Resiliency: Get back in the fight

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Chad Warren
  • 2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La --  Today's Airmen are expected to shoulder an ever-increasing workload, while simultaneously balancing their personal life, finances, being away from home and countless other stressors.

With a shrinking budget and fewer resources, adaptability has become a necessary and sought after trait in the workforce. When stress gets high and challenges arise, one thing is proven time and time again: resilient people prevail.

An ongoing, service-wide initiative to educate Airmen and their families on the principles of resilience is underway, providing people around the globe the tools they need to live more fulfilled, productive lives.

Although successful, one challenge that faces the program is a common misconception of what it is all about.

"As soon as you say resiliency, people tune you out because they feel like it is all suicide prevention," said Staff Sgt. Marie Lemond, a master resiliency trainer here at Barksdale.

The stigma associated with resilience is that it is synonymous with suicide prevention, and that isn't the case, said Lemond.

Contrary to popular belief, resilience focuses on overall health and well-being, and teaches people skills necessary to deal with life's challenges in a positive way.

"The reason why I really connected with this program is because it doesn't focus on the broken Airman," she added. "It gives people the tools they need so they never get to that point."

Lemond recently went through a two-week MRT course at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., where she joined representatives from around the Air Force who shared her passion for resiliency. During this intensive course, the potential MRTs were trained, evaluated and entrusted with taking what they had learned back to their bases.

She is one of two MRTs currently assigned to Barksdale, and shares the responsibility of training a handful of Resilience Training Assistants who will help educate the base. These positions are strictly voluntary, and despite the time commitment, the volunteers are passionate about helping their fellow Airmen.

"We're getting the people who really want to be there," said Lemond. "That passion will come across when they teach."
Barksdale recently completed its first RTA training class, and the newly appointed trainers are ready to take what they have learned and apply it in their units.
"The training teaches usable tools we can actually apply to our everyday lives," said Capt. Benjamin Meighan, a newly appointed RTA. "Some of the stuff we do anyway, the resiliency program just put a label on it."

According to Meighan, there is no better time than now to focus on resilience. In spite of recent sequestration and manpower reductions, the mission isn't going to slow down.

"You can use these skills to deal with those additional stressors," he said. "Sometimes you feel like you are up against the ropes taking body shots, but you can take one or two of these tools and use them to get off the ropes and get back in the fight."

For more information on resilience or to volunteer to become an RTA, contact Mr. Jeff Maiette, community support coordinator, at 456-8006.