The most important thing we do all year

September 2011

EL PASO, TX-Praevius Group held one of the firm’s most important events of the year-the APET III Workshop at the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy, or USASMA, Sept. 14 - 16.

“Our mission is to equip leaders with the tools and techniques they need to be better leaders. We want to make an enduring impact that will leave a legacy.” said Praevius Group’s Brandon Cates.

The focus of the three-day workshop was to equip Sergeants Major instructors with the tools they need to teach Army Profession of Ethics Training, or APET, courses and to ensure younger generations of soldiers get a proper foundation for Army ethics and professional development.

More than 96 people attended the event, but nearly the whole Army will be impacted by the training. Workshop participants were Sergeants Major Academy instructors who teach and train future Sergeants Major attending an 10-month training at Ft. Bliss in El Paso, TX. After attending the program and being taught by instructors, SGMs will then be sent out to lead and train soldiers around the world.

“The course was meant to challenge instructors of Sergeants Major to model techniques and the best practices for equipping their own students, incorporating character and ethical growth in all portions of education-giving their students more than just a one-time event,” Praevius Group’s Jamey Gadoury said.

Gadoury served as event organizer and small group facilitator. He said the curriculum was part of the ongoing Profession of Arms campaign.

“The course focused on professional identity, army culture, army ethic, character development and a capstone exercise that challenged participants on how they could impact their culture at the course so that their students have the most meaningful experience possible,” he said.

Praevius Group believes working progressively with this targeted audience will affect the entire profession.

“Sergeants Major are exponentially powerful and impactful,” Cates said. “They go out into the Army and the mentality spreads, multiplying overnight.”

Facilitators look forward to seeing the long-term outcome of the event.

“Hopefully Sergeants Major will be able to talk deeply on concepts of the Profession of Arms,” Gadoury said. “As commanders, they need to be able to effectively dialog with their command groups and with soldiers by interpreting information in every day terms as well as expanding and talking about deeper concepts.”

Praevius Group’s focus on leader development is in support of the U.S. Army’s Profession of Arms campaign. This movement was established in May 2008 as an effort to “assess, study, and refine the Profession of Arms” by “accelerating professional and character development in individuals, units, and Army culture through training, education and leader development,” according to the Center for the Army Profession and Ethic’s (CAPE) website. CAPE is an army-level asset that supports the Army as a whole and is located at West Point.

CAPE organizes a series of courses on education and development of leaders, encouraging participants at every level to discuss principals and theories, and develop their own character and the character of those around them.

Praevius Group provides CAPE with training and educational programs, and products for soldiers and leaders. Praevius Group team members served as speakers, course coordinators and small-group facilitators for this specific event, helping develop curriculum to identify particular to SGM needs.

“Due to our past experience in leadership and with the diverse experiences of our team members, CAPE trusts Praevius to support their mission … and aggressive campaign,” Gadoury said.

Praevius Group knows it will face some resistance from soldiers who think the Profession of Arms Campaign is “just a fad” or the “latest Chief’s initiative,” but hopes that working through the Sergeants Major will help reduce this resistance.

“Our vision is to give greater understanding of the Profession of Arms,” Cates said. “But there is a lot of cynicism we have to overcome. We have to try and breakdown barriers and get people to want to learn. Participants have an unbelievable depth of experience. At their core, they know and understand the concepts we deliver in these workshops. We challenge them to think about those concepts in a new way and renew their commitment to truly be a steward of the Profession.”

The course was taught and facilitated by a variety of professionals with different backgrounds and a broad range of expertise. Key speakers included: Mr. Gus Lee, COL (Ret.) Dr. Jo LeBoeuf, BG (Ret.) Becky Halstead, COL Eric Schacht, SGM Dave Stewart and Mr. Colby Jenkins.

Praevius Group’s Gadoury said the company brought in the highest quality speakers with contributable experiences. “We had nationally known speakers and authors which were an important part of it,” he said. “We customized concepts and theories of CAPE into a curriculum that was targeted for this specific audience.”

Gadoury said it’s important the curriculum is built around the audience’s needs. Facilitators and speakers used professionalism, combined military experiences and their expertise to successfully communicate with the SGM instructors.

Presentations and subject matter included: Professional Identity, The Profession of Arms Foundational Concepts, Army Culture, Civilian Military Relations, Army Ethic and Character Development, and the story of a “Journey of a Wounded Warrior.”

“Participants left this workshop with concrete techniques and plans to implement the concepts in their next cycle of Sergeants Major students,” Cates said. “The SGM instructors saw and … understood that they have a huge impact on the Army at large. Sergeants Major are the stewards of the profession-they ensure the younger generation of soldiers get a proper foundation in the Profession of Arms.”

The team delivered this message through various modes, including tangible strategies and classroom techniques. Activities included small-group discussions, large-group lectures and simulations.

Participants were responsive to the messages. Cates described the typical SGM learner as “extremely passionate” and displaying an “obvious care for the Profession of Arms.”

Catalyst for the event, SGM David Stewart from the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy, said the course did affect Sergeants Major Academy Instructors.

“I know for a fact having spoken to a few instructors that it definitely impacted their thought process on the whole character development piece,” Stewart said. ‘’The effects in the classroom were almost immediate as instructors were implementing the material Praevius gave us the day after the class.”

Stewart said the course was a transformational development of the Profession of Arms rather than a 3-day event.

“The course was spot on,” Stewart said. “The only way our soldiers are going to buy-in to the Profession is for our leaders to not only talk it, but walk it at the same time.” This course prepared leaders for just that.

The APET III Workshop at USASMA is just a piece of what Praevius Group does. The firm supports the Army in other ways, too.
Cates said, “We all have a special dedication to soldiers and … believe our work will truly have a lasting impact on the organization we all love.”

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Praevius plays a role in Suicide Prevention Month

September 2011

Praevius Group’s John Hearn acted as an Interactive Role-Play Facilitator at Fort Hood on Sept. 9 as a part of Suicide Prevention month. As a former service member, Hearn coached the audience through personal stories and engaged learners with interactive decision making by doing a “question and answer session.”

There have been 5 suicide cases at Fort Hood since Jan. 2011, which continues to motivate Hearn and others to make it a priority to address the issue and teach soldiers how to deal with their feelings and experiences-as well as be aware of the behavioral signs of their fellow soldiers.

Click here to read the full story as found on the U.S. Army Military Website, or continue reading:

FORT HOOD, Texas, Sept. 9, 2011 — PowerPoint slides can be very boring, especially in a dark auditorium. Now combine that with a difficult topic for discussion like suicide prevention. It’s a recipe for an instant nap.

Instead, Fort Hood is waking up Soldiers and giving them the opportunity to join live actors on stage for a suicide prevention interactive play every Tuesday at Palmer Theater.

September is Suicide Prevention Month. Although suicide awareness is stressed all year long, September is set aside to conduct training and to test crisis response plans.

According to the Army, as of July, 161 suicides have been reported in 2011 — 97 active duty and 64 Reserve Component Soldiers. Fort Hood has reported five suicide cases since Jan. 2011 — three confirmed with two still under investigation.

“The impact that suicide is having across the Army right now,” John Hearn, Interactive Role-Play facilitator said, “Soldiers need to know how big of a deal it really is.”

Hearn, a former service member, interacts with his audience throughout the play using his own personal stories, and he asks for audience participation on how to approach different suicide prevention scenarios.

The interactive play highlights the common risk factors and warning signs of suicide, Sharon Sutton, Fort Hood’s Suicide Prevention Program manager, said.

During the play, four professionally trained actors dramatize the warning signs and act out the risk factors of suicide from a Soldier’s perspective.

Aaron Alexander, an actor who played “Spc. Alexander” throughout several skits, said, “Something I love doing — acting — is actually saving lives.”

The play started off with each actor introducing themselves as their Soldier persona. Then Hearn gave a short introduction of Alexander’s background. Alexander is a central character throughout the play.

Alexander, once a well-rounded, hard-working Soldier, runs across the stage because he is late for formation, again. He shows a sudden change in behavior, a lack of respect for himself and others, and a depression and emotional detachment.

Alexander’s platoon leader questioned his recent change in behavior.

“What’s going on?” the platoon leader asked. The specialist quickly gave a one-word response.

“Nothing,” he said.

The actors freeze. Hearn then leads the audience in a question-and answer-session. He pulled a Soldier, Spc. Erik Melvin, 5th Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, out of the audience to portray Spc. Alexander’s close friend who is concerned about his change in behavior.

Melvin dramatized the “Ask” portion of the “Ask, Care, and Escort,” or ACE, training model.

With the help of the audience giving suggestions, Melvin role-played different ways to approach Alexander to get him to open up and confide to him. But as real life does not play out like fiction from books, Alexander tells Melvin nothing.

“See something, say something,” Hearn said as he stepped back in for another question-and-answer session. “Now is the time to ’say something’ to someone about Alexander’s behavior,” Hearn said.

The play continued with Alexander continuing to show warning signs and risk factors of suicidal behavior. His work performance continued to fall and his temper was spiraled out of control.

Next, Spc. James Kuritz, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, was brought on stage as Alexander’s platoon leader. Kuritz then assisted in the dramatization of the ‘Care’ portion of ACE.

Kuritz tried to get Alexander to talk about what is sending him in a downward spiral. Unfortunately, with no response but “nothing,” Kuritz contacts Alexander’s ex-girlfriend, “Spc. Dominguez,” portrayed by actress Karina Dominguez.

In a humorous rant, Dominguez quickly dismisses Kuritz’s warnings about Alexander’s behavior saying, “He is my ex boyfriend, not current boyfriend!”

The laughter stopped when Dominguez is informed that Alexander has killed himself, showing what happens when suicidal risk factors and warning signs are ignored.

Other skits were performed to demonstrate the “Escort” portion of ACE by Dominguez and Michelle Keffer, and “See something, say something” by actors Alexander and Joey Hood.

Dominguez said the play helps Soldiers because it has something different for them with the interactivity, which helps stimulate them.

“They get a chance to get involved and invested,” she said.

Captain Aaron Skerkavich, 5-82 FA Regt., said he had his own preconceived notion about what the play would be like, but he felt they definitely blew that out of the water.

“It was awesome,” he said.

The interactive role-play is performed each Tuesday at Fort Hood. The play is recommended for adults only, due to some graphic language throughout the performance.

For anyone needing immediate assistance, call the Suicide Prevention Hotline, 1-800-SUICIDE, or the Fort Hood Chaplain Crisis Line, 287-CHAP (2427).

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