The War Department recognized 13 military and Coast Guard programs for suicide prevention efforts during a ceremony in the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes on Sept. 2.
The programs built partnerships, equipped leaders and peers with prevention training, connected people with mental health resources, and created environments in which service members and families could more readily seek support, the department said.
"They represent sustained efforts, informed by data, informed by the needs of their particular communities that they are serving," said Alicia Matteson, acting director of the Defense Suicide Prevention Office.
Honorees included the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade at Katterbach Army Airfield in Germany, which created an anonymous peer support group; the Marine Corps Headquarters Battalion at Camp Pendleton, California, which hosted more than 30 interactive wellness events; and the Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command in Portsmouth, Virginia, which launched a mental healthcare mobile app.
The Air Force Headquarters at Joint Base Andrews trained more than 300 senior leaders in supportive frameworks. Westover Air Reserve Base in Massachusetts brought mental health support to high-risk career fields and trained 22 resilience training assistants. Buckley Space Force Base in Colorado reached 25,000 community members through leadership briefings and education on secure firearm storage.
The Coast Guard Base Boston completed more than 260 outreach initiatives to support 4,000 personnel, while the Coast Guard Station Golden Gate used its bridge-recovery mission to secure a new physical bridge barrier and overhaul emergency response protocols.