Photo By Sgt. Stephanie Woodson | Denise Stephens, suicide prevention program manager, explains the risk factors...... read more read more
FORT BENNING, Ga. - You are a first line leader in a Brigade Combat Team stationed at Fort Stewart, Georgia. Your unit deployed nine months to Afghanistan nearly two years ago. About 16 percent of your Soldiers now assigned did not deploy with you. Lt. Jane Snuffy is your platoon leader; you deployed together and value her advice. She is a squared away fast-tracking leader who is well respected in the unit. Your unit is slated for a future deployment rotation to South Korea and is now at Fort Drum for a Mission Readiness Exercise. How would you handle this situation?
After attending Ask Care Escort Suicide Intervention (ACE-SI) training, approximately 20 Soldiers from the ranks of Sergeant to Sergeant Maj., all assigned to Kelley Hill, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division would soon find out how to help Soldiers deal with stress and prevent suicide.
“ACE-SI is an eight hour training module, conducted by certified trainers, for company-level junior leaders and first-line supervisors (squad and section leaders, platoons sergeants and leaders, first sergeants, executive officers, and company commanders assigned at the company level),” said Denise Stephens suicide prevention program manager.
Stephens said the key objective of ACE-SI is to learn the skills to intervene in a suicide situation.
“This type of training has been going on in the Army for quite awhile,” said Sgt. Maj. Samuel Aarons, 1st Battalion 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd ABCT, 3rd ID operation sergeant major. “We have received extensive training going through the Sergeant Major’s Academy on suicide prevention.”
Stephens said the same things that would cause civilians to harm themselves are the same things that cause Soldiers to harm themselves: substance and alcohol abuse, relationship, finance, and work related problems.
“It’s those things that are common to all of us,” said Stephens. “Then on top of that they have additional stressors of war, along with the challenges from multiply deployments. This class gives leaders the ability to identify risk factors.”
She said when you begin to talk about suicide prevention; you have risk factors and warning signs.
“A risk factor is something in your life that you may do, you may have a family history of or it may be a hobby that has the potential to harm you,” Stephens said.
Almost everybody has a risk factor; high blood pressure, cancer, alcoholism, certain mental illness those are all risk factors, she added.
An effective leadership skill is to actively listen to the person you are communicating with and knowing the risk factors, she added.
“Most leaders don’t want to pry or be in their business, but that’s showing concern and being a real leader,” said Stephens.
Aarons said it is all about counseling and communicating with your Soldiers. Leaders need to have an open mind and practice active listening.
“As a leader you have to show your Soldiers that you care. Once you show the Soldiers that you care, they will feel comfortable approaching you with their problems,” said Aarons.
So, knowing yourself, knowing what the risk factors are and getting them help, that is prevention, Stephens said.
“It’s really hard, as far as, prevention, to know how many Soldiers you prevent from committing suicide,” said Stephens. “But what you do hear is that the trainers feel more confident talking to Soldiers about difficult things.”
As the leader starts to communicate with the Soldiers, they will begin to recognize the warning signs. The Soldier makes statements about wanting to end their life, giving away their possessions, significant relationship change or work stressor, she added.
This level of training is not about being a counselor, not about keeping them safe forever it is about keeping them safe for now; therefore, you can help them to that next level of care and after care, added Stephens.
“If you see someone who is struggling with some of the things we talked about: substance abuse, relationship or finances, the whole point to Ask Care Escort is: you ask them ‘do you need somebody to talk to.’ ‘I noticed you been drinking more do you need somebody to talk to’?
You engage in a conversation with them and let them talk to you about their issues. You showed concern, but eventually you have to ask the question, are you thinking about committing suicide?
‘If they say yes, you do not leave them alone. You escort them to someone who is trained in intervention and keeping them safe,” said Stephens.
There are a lot of Soldiers who need the help but won’t because they don’t want to get overlooked for promotion or position. That’s what we call stigma,” she added.
“As we know suicide is a problem in the Army. It is my job to attend training like this, so I can go back and teach my junior leaders how to be more effective,” Aarons said. “It is my duty and responsibility as a leader to get involved and help the Soldiers get the help that he/she needs.
Stephens said it’s subjective to tell people it’s going to get better. She likes to say it’s going to be different. Therefore, whatever is going on in your life right now, it will change. It’s going to be different because you’re constantly learning something. You’re going to go through every emotion and experience, multiply times. What you don’t learn this time you may learn next time.
It’s not a once and done — living the adult life is a constant change.”
There is hope. Someone can help you, understand and know what it is that you’re feeling right now, she added.
“There are some people who struggle with thoughts of suicide or re-occurring thoughts of suicide, there are some people who have these thoughts and they address those issues and never have those thoughts again. Then you have the people that have attempted to harm themselves, but they realize they do have a reason to live. It depends on the individual,” said Stephens.
She said they like for people to be holistic healthy: mentally, spiritually, physically, and socially fit. Therefore, we want them plugged in various places, so they feel connected and that they are contributing. If one area of their life becomes out of balanced and they have a struggle. Then they have another system that can help them avoid the point they were before. We refer to this as a protective factor.
“For some people this is their journey for the rest of their adulthood,” Stephens said.”
She said it’s amazing how many dedicated personnel and resources there is through-out the military installations. All you have to do is Ask Care Escort.
“Some of the issues Soldiers face are about life choices not career choices. I would rather Soldiers choose life,” said Stephens.
| Date Taken: | 09.10.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 09.30.2014 22:17 |
| Story ID: | 143872 |
| Location: | FORT BENING, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 250 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Active listening can save a life, by SGT Stephanie Woodson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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