Healthy support crucial part of resilience Published May 3, 2013 By Col. Nancy Brooks 349th Mission Support Group commander TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- When citing leadership traits, we commonly list values or characteristics such as integrity, honor, excellence or strength. However, one characteristic becomes more and more prevalent as our Airmen return from multiple overseas deployments and deal with the pressures of a changing military landscape. The leadership trait that I'm describing is resilience. The Merriam Webster online dictionary defines resilience in two ways: "1) the capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after deformation caused especially by compressive stress and 2) an ability to recover or adjust easily from misfortune or change". Even though the definitions provide two entirely different meanings, the words in the first definition help us visualize the recovery or adjustment a person may need to undergo after trauma or significant change. Resilience is a mindset or set of skills that allow us to bounce back after trauma, failure and setback. The website psychology.about.com describes the characteristics of resilience. They include awareness of a situation and how others are responding; understanding that setbacks are a part of life; the feeling that we control our choices; strong problem-solving skills; strong social connections; identifying as a survivor rather than a victim and being able to ask for help. Many of us in the military can self-proclaim that we exhibit these characteristics. We volunteer because we have character traits that enable us to travel away from home, work as a team with strangers and fulfill mission objectives without hesitation. However, what can we do when either we or our unit members feel particularly unable to bounce back? What can we do to prevent or minimize post-traumatic stress disorder, depression or anxiety in our fellow airmen? Research from the Yale University School of Medicine proves that resilience and social support protects against the deleterious effects of traumatic stress and depression. Several illustrious researchers surveyed 272 Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans to examine the relationship between resilience, social support, and traumatic stress and depressive symptoms. The primary outcome shows that increased resilience and social support lessened the severity of traumatic stress and depressive symptoms. Air Force members will quickly dismiss the effects of traumatic stress by declaring that they weren't in combat while deployed. But even after adjusting for demographics and combat exposure severity, the research remains solid. What does this mean to the leadership of a unit? How can leadership use this information to help their members? When an Airman feels they have some control in their life and know where to turn for help, they exhibit more resilient behavior and less depression. Providing information to our members regarding mental health care, Yellow Ribbon events, Airman and Family Readiness support programs and follow-on Veterans Affairs care can be critical when they transition through traumatic and life-changing events. Furthermore, members returning from a deployment or Airmen going through significant personal stress have a tendency to distance themselves from others. They may feel overwhelmed by work and personal obligations and, as a result, withdraw from their normal social groups. Research shows that social support, a feeling of purpose and self-reliance improve resilience and reduce the negative impact of traumatic stress. It is important that we provide meaningful work and social interaction within our units. Stressing the importance of the individual in relation to the mission can be helpful. Encouraging healthy social groups and work teams, especially among airmen returning home from a deployment can provide necessary social support. Sometimes merely talking with others who have experienced the same life changes or trauma can provide the comfort a member needs to reclaim their resilience and recover their original size and shape. As George Washington Carver said, "How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the grieving and tolerant of the weak and the strong because someday in life, you will have been all of these."