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  • CAIB, IDS improve Air Force quality of life

    Two important groups continually work to improve the Air Force quality of life. They are the Community Action Information Boards and Integrated Delivery Systems, which operate at Air Force, major command and installation levels.The CAIB focuses on identifying and resolving issues impacting Air Force

  • Direct communication between Airmen key to suicide prevention

    More than a decade in the making, the culture of the "wingman" approach to suicide prevention is still evolving as risk factors and causes of suicide are becoming more widely understood. The wingman concept should be very familiar to most Airmen. Suicide prevention training has been incorporated

  • Mental health clinic works to help Airmen, families

    Members of the 673rd Medical Group Mental Health Flight here have been working hard to meet the mental healthcare needs of military members and their families.The military life can be a stressful one, said Maj. Alexsa Billups, a member of the 673rd MDG. "It's up to the individual people to come to

  • Ask the question

    When Tech. Sgt. David Bales got the call that an Airman he supervised was drunk and talking about "ending it all," he immediately drove to the dormitory. He'd been around too many successful and attempted suicides to just attribute "ending it all" to a case of drunken rambling. As an intelligence

  • Life is precious

    Two weeks ago, I began a journey leading the 4th Space Operations Squadron through a tragedy. This was not something I ever wanted to do, but there were many lessons learned for me, our squadron, and, I hope, for all of you reading this commentary. On July 19, I was informed that one of my squadron

  • CMSAF shares perspective about readiness, development, resiliency

    The Air Force's top NCO spoke at the Air Force Sergeants Association Professional Airmen's Conference Aug. 17, citing readiness, deliberate development and resiliency among Airmen and their families as his main focuses.Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Roy said statistics of 40,000 Airmen

  • A year later, H1N1 flu and your summer travel plans

    Last summer, talk of the H1N1 flu virus dominated the news. It was described by World Health Organization officials as the first pandemic of the 21st century. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that between 7,880 and 16,460 H1N1-related deaths occurred between April 1 and Dec.

  • Therapeutic horseback riding helps battle PTSD

    J.B. Barnett was a high school athlete who could have had a bright future in football. Capt. Mike Lawlor was a military personnelist assigned to convoy duties in Afghanistan.Although the two seem different, they both now have something in common. After J.B. suffered brain damage and subsequent

  • Suicide solution involves leadership, Mullen says

    While no easy answers exist to a military suicide problem that has reached "crisis level," a big part of the solution is tied to leadership, according to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.Addressing the National Guard Family Program Volunteer Workshop Aug. 2 in New Orleans, Navy Adm. Mike

  • Body after baby: Getting back into the groove

    Pregnant women are given a lot of information about what changes to expect during the 40 weeks it takes to carry a baby to term. They are told they should maintain a balanced diet, continue to exercise, and that they can expect to gain 25 to 35 pounds.With the ongoing emphasis on physical fitness

  • August is National Immunization Awareness Month

    Air Force medical officials are encouraging Airmen, their families and all beneficiaries to raise their personal awareness of immunization health during National Immunization Awareness Month in August. Vaccines are one of the best public health interventions for the prevention of infectious

  • AMC officials unveil concept to strengthen force resilience

    "Each of us has a flame inside of us that, when made stronger, can help us withstand life's storms," said Gen. Raymond E. Johns Jr., the commander of Air Mobility Command June 16 .To strengthen force resilience, including Air Force civilians and family members, AMC officials launched the

  • Israeli Defense Officials meet with AFMS leaders

    Officials with the Israeli Defense Force met with Air Force Medical Service officials in Washington in early June. Topics included formalizing partnerships and collaboration in casualty care and trauma training; flight surgeon exchange programs and training courses; Joint medical exercises,

  • Air Force takes steps against suicides

    The Air Force vice chief of staff testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee June 22 to address steps the service is taking to stem the rising suicide numbers. Gen. Carrol H. "Howie" Chandler, in testimony alongside the other service vice chiefs and the assistant commandant of the Marine

  • Services, VA use technology for stress, resilience outreach

    Officials from the military services and the Veterans Health Administration of the Veterans Affairs Department increasingly use digital technology to reach out to identify and treat servicemembers with traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder. The second-ranking officers of each

  • Services work to learn more about brain ailments, suicides

    Post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury and suicides among servicemembers are interrelated problems requiring holistic prevention methods and more scientific study, military leaders told a Senate panel June 22. "The reality is, the study of the brain is an emerging science, and there still is

  • Air Force officials discuss mental health options, confidentiality

    Airmen in need of psychological intervention or counseling have myriad options available through a number of Air Force programs, officials said here June 16.Although psychological screening occurs throughout an Airman's career by way of annual preventive health assessments and post-deployment

  • Survivor shares story to combat troop suicides

    Kim Ruocco hung up the phone with her husband, relieved he had finally agreed to seek help for his increasingly severe bouts of depression.Still, she had a nagging feeling that something wasn't right. She decided to catch a red-eye flight from Massachusetts to California, where her husband's reserve

  • Chaplains discuss suicide prevention

    Air Combat Command chaplains gathered April 27 through 29 to discuss the problem of suicide during a Comprehensive Airman Fitness conference in Newport News, Va. During the conference, Dr. Thomas Joiner, the event's keynote speaker, shared his concern about the pandemic of suicide. "Worldwide, over