SPOKANE, Wash. — More than 300 service members at Fairchild Air Force Base will now have a harder time accessing mental health and social services after the shutdown of a program that embedded mental health professionals directly into daily training.

The Air Education and Training Command (AETC) terminated the True North program on September 25, citing "workforce optimization reductions" in an email to program staff.

The decision eliminates a unique approach to mental health care that allowed service members to build relationships with counselors through daily interactions rather than traditional clinical appointments.

Jeffery Clark, the mental health professional who provided True North services at Fairchild, said the program was designed to address ongoing mental health struggles with

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