29 Jun 2021

PTSD: Seeking out mental health care is the first step to wellness

Service members, family members and veterans who suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder may repeatedly re-experience their ordeal as nightmares, flashbacks or frightening thoughts, especially when exposed to events that remind them of their original trauma, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They also may experience overanxious watchfulness or a tendency to withdraw or avoid situations and people that remind them of their traumatic experience, CDC said.

25 May 2021

Run toward the fire: My journey through mental illness

Suicide has been a part of my Air Force journey. It took a conversation with someone I trust and respect greatly, who also happens to be a mental health professional, to realize that suicide came nearer to defining my own story than I’d been willing to admit. “I’m going to give you one piece of advice,” he said. “Run toward the fire.”

19 May 2021

Reducing the stigma and encouraging mental health care in the military

In the military, the stigma of mental health is grounded in the cultural misperception that a service member must have "zero defects" to be mission ready. While the Department of Defense strives to identify and eliminate barriers to care that service members face regarding mental health treatment, stigma remains a significant issue within the military.

2 Apr 2021

Department of the Air Force remains focused on suicide prevention

In 2019, the Department of the Air Force suicide count and rate were the highest in recent history.

11 Feb 2021

Department of the Air Force leaders focus on resiliency

Senior leaders are focused on building and growing resilience by establishing a task force called Operation Arc Care. This task force is currently reviewing resilience programs and overarching strategy using a phased approach which began in November.

29 Jan 2021

480th ISRW ART inspire United States Space Force strategy

Chief Master Sgt. Roger Towberman, United States Space Force senior enlisted advisor and Ms. Patricia Mulcahy, Senior Executive Service deputy chief of space operations for personnel virtually visited 16th Air Force (Air Forces Cyber) Airmen at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, Jan. 11, 2021.

24 Aug 2020

First Massachusetts Air National Guard mental health technician strives to help Airmen

The four pillars of resilience are physical, social, spiritual, and mental. Staff Sgt. Victoria von den Benken, 104th Medical Group behavioral health technician, will be spending a lot of time in her new Air Force Specialty Code dealing with the last one of those - mental health.

22 Jun 2020

Taking care of AF frontline providers

Air Force medics are on the front lines against COVID-19, and maintaining their mental well-being is critical to keeping them in the fight. Delivering medical care in a pandemic or other crisis creates new mental health challenges, and makes existing challenges more serious. Medics should be aware of the increased risk to their well-being, and how it could affect their work caring for patients. One of the biggest risks for providers is burnout, or compassion fatigue.

9 Jun 2020

Embedded mental health essential during pandemic (Part 2)

Air Force mental health teams embedded in operational squadrons are helping Airmen deal with stress created by the COVID-19 pandemic to sustain essential operations during the crisis. Embedded mental health took on an increased role during the COVID-19 pandemic. Airmen working in critical roles have added stress, while the pandemic limits traditional methods of mental health support.

28 May 2020

Embedded mental health essential during pandemic (Part 1)

Embedded Air Force mental health professionals play a critical role in keeping Airmen mission ready, and during the COVID-19 pandemic they are even more important to maintaining readiness.