British Army
Sgt Maj Potter in a group debriefs some of his troops following a patrol
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SERGEANT MAJOR STUART TEACHES TROOPS TO OPEN UP AND TALK
A British Army Sergeant Major, more used to being feared by his troops for his hard line on discipline, is now finding himself in a quite different role - responsible for encouraging a 160 strong company of men serving in Afghanistan to talk through their problems and overcome any mental health issues.
In a stark diversion from the traditional role of a Company Sergeant Major, Stuart Potter offers front line mental health support for the men serving with 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment, in the southern Nad-e Ali area of Helmand province.
He operates the TRiM (Trauma Risk Management) system which teaches soldiers to spot signs of mental distress in their colleagues. The aim is to encourage troops to talk about their problems and seek help at the earliest stage from the team of Community Psychiatric Nurses and consultant psychiatrists who are on hand in Afghanistan to provide any care and treatment needed.
It’s a far cry from Stuart’s day job at the Battalion’s Headquarters in Shropshire. He explains:
“In the UK I enforce discipline, I shout at soldiers about their uniform, being late for work or having a ‘few too many’. In Afghanistan, sometimes I shout but mostly I listen. I listen to soldiers telling me how they put themselves into danger for their mates, how they extracted a casualty while under fire. How they were scared when they thought their number was up.”
But Sergeant Major Potter says that listening is vital on the front line:
“On patrol it can go from having a laugh with kids and building up trust with local nationals to lying in an irrigation ditch trying to locate the enemy in a blink of an eye. No matter who you are, the realisation that you are in someone’s sights, that someone wants to kill you, is traumatic; that’s where TRiM comes in.
British Army
Sgt Maj Potter in a group debriefs some of his troops following a patrol
---
SERGEANT MAJOR STUART TEACHES TROOPS TO OPEN UP AND TALK
A British Army Sergeant Major, more used to being feared by his troops for his hard line on discipline, is now finding himself in a quite different role - responsible for encouraging a 160 strong company of men serving in Afghanistan to talk through their problems and overcome any mental health issues.
In a stark diversion from the traditional role of a Company Sergeant Major, Stuart Potter offers front line mental health support for the men serving with 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment, in the southern Nad-e Ali area of Helmand province.
He operates the TRiM (Trauma Risk Management) system which teaches soldiers to spot signs of mental distress in their colleagues. The aim is to encourage troops to talk about their problems and seek help at the earliest stage from the team of Community Psychiatric Nurses and consultant psychiatrists who are on hand in Afghanistan to provide any care and treatment needed.
It’s a far cry from Stuart’s day job at the Battalion’s Headquarters in Shropshire. He explains:
“In the UK I enforce discipline, I shout at soldiers about their uniform, being late for work or having a ‘few too many’. In Afghanistan, sometimes I shout but mostly I listen. I listen to soldiers telling me how they put themselves into danger for their mates, how they extracted a casualty while under fire. How they were scared when they thought their number was up.”
But Sergeant Major Potter says that listening is vital on the front line:
“On patrol it can go from having a laugh with kids and building up trust with local nationals to lying in an irrigation ditch trying to locate the enemy in a blink of an eye. No matter who you are, the realisation that you are in someone’s sights, that someone wants to kill you, is traumatic; that’s where TRiM comes in.