JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. –
The Senior Commander Army Element (SCAE), in conjunction with the 733d Mission Support Group, conducted a Resiliency Day field test, Jan. 12, 2023, to promote individual Soldier resilience and improve knowledge of community support services.
The purpose of Resiliency Day is to educate Soldiers on relevant and practical topics, providing an opportunity for service members to participate in briefings and discussions designed to help people adapt to change, overcome challenges.
“Ready and Resilient (R2) hinges on the individual being stronger and better able to overcome adversity by utilizing their knowledge of programs, themselves, and how to access and utilize the resources around them,” said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. John Kline, U.S. Army Center for Initial Military Training (CIMT), commanding general. “A day of sessions focused on providing this type of information will enhance our Soldiers’ personal readiness while helping increase unit cohesion and create stronger teams.”
Soldiers participated in a round-robin style event which offered 11 briefings. They could then choose three to attend one class per hour and a combined total of four contact hours.
“We have an incredible number of resources and subject matter experts here at [JBLE] that our Soldiers may not be aware of, covering everything from nutrition and physical fitness to financial planning,” Kline said. “Creating awareness for these programs will help our Soldiers and their families when they may be going through hard times, helping them overcome adversity and become stronger, more resilient individuals.”
The event took shape with dynamic, interactive, and relevant small group sessions led and facilitated by subject matter experts from across the installation. The sessions included briefings on the Army Wellness Center, medical readiness, behavioral health, financial readiness, spiritual resiliency, substance abuse, estate planning, and education resources for degree completion.
According to Kline, the programs offered here are designed to improve the quality of life for Soldiers and families. If the Soldiers participating in Resiliency Day don’t need these programs, they may have a battle buddy or know someone else who may be going through hard times. Being aware of these resources may help them as well.
Event leaders encouraged participants to supply feedback on the information given. Future iterations can benefit from knowing what things worked, what didn’t and what can be improved.
“As this is the first event of its type, I would hope that the lessons learned… will benefit our community,” said Aljournal Franklin, Community Ready and Resilient Integrator. “I would love for the Resiliency Day event to become a regular and recurring part of the annual schedule of activities aimed at preparing our Soldiers, and eventually our civilians, to overcome adversity, and become stronger, more resilient individuals.”
CIMT is the Core Function Lead for the Training & Doctrine Command (TRADOC) for all initial entry training. They provide a process that aligns the development of competencies and behaviors for them to become Soldiers who are physically ready, grounded in Army values, and proficient in their skills so they can contribute as members of a team.
“We want to make Fort Eustis an even stronger community,” Kline said. “That starts with providing our most important asset, [which are] our Soldiers and their families, a healthy and safe place to live, work, learn, and thrive.”