Battle buddy A Battle Buddy is a partner assigned to a soldier in the United States Army . Each Battle Buddy , sometimes shorted between individuals to simply " battle " ( eg . , " Hey battle , meet me at 0730 " ) , is expected to assist his or her partner both in and out of combat . Most participating soldiers have reported satisfaction and have agreed that the Army should implement the system fully , although there have been cons reported as well . A Battle Buddy is not only intended for company , but also for the reduction of suicide ; since each watches his partner ' s actions , a Battle Buddy can save their fellow soldier ' s life by noticing negative thoughts and feelings and intervening to provide help . Advantages and disadvantages . Evaluations of the Battle Buddy system have identified the following advantages : The following potential disadvantages have also been identified : Evaluations . Soldiers were asked to evaluate and rate their satisfaction with the " Battle Buddy Team Assignment Program " in order to gauge whether the program should be implemented by the Army . Surveys were created to assess : The following table , for example , displays soldiers ' ratings of satisfaction with the Battle Buddy system : This table , on the other hand , shows soldiers ' agreement that Battle Buddies are good Army practice : Suicide prevention . Suicide prevention is a major objective of the Battle Buddy system . In 2006 , the suicide rate in the United States Army increased by 37 % and , by 2009 , there were 344 completed suicides by military personnel ( 211 of whom were members of the Army ) . In response , efforts to identify suicide prevention initiatives have increased ; military and legislative officials found the assignment of Battle Buddies to be an effective method of decreasing military suicide rates . Several soldiers have been saved from suicide by their Battle Buddies , demonstrating the effectiveness of this suicide prevention program . For example , in August 2008 , while the pair was deployed in Iraq , Specialist Albert Godding prevented his Buddy , Specialist Joe Sanders , from shooting himself in the head . Having recently learned that his wife wanted a divorce , Sanders put an M - 4 carbine under his chin and pulled the trigger , but the gun failed to fire . Godding , noticing that his Battle Buddy was distraught , had removed the firing pin earlier in the day , thus disarming the weapon and saving Sanders ' life . Godding would eventually receive the Meritorious Service Medal for his actions . After the thwarted attempt , Sanders sought counseling . Two years later – at which point he had been promoted and gone on to continue a successful military career – Sanders , spoke publicly about the experience , expressing gratitude for his Buddy ' s actions : " If it wasn ' t for him I wouldn ' t have gotten to experience my fiancée . I wouldn ' t have gotten to lead troops , or attend schools and learn . Those are things I love to do . " The Army has also reported another Battle Buddy success story involving Specialist James V . Dunz and another soldier named Eddie . Noticing that Eddie was on the ground , being bullied by a group of other soldiers , Dunz intervened and helped Eddie up to his feet . Dunz and Eddie would eventually become Battle Buddies . Years later , at Eddie ' s retirement ceremony , he revealed that he had been planning to commit suicide before Dunz intervened to help him . In his retirement ceremony speech , Eddie stated : " Retirement is a time to thank those who helped you make it through all the tough years : your parents , your family , even your sergeants — but mostly your friends . I am here to tell all of you that being a Battle Buddy to someone is the best gift you can give him . "