FORT BENNING, Ga. (AP) - Infantry soldiers stationed at Fort Benning are getting trained in what the Army calls "suicide first aid."

The program known as Army Suicide Intervention Skills Training aims to help soldiers who find themselves imminent risk of suicide or encounter someone else in danger of self-harm.

The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reports that 30 soldiers went through the training program last week. The troops come from the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, which deployed four times to the war Iraq.

Capt. Matt Shirkey, an Army chaplain who led the training, says the program teaches soldiers to identify at-risk colleagues and confront them bluntly about whether they're considering suicide.

Army suicides dropped last year about 9 percent compared to 2010.