Inching Toward Iraq helped change lives

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Eric Schloeffel
  • 23rd Wing Public Affairs
While the experience of temporarily being apart from a deployed spouse can often cause stress, a group of Team Moody spouses decided to overcome the negative feelings through exercise, positive social networks and dedication to a healthy lifestyle.

This goal, accomplished through the Inching Toward Iraq program, not only vastly impacted the health habits of many participants but also contributed to morale of troops on the battlefield.

"The goal of the program was to give spouses something active and positive to do to decrease the stress during the deployment," said Maj. Le Anne Lamer, 23rd Wing healthcare integrator and Inching Toward Iraq coordinator. "I knew the (current state of world affairs) meant some of our people were going to deploy to some very dangerous places, so I created this program to ensure we could do as much for the families as possible. If you keep the families engaged and supporting each other, the deployed Airmen can pay attention to the dangerous mission at hand."

The program, which ran from June to November, focused on a point-system where spouses could earn "miles" for activities such as walking, jogging, sports, strength training and smoking cessation. These miles would count toward their team's goal which equated to the mileage it would take to reach their deployed loved one. The regions the groups focused on were Iraq at 6,787 miles, Djibouti at 7,719 miles, and Afghanistan at 7,683 miles.

Spouses who showed commitment by logging miles received incentives such as complimentary house cleaning and gift certificates to the Base Exchange.

Though incentives provided some motivation to the participants, many were encouraged by the improvements exercising made on their health and state of mind.

"I learned about the program just after my doctor and I discussed the blood pressure issues I was having at the time," said April Marcum, Inching Toward Iraq participant and wife of Staff Sgt. Wayne Marcum, 824th Security Forces Squadron.

With the help of the 23rd Medical Group and the Inching Toward Iraq program, she changed her lifestyle by a regimen of exercise and an emphasis on a healthy diet. The program also helped provide peace of mind while her husband was deployed to Iraq; another contributing factor that helped her lose 56 pounds.

"Exercising was very therapeutic because it helped me get through the bad days," she said. "My husband knows that I lost weight, but he doesn't know exactly how much, so I'm excited for his reaction when he comes home."

Some participants focused more on social bonding aspects, which can ease feelings of loneliness that often accompany the long months without their loved one.

"I got a lot out of the program because of the people," said Linda Broussard, wife of Staff. Sgt. Christian Broussard, 823rd Security Forces Squadron. "I met a lot of people I didn't know before and it gave me an excuse to work out."

For one retired Army veteran, Inching Toward Iraq provided an entirely different motivation than the program's original intent.

"I was motivated about this program because it provided me incentive to get back on my feet after being paralyzed from the waist down, but also to give back to the deployed men and women who are doing so much for us at home," said John Gates.

Mr. Gates was in a helicopter crash during the Vietnam War, and the residual effects carried up until he suffered a blood clot in his spinal column in 2000. Despite the fact he is paralyzed and wears braces on both legs, Mr. Gates does not let the condition stop him from pursuing an active lifestyle; he logged 67 miles.

"One big factor is we need to always support our troops, especially at this time of year," said Mr. Gates. "Deployments are very long for the spouses and children left behind, and Inching Toward Iraq gave them the bonding time they needed."

The program concluded with the teams logging more than 25,200 miles, exceeding their target goal of 22,369 miles.

But more important than the statistical goals, the program has proven successful by the accounts of individuals who turned the experience of being without a loved one into an opportunity to take their free time to improve themselves, said Major Lamer.

"When you look at the people who benefited the most from this program, now when they are feeling stressed because their spouse is not around, they will get off the couch and exercise," she said. "Some people really changed their whole life because of this program, and for that, it was a success."

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