New Army Guard division focuses on Soldiers’ well-being

New Army Guard division focuses on Soldiers’ well-being
By Army Spc. John Higgins
National Guard Bureau


ARLINGTON, Va. - Soldiers and their families are the focus of a new division here at the Army National Guard Readiness Center (ARNGRC).

In May, the center’s Soldier/Family Support Service Division (S/FSSD) began providing care and service for Soldiers to include suicide prevention, family support and transition back from active duty.

“There has never been a time in history when we have made so many resources available to care for all aspects of [the Soldiers’] well-being.” said Erin Thede, civilian chief of the S/FSSD. “We are dedicated to pursuing policy and resources that improve our care and services so that no Soldier or family is left behind.”

Army Lt. Col. Ashleah Betchel, chief of the Soldier Support Branch at the ARNGRC, added that the Soldier’s care is everyone’s responsibility. “This is a commander’s issue, a leader’s issue, a Soldier’s issue, a family issue, and a community issue,” she said. “There is ownership across the board for everybody to make sure that we’re taking care of the Soldiers in the right way. That’s one of the reasons our division was formed . . . to get the word out there.”

Getting that word out is the responsibility of the officers and NCOs starting at the division level, including Master Sgt. Marshall Bradshaw, the ARNGRC Suicide Prevention Program Manager.

“If we were to hire a professional counselor at the state level . . . you still couldn’t get all the Soldiers in to see that counselor,” said Bradshaw about the challenge of maintaining Soldiers’ mental health and monitoring them for signs that they might want to harm themselves.
The second challenge for Bradshaw, the units and the Guard is how to disseminate information and take care of troops, who generally only check in with their units two days every month.

The solution for both problems comes from the communities Guard Soldiers live and work in. Nonprofit organizations such as the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), religious organizations and even police and firefighter chaplains are prepared to assist the Guard.
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