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 behaviors, but from the invisible danger of mental and behavioral health issues, and other stressors that can increase the risk of suicide.

People First

Listening to Soldiers led to our very deliberate decision to re-align our priorities. The Army’s number one priority is now people. Our people are our Soldiers from the Active, Guard, and Reserve components, Army families, Army civilians, and retiree and veteran Soldiers for Life. At every echelon, the Army must promote and build cohesive teams (1) that are highly trained, disciplined, and fit, (2) that are ready to fight and win, and (3) in which each person is treated with dignity and respect. Cohesive teams are the foundation of all our people initiatives and how the Army can best sustain readiness and transform for the future. Three critical enablers from the 2019 Army People Strategy continue to set conditions for putting people first: Army Culture, Quality of Life initiatives, and a 21st Century Talent Management System.

Army Culture

Last December, the Army stood up the People First Task Force to address and implement the 70 Fort Hood Independent Review Committee recommendations, with the understanding that the issues identified are not unique to a single installation. Army leaders are stewards of a special bond of trust and confidence with the American people. We held accountable those leaders deemed to have broken that trust. We have fundamentally transformed our command selection process in order to improve the way we choose future leaders to assume positions with the most influence over Soldiers. We are piloting independent climate assessment teams of subject matter experts to identify unit climate trends early and respond before systemic problems emerge. We are listening to our people to learn and lead better. We conducted 96 listening sessions across 14 locations in addition to a special “Solarium” conference that asked junior- and mid-career leaders to develop solutions. The Army is now working to change policies and aspects of Army culture that impede prevention and response to harmful behaviors. The first policy change introduced “absent – unknown”, an additional duty status code which affords missing Soldiers oversight not present in "Absent Without Leave (AWOL)."