The purpose of this document is to explore all Combat Stress research over the past decade, which has as its focal point understanding the needs of the veteran community affected by mental health difficulties. This dissemination of study findings has been broadly categorised into individual but overlapping areas of investigation. One line of research describes the demographic profile, referral patterns and health profile of the veterans treated by Combat Stress. Themes also explore the needs of minority veteran groups and women veterans more closely. Studies investigating the nature of difficulties veterans may face are described, such as PTSD, alcohol misuse, physical health problems, complex PTSD (CPTSD), moral injury and military sexual trauma. Another line of research explores Combat Stress treatment outcomes and the interventions that the department has been involved in developing to treat veterans for these difficulties, such as the Residential Treatment Programme offered by the charity service, the Together Programme (an intervention developed to support military partners), remote access therapy, an anger management programme, and art therapy. Clinical trials investigating novel treatments the department has been involved in developing are also described, including treatments for CPTSD and moral injury.
Abstract: The U.S. Army’s Ask, Care, Escort (ACE) suicide gatekeeper training has been the annual requirement for all personnel since 2009; however, this training has never been formally evaluated. The present study evaluated three updated versions of ACE: a training for Army leaders (ACE-Suicide Intervention), a training for basic combat trainees (ACE for Basic Combat Training and One Station Unit Training), and a standard training for all personnel (ACE for the Force). Self-report surveys measured pre- to posttraining changes in objective and subjective knowledge and stigma, as well as preparedness, self-efficacy, and likelihood to engage in gatekeeper behaviors. Implementation outcomes, such as training acceptability, suitability, and usability were also assessed. Across these evaluations, participants reported that knowledge and gatekeeper behaviors significantly improved from pre- to posttraining. Implementation metrics revealed a high degree of acceptability and relevance for all three ACE trainings. Overall, the findings of these evaluations suggest important changes in key suicide prevention outcomes following the ACE suite of trainings. Further longitudinal assessment is needed to establish the full effectiveness of gatekeeper interventions in the Army.