1-363rd Battalion training to master perception: Hidden obstacles

Photo By Rosario Urquieta | Observers-coach/trainers from 1st Battalion, 363rd Regiment, 120th Infantry Brigade, Division West, listen to a Master Resiliency Training class on “Thinking Traps” and how to spot and avoid them during the unit’s Feb. 8 battle assembly at Parks Reserve and Training Area in Dublin, Calif. The unit has conducted MRT for the past three months. (Photo by By Sgt. 1st Class Rosario Urquieta, 1st Battalion, 363rd Regiment, 120th Infantry Brigade, Division West Public Affairs)  

DUBLIN, CA, UNITED STATES

03.02.2015

Story by Rosario Urquieta 

1-363rd Combat Support/Combat Service Support

DUBLIN, Calif. – Reserve Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 363rd Regiment, 120th Infantry Brigade, Division West, recently received Master Resiliency Training over the past three months at Camp Parks, California.

MRT is designed to help Soldiers cope with and adjust to various situations they may face in their private lives as well as military situations.

There are several areas of concern within MRT. One such area is called “Thinking Traps.” Based on MRT conducted by the United States Army, thinking traps are easy to fall into and sometimes difficult to climb out of.

“Thinking traps make you focus on one set way,” said Sgt. 1st Class Richard Stickles, detachment sergeant and MRT instructor for the 363rd.

Stickles also said that being aware of what your common thinking traps are and consistently training to avoid these traps can help you succeed, not only in the military, but also in your everyday life.

“Mental agility is the primary goal to avoiding thinking traps,” said Stickles. “Doing this in a classroom set-up is fairly easy. But what you need to start thinking about is how can this help me outside of a classroom?”

Soldiers were given worksheets to help them understand their own thinking traps and how to determine their individual triggers. This is one of the methods used to instruct the class along with interactive conversations and sharing personal experiences.

Stickles stated that training and evaluating each individuals’ thinking traps and triggers will help in dealing with real life situations both at home and at the work.

In an open-ended question Stickles asked the class, “How does this affect you?”

Sgt. 1st Class Genaro Garcia, 363rd’s Maintenance NCO replied, “I think it affects us all in different ways. Thinking traps can affect us in things we do every day without us being aware of them.”

Garcia’s answer prompted Stickles to ask a follow-up question. “How can you avoid thinking traps?”

“By recognizing the thinking traps,” said Sgt. 1st Class Ronald Payne, 363rd’s Medical NCO. Payne also said that by taking classes like MRT, it becomes easier to recognize the signs of thinking traps ahead of time.

Stickles ended the class with this message, “Learn to think outside the box, take your blinders off. Most of us have the coping mechanisms built in; we just don’t know how to recognize them.”

This is how observer-coach/trainers maintain and sharpen their mental skills in order to coach Soldiers in the field and maintain their readiness to detect and/or overcome mental obstacles.

The 363rd supports units throughout the complete training cycle to achieve collective training readiness in accordance with United States Armed Forces Command, First Army, Division West and 120th Infantry Brigade directives in building competent and capable units able to meet the Army Force Generation requirements.

• Date Taken: 03.02.2015
• Date Posted: 03.02.2015 14:28
• Story ID: 155709
• Location: DUBLIN, CA, US
• Hometown: DUBLIN, CA, US
• Hometown: GILROY, CA, US
• Hometown: LIVERMORE, CA, US
• Hometown: PLEASANTON, CA, US
• Hometown: WASHINGTON, DC, US