JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas –
Building resilient Air Force families is a priority for the helping agencies at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph.
With something for everyone, they ensure service members, spouses and children have resources available to help them be resilient through life’s challenges.
“Resiliency is the ability to find ways to be successful and bounce back when you hit roadblocks,” said Allen Blair, JBSA-Randolph Sexual Assault Response Coordinator. “Sometimes life knocks you down but it’s important to find ways to overcome those obstacles and move forward.”
Blair believes it’s important to have a foundation in all four pillars of resiliency because Airmen may have to draw from any of them at any time.
“It’s important to have physical, mental, spiritual or social strategies to draw from because you never know which one you’re going to have to draw from,” Blair said. “Each person is different; we all have to figure out a way to cope that works best for us.”
Blair believes the main reason JBSA-Randolph agencies are so effective at helping Airmen is because of the collaboration and connection between organizations.
“We strive to work together to best help Airmen and their families,” Blair said. “By knowing what each of the agencies do, we can steer Airmen to the right place to address their need. Whether it’s mental health, sexual assault prevention and response, military and family readiness center, equal opportunity, military family life counseling or the chaplain, we’re all one team and we’re here to help Airmen and their families.”
Maj. Shawn Menchion, 502nd Air Base Wing chaplain, believes the having a foundation in all four pillars is important because it reinforces the whole Airman concept. Whether it’s running, reading, the arts, meditation, prayer or being part of community, Menchion believes it’s important to build those connections in every area of life because Airmen perform better when connected to something that’s important to them.
“Studies have shown that people who are able to bounce back more effectively have some source they draw from that helps them bounce back,” Menchion said. “Personally, my faith has been a huge driving force in enabling me to bounce back from three deployments.”
Menchion also has some advice for helping children build resiliency.
“Moving can be very difficult for kids,” Menchion said. “Find ways to get them involved in the moving process. Talk about the move with them. Help them build their own sense of identity by finding things they can get involved in and take with them wherever they move.”
The helping agencies on JBSA-Randolph encourage Airman to seek help at any time without fear of negative repercussions.
“There are lots of ways to seek help and remain confidential,” Blair said. “I think people have realized the importance of resiliency and making it easier to get the help needed. The stigma around getting help is definitely going away.”
When it comes to resiliency, Menchion believes balance is key.
“As Airmen, it’s important to seek balance in all four pillars of resilience so when duty calls, you’re able to answer.”