Today, the Department of Defense announced the membership, charter, and projected site visit schedule for the Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee (SPRIRC), which was established by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on March 22, 2022.
The SPRIRC will be led by Dr. Gayle Iwamasa, a leading expert in mental health from the Department of Veterans Affairs. She will be joined by committee members with backgrounds and experiences collectively representing the public health approach to suicide prevention, clinical services for mental health, suicide epidemiology, the overlap between sexual assault and suicide behavior, and lethal means safety. They will be supported by special consultants who will add critical perspectives in the areas of officer and enlisted leadership, the needs and perspectives of our military families, and the role of chaplains in suicide prevention.
Installations currently selected for site visits are:
- Fort Campbell, Kentucky
- Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
- Naval Air Station North Island, California
- Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada
- Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska
- Fort Wainwright, Alaska
- Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska
- Camp Humphreys, South Korea
- North Carolina National Guard
Additional information on the Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee membership, charter, and projected site visit schedule can be found here.
