CNN  — 

Statement from Roderick Allison Director, Federal Air Marshal Service, TSA:

“The health and welfare of every man and woman who serves in the Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS) is TSA’s highest priority. TSA is committed to providing them with the resources and support they need to carry out their mission, and any loss of life is unacceptable.

“As part of our efforts, FAMS maintains a robust system of both medical, including mandatory physicals, and psychological assistance programs which are readily available to the workforce and their families. The FAMS Medical Programs Section is staffed with a physician and other full time medical professionals who are available to FAMS personnel 24/7 and upon request.

“In 2010, FAMS began a Critical Incident Response Unit, which oversees a comprehensive, integrative, and multi-component program that provides guidance and support to field office Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) trained personnel who assist FAMS employees and their families, and help stabilize and mitigate the psychological impact of a critical incident/trauma. This is accomplished by deploying CIRT teams to respond to traumatic critical incidents; implementing ongoing suicide prevention and awareness training and interfacing with TSA and DHS assets through participation in employee advisory councils. Additionally, FAMS contracts with a professional counseling team which provides services that are free to each employee and confidential. The service providers are licensed mental health professionals, and are available 24/7. FAMS also offers resiliency training to all of its first line supervisors with portions of that training dealing directly with recognizing and dealing with signs of suicide within the workforce. Finally, FAMS employees can contact TSA’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which provides short-term counseling and resources, and referral services at no cost to employees and family members.”

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