Service aims to boost Airmen resilience

  • Published
  • By Wesley Yancey
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Community Support Coordinator
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Recently, the word resilience started being used on installations across the Air Force.  Why was it introduced and how did it become such a hot topic? Many of you have participated in the Master Resiliency Training course as well as Wingman Days, but why did we start offering these courses and opportunities to stand down?

The focus on resilience was spurred on by an incident that occurred almost five years ago.  On Nov. 5, 2009, Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a psychiatrist, opened fire on personnel at the Ft. Hood Texas Soldier Readiness Center. As a result of this attack, 13 people died and 43 others were wounded. The "Air Force Follow-on Review" of this violence identified possible deficiencies in programs, policies and procedures with the intent of "preventing violence affecting Air Force personnel and installations."

Recommendations were made to address and be aware of indicators of negative and possibly violent behaviors in the review and then implemented in 2011. One of these recommendations was to create and fill a full-time position at each installation whose function was to continuously monitor community wellness through the Community Action Information Board. According to the review, the CAIB is "a venue for cross-organizational discussions of quality of life, health and readiness, good order and discipline, morale and climate issues experienced by individuals, organizations and families". This sharing of information between leadership and community members provides a clearer picture of the organizational climate and identifies areas that can be improved and acted upon by the helping agencies which make up the Integrated Delivery System.

The other recommendation by the Follow-On Review was that Airmen be "trained to understand relevant indicators and apply that knowledge in assessing situations." Being educated in resilience and the many skills that go along with it, Airmen are able to do just that. Resilient individuals can not only bounce back from adversity, but also grow from it. All too often we hear about post-traumatic stress disorders, but rarely do we talk about post-traumatic growth. 

The development of resilience in the individual consists of mental, physical, emotional and spiritual skills. Nurturing these skills and internalizing them leads to a healthy body and mind, which is essential to individual and unit readiness. Resilience, for our service members, is ultimately related to readiness and force protection. When we are ready and resilient, we are potentially at our optimum performance level. When confronted with adversity, either at home, work or in the area of responsibility, the resilient individual and, even better, the resilient force, can withstand, overcome and even gain strength in spite of what that challenge may be.

As our focus on resilience grew out of the need to deal with the challenges of daily life and recognize those stressors that contribute to negative behavior, it has grown to be more than that. It is the development of the individual that leads to the development of the entire Air Force.  This preparation allows us to be mindful of the present, thus ready and capable to execute the mission and protect the force. 

Here at Travis Air Force Base, we have recognized many ways to develop and grow resiliency, whether it comes from the Master Resiliency Training course, a class offered through Leadership Pathways or words of support from your wingmen.