HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- Preservation of the Force and Family staff hosted the 1st Special Operations Mission Support Group’s resilience week, here, Sept. 19-23.
POTFF, a United States Special Operations Command initiative, identifies and implements innovative, valuable solutions across USSOCOM aimed at improving the wellbeing of special operations forces and their families.
Resilience week provided 1st SOMSG Airmen with a wide variety of training and information covering all four pillars of resiliency: physical, mental, social and spiritual.
“The goal is to ensure people are getting additional tools for resilience,” said Christina Herr, a community programs and peer network coordinator with POTFF. “Resilience events are all about prevention, teaching Airmen new ways to better themselves and their families.”
With members of the 1st SOMSG regularly deploying in small groups of one to two, this makes the standard, one-day reintegration and resilience events challenging, Herr said. Resilience week served as a means to provide events to meet this gap by allowing Airmen to participate based on their schedule.
Agencies who briefed Airmen included the Airman & Family Readiness Center, Chapel Corps, Health & Wellness Center and more. Classes offered by these agencies focused on a variety of areas such as stress management, relationship building, and mental and physical health.
Classes covered topics from accomplishing goals to improving spiritual resilience. The sessions were open-discussion and gave individuals the opportunity to listen to others’ stories, share their own and learn how they can improve their performance, goals and values.
For one Air Commando, the resilience week gave her options of flexibility that were previously unknown to her.
“I think this week exposes Airmen to different options of areas they may have never thought of,” said Staff Sgt. Carrie Hurley, a unit deployment manager with the 1st Special Operations Logistics Readiness Squadron. “I believe it enhances their knowledge on the subject and how to be more resilient in different areas other than what the Air Force presents.”
POTFF invests in the resiliency of the force and family by teaching skills to overcome adversity.
“It's all about prevention and education,” Herr said. “It's really important to continuously learn so you can take care of yourself and the people around you.”