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Army recruiting stand-down ordered for Friday

A stand-down of the Army’s entire recruiting force, ordered by Army Secretary Pete Geren, will take place Friday.

Geren ordered the stand-down after a wide-ranging investigation into four suicides in the Houston Recruiting Battalion. Poor command climate, failing personal relationships and long, stressful work days were factors in the suicides, the investigation found.

During the one-day stand-down, all 7,735 active Army and 1,797 Reserve recruiters will receive training on leadership, a review of the expectations of Recruiting Command’s leaders, suicide prevention and resiliency training, coping skills and recruiter wellness.

Findings from the investigation, conducted by Brig. Gen. Del Turner, deputy commanding general for Accessions Command, were released Jan. 21, one week before the Army announced that suicides among soldiers across the Army increased in 2008 to 129, the highest rate in almost 30 years. In addition, the cause of death in 14 other cases was pending. That means there could have been as many as 143 suicides in 2008.

A separate stand-down, for all soldiers, will take place over a 30-day period beginning Feb. 15. During that time, commanders across the Army will provide their soldiers with training ranging from how to recognize suicidal behavior, to intervention at the buddy level.