Two bases in Air Mobility Command are using virtual reality to teach Airmen how to talk to someone who might be suicidal. The Air Force in recent years has been grappling with high levels of suicide in its ranks. In 2019, the department ordered a ...
The Department of the Air Force is launching a review of its mental health, family advocacy, and other support programs for Airmen and Guardians, as part of an ongoing struggle with suicide in the ranks and to offer better care during the coronavirus pandemic. The ...
The Department of the Air Force has released its first-ever video-based suicide prevention training for USAF and Space Force families. The online course, entitled “Equipping Family Members to Help Airmen in Distress,” educates viewers on different ways they can intervene and how to access resources ...
As the Defense Department prepares to release its Annual Suicide Report in the coming weeks, Air Force Magazine details the impact suicide has had on the Total Force so far in 2020, and how the service’s top uniformed leaders and its reserve component are working ...
The Air Force is on a path to match its 2019 suicide level, despite a service-wide tactical pause and efforts to curb the spread, as stresses related to COVID-19 have added to the problem, the service’s top officer said Aug. 26. “One of my concerns ...
A veterans support group is planning a 22-mile march near Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, to raise awareness on the number of veterans who kill themselves. Veteran Internships Providing Employment Readiness, or VIPER, works to reduce veteran suicide by ensuring job placement and training before a ...
Josh Jabin, a Marine Corps veteran and the chief operating officer at the Travis Manion Foundation, hopes the group's employment of positive psychology to promote mental health among veterans and the families of fallen service members can help inspire its broader use to fight suicide—and ...
Service members will be able to anonymously seek mental health treatment, without their chain of command being notified, under new proposed legislation. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) introduced the “Brandon Act,” which aims to protect service members from hazing, bullying, and any other issue if they ...
The Air Force remains committed to curbing suicides and plans to hold more resiliency stand downs so commanders can continue to connect with Airmen and encourage them to seek help if necessary. USAF also is expanding its True North program and embedding mental health providers ...
The National Guard Bureau is preparing to roll out SPRINGboard, a digital tool that'll give leaders insight into the health risk factors impacting the communities their troops call home so they can tailor prevention efforts accordingly. During a March 5 media roundtable at the Pentagon, ...
Air Combat Command on Feb. 18 launched a new website that looks to connect ACC Airmen with resources related to resilience, suicide and violence prevention, and diversity. "The Bridge" was borne out of feedback from conversations that occurred during the service-wide resilience tactical pause that ...
A total of 137 Airmen took their own lives in 2019—a 33 percent increase from the 103 suicides in 2018 despite service efforts to get the problem under control. The high pace of suicides has long worried senior service leaders, who in July ordered wings ...