NEWS - Fort Jackson - U.S. Army

NEWS
Local Soldiers tune in to resiliency class
By CRYSTAL LEWIS BROWN
Fort Jackson Leader
About 30 Fort Jackson Soldiers and civilians participated
this week in a course at the University of Pennsylvania
designed to help Soldiers and their families develop
resilience.
But they did it from more than 600 miles away.
The group joined via video teleconference 200 Soldiers
and civilians studying to be master resilience trainers. The
class was addressed by Army Chief of Staff Gen. George
W. Casey Jr.
Monday’s VTC was one portion of the 10-day resilience
course that ended today with the group being certified to
teach resilience concepts to Basic Combat Training Soldiers.
“The Master Resilience trainers who are here now are
actually receiving the same training as BCT Soldier so that
they understand (the training) the Soldiers will go through,”
said Capt. Tracy Johnson, of the Walter Reed Army Institute
of Research. Johnson was one of the course instructors.
BCT Soldiers will receive resilience training during the
“Red Phase,” and ideally during their first week, Johnson
said. Because the training involves a lot of new terminology,
she said, it was important to introduce the various concepts
of the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program to the
Soldiers and civilians who will interact with the training
Soldiers. The newly-certified trainers are not currently expected
to teach the training, but can now do so should it become
necessary, Johnson said.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Sharon Mullens, an information
systems technician with the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness
program, came to Fort Jackson to set up the VTC.
“Everyone knows that General Casey is extremely enthusiastic
about the program,” she said. “He wanted to have
some face time with the Soldiers ... to reinforce how passionate
he is about the program.”
She said she thought it was important that Fort Jackson’s
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Photo by Mike A. Glasch
Richard Keller, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, speaks to a group of students attending
Fort Jackson’s 10-day Master Resilience Trainer Course at the Recruiting and Retention School.
Soldiers got the chance to see the emphasis senior leaders
were putting on not just making Soldiers physically fit, but
mentally fit, as well.
“I think it was great. They were elated that they were
able to have that experience,” she said, referring to the Fort
Jackson students.
Casey’s address was an open forum, she said, and allowed
the students to ask questions and share experiences.
Casey emphasized during the VTC that the students
were at the forefront of the Army’s new strategy to provide
more preventive tools to build resilience and enhance performance.
“You will be the first group to go out and help me bring
Shooting star
this way of thinking to the Army,” Casey said during a news
conference and in an interview. “I firmly believe that this
effort to build resilience and enhance performance is fundamentally
necessary if we are going to sustain this force
over the coming years.”
Mullens said this week’s training is the first step of many
aimed at easing Soldiers’ stress in the face of multiple deployments.
“We realize we’re not going to change the mindset over
night,” she said. But she added, the goal is to “not only
make us Army Strong, but mentally strong.”
Editor’s note: Jim Garamone, Armed Forces Press Service,
contributed to the report.
Photo by STEVE REEVES
Pvt. Christopher Cherry, Company D, 2nd Battalion, 13th Infantry
Regiment, hit 40 out of 40 targets during Basic Rifle Marksmanship
testing, earning him the designation “Hawkeye.”