steady increase in the rates of suicide, correlating with prolonged exposure to combat and an uptick in TBI.
As the VCSA, Chiarelli oversaw the Department of Defense’s efforts in developing ways to treat and better understand TBI and PTS.
One such way was through the use of behavioral health specialists.
“It’s not just a punch the ticket thing. You can literally go in and get the help you need,” said Chiarelli.
The Army requires Soldiers returning from combat to speak with a behavioral health specialist and be tested for TBI if they were exposed to potential concussion causing events.
However, Soldiers were not always honest, fearing that if they sought help they would appear weak or unfit to lead in the eyes of the command teams.
“I believe the leadership in this room has done everything they can to end stigma. I believe the leadership understands they need to end stigma,” he said.
One way the Army has fought back against this stigma is through embedded behavioral health specialists. Instead of Soldiers having to go to a hospital or facility, they are now able to seek the care they need from their own units.
Those in attendance were able to get involved in the discussion and voice their opinions and concerns to the former VCSA during the discussion.
“It’s not always a matter of how many [behavioral health specialists] you have, but where you place them on the battlefield,” said one of the leaders in attendance.”
Chiarelli responded with, “What I used to say was, ‘Look, let’s just make sure we as leaders make sure the guys that need help get it.”
However, He doesn’t believe there’s a one-size-fits-all solution.
That was made apparent when Chiarelli responded to a question about the impacts suicide education can have on Soldiers with, “It all just really depends on the individual.”
Today Chiarelli continues the work of improving PTS and TBI treatment as the CEO of One Mind for research, a nonprofit organization with the vision of seeing an America free of brain disease, starting with improved patient outcomes.
| Date Taken: | 09.26.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 09.26.2014 13:54 |
| Story ID: | 143376 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 87 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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