“Workshops like this represent the Army’s response to hidden emotional wounds from repeated combat deployments that are thought to lie behind alarming levels of suicide in the military.
“You’re starting to see some fissures and some holes in our force, and you see it manifested in [post-traumatic stress disorder and] increased suicide rates,” said Col. Darryl A. Williams, deputy director of the CSF training program.
“This is a recognition by Army leadership that we need something that will endure, that’s long-standing and will increase the fitness of our force so that we don’t unravel,” Col. Williams said.
That recognition has been particularly visible this year, with the Army creating a Suicide Prevention Task Force.
That recognition has been particularly visible this year, with the Army creating a Suicide Prevention Task Force.
The recent mass killings at Fort Hood, Texas, purportedly by a troubled psychiatrist, have added a greater sense of urgency for the military to deal proactively with the mental health of its troops.
At a briefing this month, Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli said 2009 likely will end with more suicides than last year. By the end of October, the number of suicides in the Army equaled 140, the total for all of 2008.
“I am trying to change what I believe is a culture in the Army to look at these invisible wounds as something less than a broken bone or the loss of an arm or a leg,” Gen. Chiarelli said.”
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Here in the UK I am currently establishing a team to design a resiliency training program to be offered to UK armed forces and NGO workers. Working name: Project Achilles. Please contact me if you’d like to be involved.