Chaplains host single Airmen resiliency trip

  • Published
  • By Airman Greg Nash
  • 23d Wing Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga, --  The 23d Wing and 93d Air Ground Operations Wing chapel teams sponsored a single Airmen resiliency trip for approximately 30 Airmen June 26 - 28 in Tampa, Fla.

During the free trip, facilitators constructed a series of activities to emphasize the importance of the wingman concept, maintaining healthy relationships, improving communication skills, and resolving conflicts.

"It's very important to build relationships with people you can trust to help you deal with tough times," said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. John Davis, chapel operations superintendent. "Having a good wingman is very important. It's vital to get in the habit of maintaining good relationships because we all need some type of guidance."
Another chapel team representative reiterated the importance of having someone to rely on as a part of the first activity of the trip.

"A lot of times, young Airmen think they have so many problems and have no one to rely on," said Capt. Osborne Hurst, 23d Wing Staff chaplain. "Airmen in this predicament are prone to make unwise choices. You should always have someone in your corner."

Chapel facilitators also encouraged the Airmen to be fully aware of their strengths and weaknesses which allowed them to see their areas of improvement so they can address them as they mature and progress in their career.

"A lot of Airmen start out with this hard exterior and an 'I don't need help' or 'I'm good' attitude but trust me, you're not good," said Hurst. "Having weakness and admitting it while working on it strengthens you and helps you as a communicator because you won't be consumed with being reserved and hiding your thoughts and feelings. Your life will be easier once you realize your issues and continue to be a work in progress."

Participants were released for the night to fellowship and engaged in a second activity the following day about assessing stress.

"Everyone has stress," said Hurst. "It's your job to figure out how to address it and reduce it. We mentioned earlier the importance of maintaining healthy relationships because that will be the outlet to calm you down and prevent you from potentially making an irrational decision or affecting your work and home life. You must be resilient and realize tough times are only temporary."

After visiting a theme park that gave Airmen a chance to bond, they arrived back at their lodging to complete a primary colors personality tool work sheet which determined Airmen's personality needs.

After several participants revealed their color column was red, which classifies that participants have a need for power and control, the chapel facilitators tried to figure out why that was a big trend.

"A lot of Airmen come into the military with an attitude problem and think everyone is against them and can't deal with authority," said Hurst. "It's [their supervisor's] job to build them up into being a better professional and person."

Before their departure back to Moody, the Airmen in attendance collectively agreed that the 3-day trip was beneficial.

"I like how the chapel team gave us constructive criticism and real ways designed to improve our faults," said Airman 1st Class Elton Huff, 23d Civil Engineer Squadron engineering journeyman. "I feel like everything they taught us through the activities was beneficial. I would definitely go to another resiliency trip and hope other people may consider going because it really is a fun and educational event."

The Moody chapel team plans on hosting more resiliency trips in the future and for those who are interested in their services can contact them at 229-257-3211.