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In a proactive move to prioritize the well-being of Soldiers, their Families, retirees, and the Fort Jackson Community, the post hosted a Resiliency Stand-To Nov. 16-17.
The event led and organized, by Capt. Holly Kauer, training officer of the G35; Theresita Moses, Suicide Prevention Coordinator; and the Resiliency Stand-To Committee, aimed to provide a comprehensive array of resources and support.
Their goal was clear: make the Resiliency Stand-To a robust resource for military community members, equipping them with tools to overcome challenges and navigate successful transitions.
“Resiliency is about your ability to overcome difficult situations and to continue to move in a forward direction with your life,” Kauer said. “It’s your ability to turn the negative situations into a positive outcome. So, I really wanted to make this a big event and have all the resources available to the service members and retirees in our community.”
The stand-to sought to empower individuals, encouraging them to turn adversity into positivity and reminding them that they don’t have to face tough times alone.
In the Army, Soldiers and their Families are used to hearing about stand down days, specifically for safety, but those are events lasting most of a day where Soldiers cease working and receive education and training on specific topics.
A stand-to, however, means to assume positions to resist a possible attack. The Resiliency Stand-To stands to do just that: Prepare Soldiers, their Families and retirees with the proper resources to withstand any attack that life may throw at them, whether personal or Army-related.
“Following a crisis involving Soldiers, civilians or Families, we often perform a reactive stand down to review the facts, determine the appropriate steps necessary to avoid a particular crisis and prevent it from happening again in the future,” said Post Command Sgt. Maj. Erick E. Ochs.
He added that “during our planning for this event … we felt it was much more suitable and effective to establish a proactive stand-to in our approach to demonstrate commitment to resiliency preparedness and readiness by informing our Soldiers and community about the many programs and services that we have available here on Fort Jackson and in our greater surrounding community.”
Lt. Col. John Baker, 4th Battalion, 39th Infantry Regiment commander, expressed enthusiasm for the proactive measures taken at the Stand-To.
“As Command Sgt. Major Ochs mentioned in his opening statement, ‘an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of hindsight’ and that’s exactly true,” he said. “Solving problems when they’re small problems is much better than waiting for folks to suffer in silence.”
Baker also stressed the importance of addressing issues before they escalate, highlighting that “prehab is always better than rehab.” He commended the event for bringing crucial conversations to the forefront of everyone’s minds and praised the wealth of resources available.
Reflecting on military training experiences, Baker emphasized that resilience is rooted in a strong mental approach and determination.
“Resiliency is the key to everything. Throughout my training, folks have asked me about various things that I’ve done like, ‘Was it hard?’ or ‘How did you get through it,’” Baker recounted.
“I think the assumption is that those who complete trainings like Ranger School are stronger or they’re more this or that, but the mental approach is the most important part. So, that mindset is critical.”
Army resources that are readily available to support one or more domains of the Holistic Health and Fitness program such as the Armed Forces Wellness Center and Army Community Service were onsite and delivered valuable information and demonstrations to help everyone know the resources available to them.
The stand-to wasn’t just filled with resources from the Army community, but also more than 15 people and organizations in the greater Columbia area dedicated to health, resiliency and healing.
“I’m so excited to be here and I’ve got a lot a of my team here as well. It’s awesome,” Baker said. “I was aware of maybe 40% of the resources here, so I think this is great. For me personally, I am walking away with a small library of handouts and resources that I can take with me and integrate into our approach to individual wellness and unit fitness.”
Throughout the first day, breakout sessions such as Sexual Harassment/Assault Resistance and Prevention Jeopardy and individual physical health coaching sessions were also available for attendees.
Master Resiliency Trainers from the Leader Training Brigade hosted four half-hour MRT demonstrations during the breakout sessions to help attendees avoid thinking traps, detect thinking icebergs, learn about assertive communication and active constructing responding.
“Master Resiliency Training has been around for a while and I was actually in one of the first classes for MRT back in March 2010 and I’ve been teaching it since then,” said 1st Sgt. Catherine Tripp, Company D, 1st Battalion, 61st Infantry Regiment. “This is also a good opportunity to see how these other programs are affordable for military dependents and Family members. It also helps you integrate with your Soldiers; to better assist with the problems versus training and tutoring versus being a mentor.”
| Date Taken: | 11.16.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 11.22.2023 14:08 |
| Story ID: | 458455 |
| Location: | FORT JACKSON, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 68 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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