Force Preservation and Wellness Overview

What Wellness Covers

Beyond the formal Force Preservation Council referrals, wellness work covers the section's daily watchfulness.

• Financial distress indicators.
• Mental health risk indicators.
• Fraternization risk indicators.
• Substance abuse indicators.
• Family stress indicators.
• Command climate concerns.

You see these in counseling sessions, in daily section life, in performance shifts. The earlier you see them, the easier the intervention.

The Spot-Route-Follow-Up Pattern

Three jobs.

• Spot. Recognize the indicator before it becomes the incident.
• Route. Connect the Marine with the right resource.
• Follow up. Verify the resource was used and the indicator is shifting.

Spotting without routing leaves the Marine alone with the problem. Routing without follow-up assumes the Marine engaged the resource.

The Resource Map

The section's job is awareness of which resource fits which indicator.

When the Indicator Is Acute

Acute indicators (suicidal ideation expressed, domestic violence in progress, immediate safety threat) do not wait for normal cadence.

• Engage immediate resource. Behavioral Health, chaplain, or 988.
• Coordinate with chain immediately.
• Document the action taken.
• Stay with the Marine until the resource has them.

The Force Preservation referral comes alongside, not before, the urgent action.

When the Indicator Is Chronic

Chronic indicators (sustained financial distress, ongoing family stress, recurring discipline) follow the regular Force Preservation referral process.

• Document the pattern.
• Coordinate with chain.
• Submit the referral.
• Implement council recommendations.
• Track to closure.

Confidentiality and Boundaries

Many wellness referrals carry confidentiality protections.

• Behavioral Health holds clinical confidentiality with specific exceptions.
• Chaplain holds chaplain confidentiality, broader than clinical.
• MFLC holds non-medical counselor confidentiality.
• SAPR has restricted reporting options.

Brief the Marine on the confidentiality protections of each resource before referring. A Marine who fears command involvement may avoid resources that could have helped.

Documenting Wellness Work

In the leader notebook.

• Indicator observed.
• Resource referred to.
• Marine's response.
• Follow-up dates.

Do not document specific clinical content. Document the leadership work.

Pattern Recognition Across the Section

Multiple Marines presenting similar indicators may surface a section or unit pattern.

• Multiple financial distress cases. Section may need broader financial brief.
• Multiple mental health referrals. Section may have an environmental issue.
• Multiple substance issues. Command may need to engage at unit level.

Surface patterns to the chain. Section work is leadership work, not just individual work.

Common Wellness Failures

• Indicator dismissed because the Marine seemed fine.
• Referral made but never followed up.
• Acute indicator treated as chronic, urgency lost.
• Confidentiality not briefed, Marine avoids resources.
• Pattern recognition skipped.

Where to Go Next

• Financial distress for the financial track.
• Mental health risk for the behavioral health track.
• Fraternization risk for the boundary track.
• Command climate flags for the section-wide indicators.
• Routing resources for the comprehensive resource map.