In May 1996, General Moorman, Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force (AF/CV), commissioned a Suicide Prevention Integrated Product Team (IPT) composed of all functional areas of the Air Force. He requested General Roadman, Surgeon General of the Air Force (AF/SG), chair the 75-member committee and develop suicide prevention strategies. The Suicide Prevention IPT quickly realized there was no easy fix. To be effective the program was designated as a line program owned by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force (CSAF) with the AF/SG as the OPR. The program was founded upon the concept that decreasing suicides meant implementing a community approach in which prevention and assistance were a focus long before someone became suicidal. In order to combat suicide, the Suicide Prevention IPT developed and implemented 11 far-reaching initiatives (AFPAM 44-160):

1. Marketing Community Awareness. Commanders are encouraged to make appropriate use of mental health services and reminded about command’s responsibility as gatekeepers and agents of cultural change to make seeking assistance acceptable.
2. Leadership Involvement. The program is endorsed and actively supported by the CSAF. Every 4-6 months the CSAF sends out messages to all Air Force leaders discussing various aspects of suicide prevention.
3. Investigative Interview Policy. Required handoff to commander, First Sergeant, or supervisor following interviews or interrogations by the OSI, SF, EEO, EOT, or IG.
4. Professional Military Education. Included suicide prevention training as part of officer and enlisted Professional Military Education and the First Sergeants course.
5. Epidemiological Database. Developed a central surveillance system for tracking fatal and nonfatal self-injuries. Data reported throughout this article was obtained from that source.
6. Delivery of Community Preventive Services. Policy permitted mental health professionals to receive credit for engaging in preventive services in non-clinical settings. This was important because medical centers are staffed according to how many patients they treat. Prior to this policy preventive services outside clinical settings were not credited.
7. Community Education and Training. Required annual suicide prevention training of all active duty, reserve, guard, and appropriated-funded civilian employees (AFI 44-154).
8. Critical Incident Stress Management. Established Critical Incident Stress Teams (AFI 44-153) worldwide to respond to traumatic incidents such as suicide. Teams are multidisciplinary and drawn from mental health, medical, chaplain, Family Support Center, and peers.
9. Integrated Delivery System (IDS) and Community Action Information Board (CAIB). The IDS was a revolutionary idea. All the helping agencies on a base were brought together not to report data but to identify the needs of their base and to develop a plan for meeting those needs as a group. In addition, to the individual base IDSs, there were also IDSs for each MAJCOM, and an Air Force level IDS. At each base, MAJCOM, and the Air Force level, a CAIB was created. The CAIB is a cross-functional committee made up of community agencies chaired by the wing or vice wing commander and serves as a policy and decision making forum. When the IDS encounters a community problem they are unable to resolve, they are encouraged to elevate the issue to the CAIB and their MAJCOM IDS.
10. Limited Patient-Psychotherapist Privilege (AFI-44-109). Established a policy in which a member being investigated for crimes punishable under the UCMJ and is at increased risk for suicide can be seen by a mental health provider who can establish a mental health record not available to law enforcement agencies. This separate mental health record only applies to that time when the person is at risk for suicide and under investigation. A person can be enrolled in the program at the request of their commander.
11. Unit Risk Factor Assessment. The Behavioral Health Survey was created to assess the behavioral health of units. The BHS is under revision and the new version will be released in 03 as the IDS Consultation Assessment Tool (IDS-CAT).

In summary, suicide prevention is the responsibility of each of us. Effective suicide prevention means we create a community that provides assistance long before someone becomes suicidal. As General Jumper has said, “We have a responsibility to our active duty members and their families to provide a safety net of support services that ensures a healthy and fit force and assistance to those in need. This is the foundation underlying the Air Force Suicide Prevention Program. Now more than ever, we need to remind ourselves that our Air Force is only as strong as those who serve.”