Photo By Hannah Covington | Staff Sgt. Benjamin Wright, NCOIC of Veterinary Pathology, Walter Reed Army Institute...... read more read more
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In February 2025, leadership at Fort Huachuca reached out to the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research for support to develop a new tool to support service members prior to mental health crises. As a result of this request, WRAIR developed the wallet card: an easy-to-field reference with specific guidance for leaders about how to start difficult conversations with their soldiers and work together to figure out next steps.
The request originated when senior leadership at Fort Huachuca discussed the personal journey of individual soldiers from pre-crisis, through in-patient, and then after in-patient care.
“One of the most important things you can do as a leader is to have personal, honest conversations with your soldiers to understand what they’re going through and identify any challenges they may be facing,” explained Lt. Col. Korbut, Chief of the Department of Behavioral Health at Fort Huachuca. “But when I did the research, I found there weren’t any tools to help commanders start those conversations. I remembered that WRAIR has several quality products and trainings for behavioral health, so I contacted them.”
WRAIR’s Center for Military Psychiatry and Neuroscience has more than 70 years of experience developing practical products for soldiers and leaders that promote mental health and readiness.
“After Lt. Col. Korbut reached out, I worked with Dr. Amy Adler, one of WRAIR’s senior scientists, to generate the wallet card,” said Capt. George Mesias, a clinical social work researcher at WRAIR. “We revised the card with input from Fort Huachuca’s Department of Behavioral Health, and when we realized the product had widespread applicability, we expanded the scope from commanders to leaders at all levels.”
The wallet card is a tool leaders can use when they want to check in with their soldiers. “It’s about having deeper conversations aimed at understanding your soldiers and building trust” explained Lt. Col. Korbut. “The wallet card facilitates conversations about relationship problems, finances, and mental health.”
Research from the U.S. Military Academy demonstrates that an essential component of mental health is the ability to trust our leaders – and having these conversations is the first step for leaders to develop that trust with their units.
“Trust is everything” reiterated Lt. Col. Korbut. “If you don’t trust that leader is going to support you, then you won’t go to that leader. “Fostering trust through meaningful conservations ahead of time or during a pre-crisis situation is essential to supporting the mental health of your service members.”
“Reaching out to WRAIR saved me a lot of time,” said Lt. Col. Korbut. “If I wanted to develop the wallet card myself, I would’ve had to take my staff off patient care to form a working group. But WRAIR has the staff and the expertise to develop a quality product quickly.”
The wallet card is being disseminated to the leaders at Fort Huachuca and other locations. To see the wallet card or WRAIR’s other behavioral health trainings and products, visit the website at https://wrair.health.mil/Biomedical-Research/Center-for-Military-Psychiatry-and-Neuroscience/CMPN-Training-Products/.
| Date Taken: | 06.03.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.04.2025 08:44 |
| Story ID: | 499565 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 361 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, WRAIR's wallet card helps military leaders support soldiers’ mental health, by Zeke Gonzalez, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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