Communities see the greatest impact when prevention is built into the systems that support them. That principle is at the heart of a partnership between the U.S. Army, the city of Alexandria, and CADCA, culminating in the launch of the Army Community Prevention Leadership Academy (CPLA). This training is a new professional development program designed to build the skills and capacity of the Army’s prevention workforce. The Academy equips prevention integrators with knowledge, tools, and processes needed to address a range of harmful behaviors, including suicide, sexual assault, domestic violence, and substance misuse.
CADCA worked closely with Army leadership to tailor its well-established community prevention model to the military environment. While the underlying prevention principles remain the same, the curriculum was adapted to reflect the realities of Army installations and command structures. This included translating community-based terminology into military language while maintaining the core concepts that drive effective prevention work. The framework still emphasizes collaboration across sectors through strong partnerships and data-driven decision-making, but in ways that support commanders and align with Army governance processes.
"This [Academy] has been a vision of our President and CEO General Barrye L. Price,” said CADCA Chief Strategy Officer Pat Castillo. “When he came to CADCA, he told us we have the opportunity to work with installations. These are communities across the country and around the world where we can help train others in our model of community change.”
The first cohort of the Academy is wrapping up training now, and participants represented a wide range of Army components, including Active Duty, the National Guard, and the Army Reserve, spanning installations across the nation and beyond. Participants in the CPLA included both soldiers and civilian personnel who had been formally appointed by their commanders to support prevention efforts within their units or communities.
These individuals are part of the Army’s emerging Integrated Primary Prevention Workforce, a capability created in response to recommendations from the Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee. The committee called for greater investment in developing a professional prevention workforce to reduce harmful behaviors.
“The report identified that more capabilities are needed to set conditions in the culture and climate of organizations so that soldiers and family members know that seeking help is the easy choice, seeking help is a sign of strength,” said Renee Johnson, HQDA Suicide Prevention and Response Program Manager. “We want seeking help to be the societal norm in that community, in that installation.”
Over three nonconsecutive weeks, participants received hands-on learning through virtual instruction in addition to one-on-one coaching from prevention experts and technical assistance consultants. The training focused on helping leaders translate public health science and evidence-based strategies into practical strategies they can implement within their own installations.
Throughout the training, participants developed six tangible products to guide prevention efforts in their installations and commands: a community assessment examining local conditions and risk factors; a logic model identifying root causes and pathways for change; a strategic and action plan; an evaluation plan; an evaluation communication plan; and a sustainability plan.
Many participants came into the training with a strong knowledge of their communities but lacked a structured process for translating that knowledge into coordinated action. Participants also received individual coaching sessions to help refine their products and adapt them to their local context. This hands-on support is imperative in ensuring that the training produces plans that participants could implement immediately while remaining sustainable in the long term.
During the course, participants conducted inventories of helping agencies, services, and programs available within their installations and surrounding communities. They assessed how well these resources were connected and whether soldiers and families were familiar with how to access them. Participants were also challenged to think about how to improve those connections and build systems that encourage early support, before challenges escalate into crises.
Graduates will continue to receive support from CADCA through access to training resources and a national prevention community of practice for the next 12 months. The ultimate goal of the Academy is to help leaders build sustainable systems that support change for years to come.
For CADCA, this training represents the expansion of community-based prevention approaches into military communities around the world. We look forward to continuing these efforts and are immensely grateful to our partners who make this work possible.
