Photo By Maj. Guy Crubaugh | Fort Hunter Liggett Soldiers and firefighters team up to secure the cables holding up...... read more read more
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As we close out 2025, Fort Hunter Liggett (FHL) reflects on the year of amazing milestones and accomplishments, and the challenges that come with reshaping the military and government. One overarching word comes to mind – resilience.
The Army teaches its uniformed and civilian Warriors to stay flexible and adapt to changing environments, enabling them to overcome challenges, survive, and thrive. “This is why the Army has the Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) program; one of many programs and resources available to Soldiers and their families,” said Fort Hunter Liggett Garrison Commander Col. Jason McKenzie. “It is critical for Soldiers and the civilian workforce to maintain both physical and mental health to ensure overall readiness and resilience."
On December 10, 2025, a group of 40 Soldiers and firefighters exercised this approach during the annual “hike to the cross” challenge. “This H2F event highlighted the great collaboration and ingenuity pervasive in our workforce,” said McKenzie.
The cross was erected in 2012 by Marines training at FHL and overlooks the historic Mission San Antonio de Padua and the cantonment. In recent years, the area around the cross was so overgrown that it was no longer visible from Mission Road. FHL firefighters and garrison Soldiers teamed up to clear the area of trees and brush, and a H2F training opportunity for the garrison chaplain team.
The H2F website (https://h2f.army.mil) states that the Army “takes a holistic approach to fitness by addressing five readiness domains (physical, mental, nutrition, sleep, and spiritual), understanding that each domain impacts the others, so we need to educate our Soldiers and provide them the resources needed to maximize their performance on and off the battlefield.”
The hike covered the physical aspect as well as being a team-building event. The practical take aways from the event was “We also learned that that using old, dull, and unkept equipment can slow our progress or even make it impossible. We can see how the clutter can keep us from seeing the whole picture. When we apply these principles in our everyday activities we can transform our perspective on life," said event coordinator Chaplain (Maj.) Joe Isip.
The training included a discussion of what “grit” means – according to physiologist Angela Duckworth, it means “a passion and perseverance for long term goals. “The Scriptures teach the bronze snake, and the cross emphasize 'keeping our eyes on' solutions over problems,” said Isip.
They also discussed what ‘good’ food means for fueling our bodies to enable us to stay focused and complete our daily tasks. “And finally, we discussed the importance of improving both quantity and quality of sleep. Both journaling and reframing can help to reduce stress, fall asleep faster, and enjoy better rest," said Isip.
“My charge to the group that morning was to seek out other opportunities to improve our respective foxholes while building individual and collective training across the garrison,” said McKenzie. “I’m eager to see that charge played out in 2026, supporting the mission and reflecting on our 85 years as an installation.”
| Date Taken: | 12.28.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 12.29.2025 18:36 |
| Story ID: | 555352 |
| Location: | FORT HUNTER LIGGETT, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 20 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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