Army recruiting stand-down ordered for Friday

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/02/army_recruiterstanddown_021209w/



A stand-down of the Army’s entire recruiting force, ordered by Army Secretary Pete Geren, will take place Friday.

Geren ordered the stand-down after a wide-ranging investigation into four suicides in the Houston Recruiting Battalion. Poor command climate, failing personal relationships and long, stressful work days were factors in the suicides, the investigation found.

During the one-day stand-down, all 7,735 active Army and 1,797 Reserve recruiters will receive training on leadership, a review of the expectations of Recruiting Command’s leaders, suicide prevention and resiliency training, coping skills and recruiter wellness.

Findings from the investigation, conducted by Brig. Gen. Del Turner, deputy commanding general for Accessions Command, were released Jan. 21, one week before the Army announced that suicides among soldiers across the Army increased in 2008 to 129, the highest rate in almost 30 years. In addition, the cause of death in 14 other cases was pending. That means there could have been as many as 143 suicides in 2008.

A separate stand-down, for all soldiers, will take place over a 30-day period beginning Feb. 15. During that time, commanders across the Army will provide their soldiers with training ranging from how to recognize suicidal behavior, to intervention at the buddy level.
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sigh

weapons leave a mark at both ends

...in the last few years which should be a sad and telling commentary on the level of professionalism and (probably more-likely) training among recruiters.

Second, I seriously hope that the instruction and training the Army provides to soldiers to recognize suicidal behavior, et al. will even remotely be conducted in a serious manner. I've not served in the armed forces but I was able to witness some recent (last 10 years) training for new recruits on serious topics and it...was...a...joke.

Our armed services needs these sorts of trainings but I'm not holding my breath that the majority of them will be conducted in a manner which will help them out as much as they need it. Hope I'm wrong.

PB

The MIC and the Pentagram hawks are in for a shock. I hope.

I agree with Barney Frank, but I think his proposal to cut military spending is far too modest. The whole mess needs a stringent audit, a serious overhaul and oversight of a degree never before seen.

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I want these wars for oil to be ended. We have much better things to be doing with our lives.
ADW