Wingman Day invites Airmen to gain new perception on resilience

  • Published
  • By Jet Fabara
  • 412th Test Wing Public Affairs
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Team Edwards took a break from the mission Nov. 3 to take part in the last Wingman Day event of the year, which was used as a day to refocus on resiliency, building a culture of caring throughout the community, core values and emphasizing a culture of dignity and respect among all Airmen.

More than 413 Airmen were in attendance at the Airman and Family Readiness Center Wingman Day event, which was also streamed live at the base theater and 16 other locations around the base.

"We want the Edwards community to know they are not alone not only during the upcoming holidays but year-around. This is another reason the Helping Agencies work so hard to get the tools out there like the established Edwards Helping Agencies ICON, our SharePoint information site and the upcoming calendar of events that are posted on the Edwards Portal page as well as agencies' Facebook pages," said Nancy Koch-Castillo, 412th Test Wing community support coordinator.

With over 50 nonprofit agencies and organizations from the Antelope Valley and on-base helping agencies, civilian and military attendees were not only able to inquire about the services they could obtain from these agencies, but how they could volunteer as well within the community.

"Our guidelines from Air Force Materiel Command were to focus on something that 'Strengthened Relationships' as well, so that's why we invited these outside agencies, " added Koch-Castillo. "Per the secretary of the Air Force and chief of staff, Wingman Days are for the base community to come together and this event sets aside time to strengthen the trust between Airmen and enhance our commitment to one another. We must always ensure that the Airmen to the left and right of us not only adhere to our core values, but that they also have strong mental, physical, social and spiritual fitness. We must guarantee that they have the ability to withstand, recover and grow in the face of challenges that we all encounter in life - we call it resilience."

In conjunction with the theme of "Strengthening Relationships," this Wingman Day event offered a resilience skill presentation of "Interpersonal Problem Solving" by Staff Sgt. Cole Cargill, from the 412th Medical Operations Squadron, followed by guest speaker, retired judge Dana LaMon, who spoke about resilience and its five ingredients - direct, identity, determination, rejuvenescence and support connections.

"It is important for us to have support. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said our lives are inextricably intertwined and John Donne said it in a different way, 'No man is an island, entire of itself, every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.' We are all in it together and the idea of having support in order to maintain resilience, that's not weakness. Helen Keller said asking for help is not weakness, it's giving into problems and refusing to meet them head on, that's weakness. Resilience has five ingredients to it: direction, identity, determination, rejuvenescence and support. If you make sure that your life has all five ingredients, you'll have the resilience necessary to spring back into position and to push forward and recover when failure knocks on your door. That's what it's all about," said LaMon.

"It's important to know the value of resiliency when you are seeking the various paths of success. As a community or as individuals, resilience applies the same. I didn't pass the bar exam on the first time, and I didn't pass on the second time, but I tried a third time and I did. What I accomplished is what I set out to accomplish and that was to be a lawyer, to be a judge, to be a family man and eventually to stand in front of you and share the message, so that you can meet with similar success."

Units are required to conduct at least two Wingman Days a year as part of an Air Force requirement. Stand down days like these are opportunities to stop and think about what each Airman can do to uphold the core values that define their Service, the U.S. Air Force.

To learn more about Mr. Dana LaMon, go to www.danalamon.com.