Photo By Tech. Sgt. Ryan Green | Senior Master Sgt. Kevin Grundy, 442nd Fighter Wing Weapons Flight Chief, speaks with...... read more read more
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ANAHEIM, California – With the many taskings that Airmen must juggle in today’s world, they can sometimes forget to take care of the most important resource - their own well-being. This does not just refer to an Airmen’s physical fitness but also refers to their mental and emotional state. This emphasis on Airman wellness was an important part of a presentation given by Senior Master Sgt. Kevin Grundy, 442nd Fighter Wing weapons flight chief, during the Yellow Ribbon event held in Anaheim, California, Aug. 19.
“It’s important to make sure we take time to assess our expectations of reality to get a baseline,” said Grundy. “We can expect certain things but, if we don’t work on them, they’re not going to be realistic. We want to be productive and have a good impact but if we don’t assess our expectations, this can have a negative effect on ourselves and other people.”
Grundy, who also serves as an officer with the Springfield Police Department in Missouri, admits that he is no stranger to getting lost in his expectations and not taking care of himself. He admits to having thrown himself into his job with no regard to how it was affecting him or his family.
“We have an insane probability of losing ourselves in our job,” said Grundy. “I poured everything I could into eight years of work, and I was doing some cool stuff. However, this also means I now have an eight-year gap of memories with my family and friends. I saw pictures of my eldest son; and I knew we had done things but realized I had no memory of doing them.”
With this revelation, he decided to take time to not only evaluate what he had lost but also what his current state was costing him. This led Grundy to realize that it was more important to be himself instead of meeting the expectations of others.
“When people think cop or military, they automatically put you in a uniform,” he said, “They think you have no personality, and I don’t want to lose who I am. That’s why I take the time to do silly or goofy things with my family and evaluate myself. There’s a uniqueness about you that doesn’t need to go away.”
Since coming to this understanding, Grundy now spends as much time as he can with his family and friends, having realized how important they are to him. Following this newfound awareness, he researched many studies and assessments that he found useful to identify his strengths and weaknesses. After he participated in several Yellow Ribbon events prior to his own deployments, Grundy decided to combine what he had learned with his master’s degree in leadership and become a resource provider for the program. In this role, Grundy brought what he learned to other Airmen about taking time to be self-aware of how they are internally and how this affects their lives, with many finding his knowledge and experience welcome additions to the program.
“When I come to the Yellow Ribbon events, not only am I looking at enhancing my own leadership skills and wellness, but I also try and pick courses that are going to help me understand where my Airmen are at in their careers and where deployers and their families are,” said Chief Master Sgt. Andrea Young, 624th Regional Support Group senior enlisted leader. “So, I chose to participate in Airmen Wellness to do just that.”
Grundy’s presentation was one of many resources provided by the Yellow Ribbon event, which seeks to help Airmen and their loved ones maintain resiliency and readiness before, during and after deployment. Since 2008, Yellow Ribbon has served more than 1.4 million service members and their families.
| Date Taken: | 08.19.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 09.08.2023 20:19 |
| Story ID: | 451958 |
| Location: | ANAHEIM, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 41 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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