Commander. Army 18th Paratrooper Major Thomas Holland is pictured at Womack Army Medical Center in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, June 2020. The unit is testing policies to prevent soldiers from being released from inpatient mental health facilities on holidays and weekends. This is an effort to better support soldiers’ recovery efforts and prevent suicide attempts, Holland said. The policy includes a contract for the liability of Soldiers, Soldiers’ leaders, and medical providers when Soldiers are released. (Tuwana Atkinson/U.S. Army)
The 18th Airborne Division is testing a policy to prevent soldiers from being released from inpatient mental health facilities on holidays and weekends, army unit leaders said.
The policy is designed to better support soldiers’ recovery efforts and help prevent suicide attempts, the commander said. Lieutenant Commander TJ Holland, Corps Chief Noncommissioned Officer. It also includes a contract for the liability of Soldiers, Soldiers’ leaders, and medical providers when Soldiers are released.
“When we released soldiers before the weekends and holidays, what we saw was that they returned to the quarantine area, revisited the idea, and took them to a dark place before asking for help. Start practicing the same behavior,” he said.
Holland said the policy is one of two policies introduced into the Corps aimed at ensuring that soldiers hospitalized for suicidal thoughts are supported as they return to their daily lives. It’s one.
A second requirement is that each soldier participates in a reintegration event within 24 hours of being discharged from the hospital. The event can be anything the soldier enjoys doing, such as a cooking class or another activity the soldier perceives as important to them.
“We need to find out what that soldier is serving and why they are enjoying life.
The proposed policy comes after years of the military grappling with increasing suicide rates in its own army, amid protests from members of Congress and others. The Department of Defense has spent millions of dollars on multiple efforts in recent years to understand what causes military personnel to harm or kill themselves. We are taking several steps to increase access, combat the long-standing stigma that asking for help is a sign of weakness, and better train our troops on firearm safety, defense officials said. Stated.
In an effort, the Pentagon was mandated by Congress to set up an independent review board to study the issue. The commission, he said, will begin work in May and will produce a comprehensive report on military suicides by February.
Beginning in 2018, the Department of Defense will be required to publish an annual report on military suicides to better understand the extent of losses and document prevention efforts.
The latest annual report, released last week, showed that efforts to prevent suicides among the Army’s ranks stalled last year as self-harm deaths declined in other service sectors.
The Department of Defense reported a suicide rate of approximately 24 active duty suicides per 100,000 military personnel in 2021, up from approximately 29 self-inflicted deaths per 100,000 military personnel in 2020. Same as in 2020, according to the annual report.
The new policy being tested by the 18th Airborne Division affects about 92,000 soldiers assigned to the unit at 13 facilities.
“What I want to do is create an environment where leaders recognize their responsibility—my responsibility—to care for their own soldiers,” Holland said. I feel very passionate and strong when it comes to affecting
If a soldier misses an appointment and cannot be reached, Holland said the unit will use the Army’s policy changes made in 2020 to begin efforts to quickly locate the soldier. It was enacted in parallel with the release of the Fort Hood Independent Review Committee report in December 2009. The report found that there were no established procedures for first-line supervisors when soldiers failed to report.
Former Secretary of War Ryan McCarthy named the committee after Fort Hood soldier Spc. Vanessa Guillen went missing in April 2020 and was found dead more than two months later.
“It was clear [committee] that [noncommissioned officers] According to the commission’s report, there was little guidance on how to handle “suspicious situations” or what facts to consider.
The committee considered several cases for its report, including Sergeant’s. Elder Fernandez was released from Fort His Hood’s inpatient program for suicidal ideation in August 2020 and died by suicide less than a week later.
Upon his release from the hospital, members of his unit left him on the doorstep of a friend’s house, never to be seen alive again. 48 hours later, I was contacted by an agent from the Army Criminal Investigative Service.
The Army’s missing persons policy is now focused on mobilizing law enforcement in the first 48 hours to reach soldiers who may be at risk of self-harm.
Sgt. Army Major Michael Grinston ordered Holland in June to review ways to improve policies regarding the time soldiers are released from inpatient mental health care. He said he presented his plan to Grinston in August as part of a monthly meeting of army commanders-in-chief majors to discuss the
While the Corps is testing these changes, Grinston said it is looking to see if it will reduce suicides and improve conditions for soldiers.
“That’s the advantage of our monthly meetings on prevention: You can try something, and if it works, try it somewhere else. That way you have a solid basis for the Army’s implementation,” said Grinston. said.
Womack Army Medical Center (U.S. Army), Fort Bragg, North Carolina
To move forward with policy on release dates, Holland said it is coordinating with the Womack Army Medical Center in Fort Bragg, N.C., and the Defense Health Service, which manages military hospitals. For soldiers receiving, he said, Womack agreed to pay for an extension of their stay if their release date falls before a weekend or holiday.
Craig Bryan is a clinical psychologist and Air Force veteran whose book, Rethinking Suicide: Why Prevention Fails and How We Can Do Better, was written by a senior Army leader. are helping shape changes in prevention efforts. He said the time after someone is discharged from the hospital is a critical time for that person’s recovery.
“The months immediately after hospital discharge for hospitalized patients are the time of highest suicide risk for those involved in the health care system. The risk of suicide is 100- to 300-fold higher in the first month after hospital discharge. 7 days are the most important.
Holland said a contract would be signed outlining responsibilities to ensure “every element of support is handed over to the soldier” once the soldier is released from the hospital. A follow-up appointment with a healthcare provider is scheduled within 24 hours after discharge and again approximately 10 days later.
Fort Campbell, Kentucky, under command of the 18th Airborne Division, has already implemented a policy of not releasing its soldiers before holidays and weekends. The Reintegration Event Policy will be new for other units in the Corps. To that end, Holland said the unit must be able to access existing funding through the Army’s recreational programs.
The Corps now has two soldiers undergoing treatment in an inpatient facility, and Holland said he will test policy changes on those soldiers who have been released.
From here, Grinston said he monitors “positive effects” to determine how and when policies are implemented across the Army.
If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, dial 988 and press 1 to call the Military and Veterans Crisis Line or text 838255.
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