Getting the Nod from the Generals

Universities and the military operate with very different needs and norms, so partnerships between them are complicated. But they’re essential, and this one took substantial commitment from Air Force leaders to make it work, says Peter Wyman, PhD, co-director of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide.

Steven E. Pflanz (MD ’94), then USAF colonel and director of Psychological Health, was one of these critical leaders. Air Force generals had to buy into the program, says Pflanz, now the deputy chief of staff at Syracuse VA Medical Center.

The common perception of the military might be tough guys with philosophies of “Suck it up” and “Drop and give me 20 pushups, maggot,” but the generals were active advocates of the idea of protecting mental health.

“The military is much more enlightened than [the film] Private Benjamin,” Pflanz says. “The military has imperfections, but it’s committed to evolving. There are dinosaurs, but most are moving forward.”

Key to the success of suicide prevention programs is eliminating the shame often associated with mental health struggles and promoting understanding of the need for prevention and treatment.

“Wingman-Connect reduces suicide risk but also builds cohesion and makes the group healthier, which is important for a fighting unit,” Pflanz says. “So much of leaving no one behind is simple but so powerful. Morale is essential.”

“The service is dedicated to meeting the needs of our airmen, guardians, and families,” says Christopher Goode, PhD, the acting division chief for the Integrated Resilience Directorate of the Air Force. “Wingman-Connect has shown extraordinary results during its pilot and implementation phases.”

In the Department of Defense’s 2021 annual report on suicides, Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III succinctly stated his opinion on the stigma problem: “Mental health is health, period.”

With Wingman-Connect, says Pflanz, “it was always about how to fit it in, not whether we should do this.”

One goal of the training is to ensure that everyone leaves with at least two valued colleagues. Trainees discover that they have a wingman. And, typically, more than one.

In videotaped comments, Airman Tyler Wilkey says: “I learned that you have to have a balance in life. If you don’t get that balance, then everything just falls apart. And it did fall apart once or twice since I’ve been in, but I had my friend to back me up whenever I needed him.”

Airman Tarzis Lobos said the interactivity made the training more effective. “In other trainings, I just watch it and I’m supposed to get something out of that, but in the end I take away nothing.”

Wingman-Connect prompted him to open up and share with the other trainees.

“At certain times you feel very alone,” he says. “You need those bonds, people who can pull you out of your room so you’re not just sitting and stewing in your sadness but can get you out there so you can see brightness again.”

Airman Isaiah Rush gleefully points to himself when Lobos mentions people who pull him out of isolation.

“After the Wingman-Connect interaction, it really made us come together because we started hanging out together,” Rush says. “It started a lot of friendships for me.” At one point in the discussion of friendship, Rush elbows Lobos, who smiles.

Lobos speaks gratefully of the airmen who “forced me to leave my room and really want to go places.”

And the training has given him the insight and skills to identify that behavior in others: “Whenever there are people that separate a little too much and it feels that maybe they are struggling, you understand to pull them back into the group.”

Using Contagious Attitudes for Good

The success of Wingman-Connect has led the team to further adapt the program to reach other groups in need.

“Schools, workplaces, faith and other community organizations provide most people with some opportunity to become part of a social network,” Wyman says. “What inspires my research team is learning how we can enrich and build those natural social networks to increase suicide protection and health.”

It is well established that peers wield tremendous power over each other, so Wyman decided to make use of that as a force for change.

“Rather than bemoaning this fact, it actually offers immense opportunity to capture and leverage peer group influence for prevention and health,” Wyman says. “Just as suicide can be contagious, so too can be the attitudes and behaviors that counter suicide and help people thrive.”

“The core concepts are widely applicable,” Pisani says. “People live, change, and grow in relationships, and those relationships form a network. Strengthening that network is key. There’s a great deal of promise that it can be applied across a wide range of environments.”

So Wyman’s team collaborated with Sherry Molock, PhD (George Washington University), and Sidney Hankerson, MD (Mt Sinai), to adapt the Connect strategies to address the increasing suicide rate of Black adolescents. The Haven-Connect program is now being tested in a dozen predominantly Black churches in Rochester and Harlem.

Pastor Fredrick Johnson of the First Genesis Baptist Church in the city of Rochester says he hopes the training will help heal the damage that lingers since the darkest days of the pandemic. Depression and anxiety are well-known effects of the forced isolation, which was especially devastating for teens.

So far, Johnson has heard only positive comments from the teens and adult church members who have gone through the training. They appreciate the engaging, group-bonding activities that replace the standard method of dispensing advice via slide shows. Some teens who were introverted or disruptive began to alter their behavior after the training.

“I think there’s a hunger of many young folks looking for healthy, engaging relationships,” Johnson says. “This program creates an environment of healthy, supportive interaction. And it’s not just for those in crisis mode but for those who are ready to shift paths. It gives them tools.”

Another new expansion is the Connect program for New York State police officers, which so far has been implemented in Albany, Mamaroneck, and Port Chester, with support from the New York State Office of Mental Health. The training is adapted for the variety of ages and experience levels. Wyman says it has been well received by the officers.

Positivity is one component that sets Wingman-Connect and its offshoots apart from other prevention programs.

“Other trainings focus on the negative effects that come from stressors, whereas Wingman-Connect, I believe, is focused on—it’s in the name—building that connection with our wingmen,” says Airman Destiny Garner.

“I think Wingman-Connect reminds us at the end of the day that, although we put on this uniform, we are still people.” RM