Army brigade leaders at Fort Campbell have begun monthly meetings of officers, doctors and counselors to catch early signs of emotional or mental stress among their troops and intervene before soldiers hurt themselves or others.

It's a unique effort at this sprawling base on the Tennessee-Kentucky line that fits with broader Army initiatives to deal with a rise in suicides among troops. The Army has bolstered suicide prevention since February after a record 140 cases in 2008, but this month said the number may rise again this year. It had recorded 140 suspected cases as of Nov. 11.

The brigade teams are part of Fort Campbell's plans that also include moving counselors and social workers out of hospitals and clinics and embedding them in the brigades to break down barriers and overcome the stigma of seeking help.

It's a decentralized approach to help soldiers become more resilient to stress after repeated deployments over eight years of war, said Capt. Sebastian Schnellbacher, the 101st Airborne Division's psychiatrist.

"Instead of making the soldiers come to us for care, we do whatever we can to bring ourselves closer to the soldiers," he said.

Fort Campbell has several behavioral health clinics for soldiers and family members, but psychiatrists and social workers are now also assigned to each brigade to foster a better relationship with commanders and soldiers.

Schnellbacher said other Army posts may track issues like suicides or stress, but Fort Campbell's initiative is different because it uses the teams to proactively help and treat soldiers.

Under the new structure, each brigade has a team of doctors, chaplains, legal officers and social workers who meet regularly to discuss individual soldiers who have shown signs of trouble, such as a messy divorce or a recent arrest. They also track problem trends in the brigades, such as rates of alcohol or substance abuse.

The military is looking carefully at risky behaviors like these that can be warning signs of more severe problems. Fort Campbell has had 18 confirmed or suspected suicides since the beginning of the year, while other installations are dealing with a rash of violent acts such as homicide. Incidents like the mass shooting at Fort Hood, an attack where the motive remains unclear, emphasize the need to pay close attention to troubled soldiers.

Lt. Col. Michael Wirt, 2nd Brigade Combat Team's surgeon and coordinator of their Brigade Resiliency Team, said having different team members actively working within the brigade makes it easier to spot problems before they become serious.