Photo By Spc. Tobey White | Master Sgt. Shermeka L. Myles, the transportation plans non-commissioned officer in...... read more read more
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FORT KNOX, Ky. - Ask any soldier about slogans or catchphrases he’s heard during his Army career and he’ll probably be able to list several. Whether it’s “Be all that you can be,” “Army of One,” or “Army Strong,” attempts to influence soldiers so that a more disciplined, competent and confident Army emerges have long been a staple of military life. Now the buzzwords of Comprehensive Soldier Fitness, Resilience, and Effective Communication can be added to the mix for some Fort Knox-based soldiers who recently returned from Afghanistan.
Soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division’s “Duke Brigade” have gradually been adjusting to garrison and family life after returning in January from a year-long Afghanistan deployment. One part of that readjustment, ultimately focused on a soldier’s physical, emotional, social, spiritual and family needs, has been classes on learning to communicate and interact more effectively with others, especially families, after months of separation.
Expressing bottled-up emotions is something many soldiers aren’t accustomed to doing, said Master Sgt. Shermeka Myles, one of the instructors for the Army’s “Comprehensive Soldier Fitness” program.
“Older soldiers were conditioned to ‘Suck it up and drive on,’” said Myles, the transportation plans non-commissioned officer in charge, Human Resources Command. “The younger soldiers coming in today know that it’s okay to seek help and talk to people.”
The crux of the CSF program, according to Army doctrine, is to allow soldiers, families, and Army civilians, through resilience and total fitness, to remain balanced, healthy, and self-confident in this era of persistent conflict and frequent deployments. Easier said than done, perhaps, especially when new buzzwords like “Resilience” might confuse soldiers with the methods used for reaching the desired outcomes, or results.
Resilience, said Myles, is the ability to grow and thrive in the face of challenges and bounce back from adversity. Developing resilience in soldiers as not only a way of thinking but also through providing necessary mental toughness is built upon four CSF pillars, first rolled-out by Army leadership in 2008 at Fort Hood, Texas.
The first, a Global Assessment Tool, is a short, online survey-based self assessment tool that soldiers take anonymously. Other pillars include online Comprehensive Resilience, or self development modules, tailored to one’s performance levels on the GAT, and progressive institutional military training taught in Army-sponsored schools and targeted to unit deployment cycles.
Master Resilience Trainers like Myles tie everything together in presentations geared toward unit personnel and their families.
One of the soldiers in attendance, Sgt. 1st Class John Dominguez, brigade schools non-commissioned officer for the Duke Brigade, found the CSF information both pertinent and well-presented.
“I think it has relevance for any issue a soldier might encounter,” he said, adding exposure to the “Activate-Thought-Consequence Model” was the most appealing. In that model, people encounter activating events which not only trigger their initial thoughts on how they might respond to an obstacle, but also shows the resulting consequences for certain responses.
“It opened my eyes to a lot of things,” Dominguez said.
Measures of success for the CSF program would be declining suicide rates, fewer soldiers seeking chaplain assistance, and fewer incidents of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and domestic violence, said Myles.
Such incidents were previously “off the charts,” she added, cautioning that it’s important to also reach out with behavioral assistance to soldiers in garrison environments. With reintegration taking potentially up to six months or longer after a deployment, according to Myles, it’s hoped that CSF will ultimately encourage and educate soldiers to overcome hardships and adverse events, bounce back, lead confidently and grow even stronger personally and professionally.
“Strong Minds and Strong Bodies” is what the Army aspires to with the CSF program, said Myles. Another slogan to remember for the soldiers involved, perhaps, but if the end state is a fitter, resilient and battle-ready Army comprised of individuals able to maximize their potential there’s unlikely to be any complaints.
Anyone interested in learning more about the CSF program can go online to the Army-sponsored website http://csf.army.mil
| Date Taken: | 02.21.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 02.21.2012 12:29 |
| Story ID: | 84112 |
| Location: | FORT KNOX, KENTUCKY, US |
| Web Views: | 310 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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