AMC Looks to Virtual Reality to Help Curb Suicides
Two bases in Air Mobility Command are using virtual reality to teach Airmen how to talk to someone who might be suicidal.
AFICC expedited its Small Business Innovation Research program, and within 60 days of the contract being built it awarded Moth+Flame a contract for headsets to be evaluated at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., and Travis Air Force Base, Calif., according to an AMC release.
Using the VR headsets, an Airman talks with another Airman in distress in a simulated scenario, asking questions such as, “Do you have a gun in the house?” and “Are you thinking about harming yourself?”
“Actually going through the process of talking to someone with thoughts of suicide is much different than sitting through a PowerPoint presentation,” said Kaitlyn Woodruff, the AFICC contracting officer assigned to the training program, in the release. “It impacts you emotionally and takes the fear out of talking to someone thinking about suicide.”
The contract covers 50 headsets and four training scenarios at the two bases, though only one scenario is currently under evaluation.
See the full story here: https://www.airforcemag.com/amc-looks-to-virtual-reality-to-help-curb-suicides/
