H2F Brings Soldiers Together for Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

SEMBACH, Germany - Soldiers from the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command participated in a Holistic Health and Fitness event, on Sept. 18, focused on suicide prevention awareness, where they moved from classroom to classroom learning how different areas of health and wellness can affect their everyday lives.

The event brought together subject matter experts from across different emergency resource programs to give Soldiers an opportunity to learn more about the five domains of H2F, physical, mental, spiritual, sleep, nutrition, and the role they play in overall well-being.

"The theme is connect to protect, getting us to be stronger and more resilient by taking care of our physical, mental, sleep, nutrition, and spiritual health," said Andy Munsterman, H2F representative for 10th AAMDC and event coordinator.

Command Sgt. Maj. Henry Scott, senior enlisted advisor for 10th AAMDC, opened the event by giving a short speech and urging Soldiers to give all H2F domains the same attention as they each impact an area of their lives. He stressed that it was important to know how to recognize the signs of a mental crisis in order to intervene before it is too late.

"These are skills and lessons that we should all know as Soldiers and leaders, knowing how to get left of the boom and take care of someone before the problem surfaces," said Scott.

Instead of receiving the information through a single briefing, Soldiers rotated through five different classrooms, where instructors discussed their respective domains. Being able to learn, ask questions and interact directly with a subject matter expert, helped Soldiers better understand how the domains fit into their lives.

"I like that we are physically moving from classroom to classroom, walking into a new room makes it easier to target my focus on the different domains and really understand the importance of each one," said Spc. Dillon Alvino, wheeled vehicle mechanic for 10th AAMDC.

The event concluded with a Q&A segment where Soldiers were encouraged to ask questions to the SMEs from the H2F Academy, 10th AAMDC Unit Ministry team, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center Nutritional Medicine, the 254th Combat Operational Stress Control Unit, the 52d Air Defense Artillery Brigade Behavioral Health Team, the Military and Family Life Counselors, the American Red Cross, and the Army Substance Abuse Program. They were able to bring together suicide prevention awareness and H2F education in an interactive environment. By the end, Soldiers had received information from multiple subject matter experts, learned more about how the H2F domains work together and gained a better understanding of the resources available to support their health and readiness.

"I hope everyone takes at least one thing from this event that helps them or the Soldiers of their formation in the future," said Master Sgt. Lamar Turner, religious affairs noncommissioned officer in charge for 10th AAMDC and instructor for spiritual readiness.

If you are looking for support, any of the above programs can help, or you can dial 988, option 2, to speak with the military veteran crisis line.