MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- The topic of resilience is not unheard of in today’s military. Resilience is more than just a statement about a person’s toughness, it’s a statement of their physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-being.
In recognition of the importance of resilience, the 167th Airlift Wing stood down from typical training time to focus on resilience-related activities during unit training assembly, Sept. 11. These activities were planned and coordinated by the 167th Community Action Team, a forum that identifies and resolves quality of life issues impacting Total Force readiness.
“This is our chance to give our folks in the wing as many different opportunities to manage and foster resilience,” said Senior Master Sgt. Julie Lozinski, 167th Community Action Team chair. “This helps our Airmen find a way to keep themselves moving whether they’re home or 7,000 miles from it.”
In addition to required annual training courses on suicide prevention and sexual assault prevention and response, a variety of events were conducted across the base on Sunday of drill weekend, including physical activities and classroom environment trainings, honing in on strengthening resilience, unit cohesion and morale.
Airmen participated in chair massages, meditation, yoga, spin cardio classes and strength training clinics and classes were also offered on topics such as personality uniqueness, financial health, relationship communication, nutrition and vicarious trauma. The diversity of events allowed Airmen to learn how to manage everyday life, crisis and more by building and fortifying resilience to their specific needs.
In addition, service dogs were on base for unit members to interact with, as well as a selection of food trucks during lunch.
The Brothers at War Resiliency Workshop, a class focusing on resiliency before, during and after deployment, was also conducted off-base at Martinsburg High School for unit members and their families. This program is conducted for service members to gain useful knowledge and tools to assist with mental health, family and resilience.
“What we do in the military can be inherently stressful at times and everyone can perform better when they’re in better shape, they’re better rested and less stressed,” said Col. Christopher Sigler, acting commander, 167th Airlift Wing. “Anything we can do that improves the quality of life for our members is worth it.”