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152nd Airlift Wing hosts ASIST Training

  • Published
  • By Capt. Jason Yuhasz
  • 152AW Public Affairs
RENO --  On the 12th and 13th of February, the 152nd Airlift Wing hosted Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST). Nevada Army National Guard Capt. Mike Bordallo, along with representatives from the Nevada Governor's Office of Suicide Prevention, Ms. Misty Allen and Ms. Janett Massolo, facilitated the training. The class included attendees from both the Nevada Army and Air National Guard.

ASIST, created by LivingWorks, is a program that exists to help prevent suicide. According to the LivingWorks website, "The ASIST workshop is for caregivers who want to feel more comfortable, confident and competent in helping to prevent the immediate risk of suicide. Over one million caregivers have participated in this two-day, highly interactive, practical, practice-oriented workshop."

Col. Daniel Waters, commander of the 991st Aviation Troop Command, attended the ASIST training. He said, "From my perspective, it's easy to say someone else - a subject matter expert - will handle this stuff. But I feel, as servicemembers, we don't we have a choice- we have a responsibility to each other. If we want to protect our force, all of us need to be ready to help, and ASIST is crucial to ensuring that."

Bordallo noted, "ASIST helps our servicemembers to be better prepared to intervene in suicide attempts. The training model deals with intervening with someone with suicidal thoughts/intentions- a fellow servicemember, a family member, a coworker. Having command emphasis and buy-in helps encourage younger Soldiers and Airmen to intervene."

Bordallo is the Resilience Risk Reduction and Suicide Prevention program coordinator for the Nevada National Guard. He is also the administrative officer (S-1) for the 991st Troop Command and is a rated CH-47 helicopter pilot with more than 1,000 flight hours.

ASIST classes are offered quarterly, with one session each in both northern and southern Nevada. For more information about ASIST training, or for details about how to attend a session, please contact Capt. Bordallo at: 775-384-5810.