Military medicine is constantly adapting to the needs of the future fight. Air Force Medical Service leaders emphasize that psychological readiness is an important aspect of warfighter health and mission success.
The AFMS, in coordination with the Department of War’s Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, has been developing front-line behavioral health support training offered to Air Force medics, mental health technicians, chaplains and other non-mental health personnel who adhere to clinical practice guidelines in forward and austere environments.
What is BH GEAR?
In 2019, WRAIR conducted qualitative interviews with forward-deployed U.S. Army medics and identified the need to develop skillset training to recognize behavioral health challenges and provide peer support especially in large-scale combat operations.
"They encountered depression, anxiety, sleep problems and other behavioral health challenges but didn't feel prepared to help. Many were concerned about making the situation worse, so they often chose not to engage,” said Dr. Katie Nugent, a behavioral health epidemiologist with WRAIR's Center for Military Psychiatry and Neurosciences and principal investigator for BH GEAR.
With this initial study and continued research, WRAIR developed a training program called Battlefield Health Guidelines for mEdic Assessment and Response, or BH GEAR.
For the Department of the Air Force, BH GEAR training adapts information from the service’s clinical practice guidelines for practical application, said Lt. Col. Tekia Jones, mental health contingency and readiness operations chief for the Air Force Medical Command.
From the six-to-eight-hour course, participants learn to identify detrimental changes in mood and behavior, assess immediate concerns, determine the appropriate interventions and when a service member should be referred to higher levels of care.
AFMS alsooffers WRAIR’s three-day Train-the-Trainer course to prepare senior medics, chaplains, and mental health professionals across the services to deliver BH GEAR training to other medics across operational medical units.
"The training teaches several skills so they can serve as mental health extenders," Nugent said. "They learn methods to help prevent problems, conduct brief mental health assessments, identify signs and symptoms, develop helping plans and apply simple intervention strategies before concerns become more serious."
Expanding training, current BH GEAR research
Along with developing mental health support capabilities, BH GEAR equips warfighters with greater confidence to provide that support, bridging a critical gap in operational environments.
In July 2026, Nugent’s research published in Military Psychology found that a study of U.S. Army Soldiers without prior mental health training reported significant gains in behavioral health knowledge, confidence and their ability to provide mental health support after completing the course.
“If the problem isn’t severe and it’s not impacting performance greatly, then this trained asset may not even need to consult with a licensed provider,” she said. “This would allow the service member to receive the help they need at the earliest opportunity … and allows them to return to full duty faster.”
Jones added that the goal is not to replace specialists but to prepare medics to provide early interventive support until additional care is accessible.
The Department of the Air Force continues to adapt current BH GEAR training to service-specific curriculum, and expand training accessibility to the Guard, Reserve and joint services.
As the AFMS prepares for increasingly distributed and contested operations, leaders see BH GEAR training as a vital method to strengthen overall front-line medical support.
| Date Taken: | 07.31.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 07.31.2026 07:22 |
| Story ID: | 571202 |
| Location: | FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 24 |
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This work, Joint force efforts expand BH GEAR training for front-line support, by Maristela Romero, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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