Real Warriors Campaign Urges Service Members And Veterans To Reach Out For Care For Invisible Wounds During Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and the Real Warriors Campaign is asking Americans to help spread the word about the many psychological health tools and resources available for active duty service members, members of the National Guard and reserve, veterans and military families coping with invisible wounds.

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Experiencing psychological stress as a result of deployment is common. Service members and their families should feel comfortable reaching out to their units and chain of command for support. Service members bear the great responsibility of protecting our nation, and as Americans, it is our duty to support their physical and psychological strength.

The Real Warriors Campaign is a multimedia public awareness campaign that encourages help-seeking behavior among service members and veterans coping with invisible wounds. The campaign features Real Warriors who prove through example that reaching out is a sign of strength that benefits warriors, their families, their units, and the military community.

U.S. Army Maj. Jeff Hall has served our country for nearly 20 years. Following his second deployment to Iraq, Maj. Hall became increasingly angry, began pushing away his family, and contemplated suicide until his commanding officer helped him get the care he needed. With the support of his family, Army leadership and the military health care system, he successfully overcame his suicidal ideation and continues to maintain a successful military career as an operations training officer to this day. Maj. Hall and his wife, Sheri, are available to share their story to encourage other warriors coping with psychological health concerns to access available tools and resources like the Real Warriors Campaign and to highlight the role that family and friends can play in supporting warriors before, during and after deployment.

U.S. Army (Ret.) Maj. Ed Pulido, a Purple Heart recipient, experienced visible and invisible wounds including suicidal ideation, as a result of his deployment to Iraq. With the support of his family, Army leadership and the military health care system, he successfully overcame thoughts of suicide, among other health concerns, and maintains a successful civilian career as the vice president of public relations for the Folds of Honor Foundation, an organization that provides scholarships and to the spouses and children of soldiers killed or disabled during military service. Maj. Pulido is available to share his inspirational story about seeking help to encourage other warriors coping with psychological health concerns to access available tools and resources like the Real Warriors Campaign and to highlight the role that family and friends can play in supporting warriors before, during and after deployment.

As part of Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, the campaign has developed free, downloadable print and online public service announcements (PSAs) to encourage service members and veterans to seek care for invisible wounds and to assess psychological health tools and resources of support, particularly the Real Warriors Campaign website and the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) Outreach Center.

The campaign also engages with key audiences via social media channels Facebook and Twitter to drive service members, veterans and their families to the campaign website and other psychological health tools and resources. To connect with the campaign on Facebook, visit www.facebook.com/realwarriors and to follow us on Twitter, visit www.twitter.com/realwarriors.

For more information please visit www.realwarriors.net.

SOURCE The Real Warriors Campaign

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