The Resiliency Training Program that I talked about earlier also includes a peer support component. Even if military personnel are not fully aware of what they are experiencing, we try to train people within the units, ideally people of the same rank, to alert one another. We call this the buddy system. In other words, people are assigned to pay attention to another person, his or her buddy, in order to be able to tell that person when something is not right, when the person is not behaving normally, and ask whether the person is aware.
At Valcartier, we also have suicide prevention committees and committees on violence in which military personnel in the units can participate. These act a bit like eyes and ears for us on the ground, if you like. They can recognize when someone is not doing well. We even make sure that the therapists' photos are posted somewhere. That way, military personnel can identify, for example, the addictions counsellor.
During the post-deployment interview, when military personnel return to Canada, they fill out a self-evaluation questionnaire that describes various symptoms. They have to indicate for example, if they react strongly to a given situation and if their reaction corresponds to one or another of the reactions described. So this is done when they return and it is important because they do not always have the time to stop and be aware of what they are experiencing. Our presentations focus on this to some extent. The military personnel recognize themselves. Mr. Castro's Battlemind, which I mentioned earlier, is an example. I have clients who have seen that presentation and really identify with this because, for example, they see a military member speaking to his son the way he would speak to a subordinate. He uses a harsh, directive tone which would be totally appropriate in an operational theatre, but when he is talking to his five-year-old son who wants to play with him, he needs to change his tone. He needs to adapt. These are scenes from people's lives, so it is easier for members to recognize themselves in these situations. It promotes self-examination and encourages people to ask for help, obviously, because the health services are being promoted at the same time. We need to be able to fulfil our mandate.