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    SPAWAR Workforce Encouraged to Get Active, Be Healthy with Launch of New Initiative

    SPAWAR Workforce Encouraged to Get Active, Be Healthy with Launch of New Initiative

    Photo By Rick Naystatt | Pat Sullivan, third from left, Executive Director, Space and Naval Warfare Systems...... read more read more

    SAN DIEGO, CA, UNITED STATES

    01.07.2015

    Story by Tina Stillions 

    Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR)

    SAN DIEGO - In an effort to help their predominantly civilian workforce make positive health-related lifestyle changes, the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) launched a Physical Fitness/Wellness Program initiative Jan. 7 in San Diego.

    The program allows the civilian workforce at SPAWAR Headquarters the opportunity to exercise three times per week for 59 minutes each session. A series of week-long group activities were launched concurrently to encourage and accommodate participant’s efforts. A ninety day program, it will officially end with the command’s annual Sexual Assault Awareness Month 5K run/walk held in April.

    "We've been working on trying to put this in place for about six to eight months now,” said SPAWAR Executive Director Pat Sullivan. “My hope is it encourages people who don't normally work out a lot to start exercising as part of an overall healthy lifestyle. This initiative provides the kind of window to kick it off and get them used to doing that.”

    To coincide with the launch of the program, lunchtime group exercise sessions were created and are being held on the Old Town Complex. Run by volunteers, they include walking and running groups, cycling, yoga and a variety of activities to encourage a diversity of interests and accommodate various levels of fitness.

    SPAWAR’s Director for Total Force Management Barbette Lowndes leads a walking group to encourage participation in the activity as a means of improving cardiovascular health and fitness.

    "Our goal is to build up our walking distance and difficulty by taking longer walks over the course of this health and wellness program period, with an ultimate goal of walking up hills in the area without getting out of breath," said Lowndes.

    Lowndes is an experienced fitness walker, having walked 60 miles in three days as part of the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk for the Cure. She has completed the Walk for the Cure three times and believes these less difficult group walks can be a personal goal for better health.

    "Walking is a very low impact form of exercise that is known to improve cardio as well as strength," she said. “A good strong core also helps improve posture and makes breathing easier, so we will be talking about the importance of good walking techniques."

    Sullivan plans on leading a lunchtime running group twice a week for the next few months, too.

    "A great way to get started in running is to pick a 5K race, ten weeks or so in the future, and then follow a training plan based on your fitness level to achieve your goal," he said. "The great thing about 5Ks is that they are quick and you can find one somewhere in town almost every week."

    In an effort to complement the fitness aspect of the program, the command is also holding a Biggest Loser Challenge that will recognize those individuals and teams that have lost the greatest percentage of body weight during the course of the 90-day program. More than 60 people have registered to participate in the challenge, which will culminate with a final weigh-in and subsequent awards ceremony.

    The Physical Fitness/Wellness Program was originally developed to allow full-time civilian employees an excused absence of 59 minutes, three times per week during working hours, to exercise. A privilege and completely voluntary, the Program applies to exempt and non-exempt Department of the Navy civilians located at SPAWAR Headquarters. Supervisors are authorized to grant civilians time to participate in a fitness activity. Though the program does not apply to part-time, Navy Working Capital Fund or contract employees, everyone is encouraged to get active and be healthy.

    The Physical Fitness/Wellness Program is the latest initiative by the Quality of Life Working (QoWL) Group Sullivan formed a little over a year ago to improve the SPAWAR work environment.

    “In mid-November of 2013, I began having brown bag lunches with small groups of employees,” said Sullivan. “We discussed a wide range of topics, but at every lunch we talked about command climate. One thing I heard loud and clear was that 2013 was a tough year. There's no way to sugarcoat it.”

    Morale was low throughout much of SPAWAR and improving morale was the impetus for Sullivan introducing a series of QoWL activities and events in 2014.

    “We all felt the pain and frustration of sequestration and furloughs these past few years and the ongoing budget uncertainty was not helping the situation,” he said. “While we won't be able to do everything, we will certainly try to implement the ideas that will have the most impact to the most employees.”

    As the Navy's Information Dominance systems command, SPAWAR designs, develops and deploys advanced communications and information capabilities for the warfighter. With nearly 10,000 acquisition professionals located around the world and close to the fleet, the organization is at the forefront of research, engineering and support services that provide vital decision superiority for the warfighter.

    For more information on SPAWAR, visit:
    http://www.public.navy.mil/spawar/Pages/default.aspx
    http://www.facebook.com/spaceandnavalwarfaresystemscommand
    http://twitter.com/SPAWARHQ
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/teamspawar/

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 01.07.2015
    Date Posted: 01.14.2015 11:56
    Story ID: 151971
    Location: SAN DIEGO, CA, US

    Web Views: 118
    Downloads: 0

    PUBLIC DOMAIN