JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas -- Every few years, Airmen and their families face hardships ranging from deployments to moving.
To alleviate the stress that these may bring, the Air Force Services Activity implemented Recharge for Resiliency, or R4R, as the capstone for resiliency programming across the U.S. Air Force.
“R4R promotes educational fun, creating active social opportunities to build bonds, restoring esprit de corps, and promoting safe physical events,” said Jon Grammer, AFSVA director of programs.
In 2016, R4R consisted of seven optional “ready to launch" programs, and also allowed installations the flexibility to create their own custom events within the three component programs; Single Airman Programming Initiative, or SAPI; RecOn; and Deployed Affected Programming, or DAP.
“These programs help provide some relief from the unique challenges our Airmen and their families face,” said Toni Keeler, AFSVA recreation specialist. “This, in turn, helps build unit cohesion and a strong sense of community – both critical to the sustainment of a ready, resilient Air Force.”
“These programs also create opportunities for our Airmen to relax, decompress, and bond with their fellow Airmen or family members,” said Maj. Kristi Contardo, AFSVA programs deputy director. “It is a conduit that not only builds a strong sense of community, but belonging.”
Installations customize their offerings according to what Airmen and their families request, Keeler said, and what will work best within base parameters, climate and nearby opportunities.
Outside their comfort zone
For example, the U.S. Air Force Academy builds and sustains ready and resilient Airmen, families and cadets by getting them outside their homes and dorms to experience the Colorado outdoors, said Kirsten King, R4R coordinator with the Academy’s 10th Force Support Squadron.
“In the case of single Airmen and cadets, they’re often working and living with the same people day in and day out,” King said. “R4R programs allow for us to get them outside their normal activities and comfort zones, and get them interacting with people they might not normally interact with.
“We have hosted morale picnics and family gatherings, and every time, these families are able to enjoy a day watching their kids make new friends and relax,” she added.
King said the Academy is leaning toward using the team cohesion challenge. The challenge employs an obstacle course over a distance of seven to 10 miles while incorporating the four pillars of comprehensive Airman fitness: mental, physical, social, and spiritual.
“With all the outdoor activities that we are able to offer in Colorado, we have found that many of our participants are very actively driven and enjoy the high-adrenaline activities that we provide,” King said.
King added the Academy plans to use all three component programs.
“I have worked face-to-face with our participants in each component and have received so much positive feedback from everyone that they love these programs and events that we are putting on for them,” she said.
Excited, happy for activities
F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming, consists of predominantly young, new Airmen who rotate in and out of the missile field and spend days at a time underground, said Amy Dent, community commons director with the 90th FSS at F.E. Warren. That schedule, along with the base’s remote location and harsh climate for most of the year, can be hard on Airmen and their families.
“R4R is not only important, but essential to our resiliency mission,” Dent said. “Every time I brief our programs to new Airmen, I can see excitement build. Our Airmen said they are pleased with the activities and programs the base offers and are genuinely happy with all that we do for Airmen and families.”
Dent said F.E. Warren will use base camp, team cohesion, and escape room from the ready to launch programs, and all of the component programs.
SAPI is particularly popular at F.E. Warren because of its demographic, Dent said. For Thanksgiving, the installation took 30 Airmen on a ski trip to Keystone Ski Resort in Colorado.
“We have gotten to know so many of our Airmen through SAPI, and we are able to follow them while they deploy and make sure they are okay when we haven’t seen them in a while,” Dent said. “SAPI has introduced many friends … and allowed them to build relationships that they can continue outside the program.”
RecOn also provides Airmen and their families opportunities to relieve stress through outdoor activities, Dent said. Last year, 90 active-duty Airmen participated in the Bataan Memorial Death March, where they marched 26.2 miles in uniform, some with 40-pound ruck sacks. The participants spent a weekend celebrating their military heritage and mentoring each other.
“We are in a prime location, and there is really something for everyone,” she said. “We do everything from skiing, rafting, and hang-gliding to horseback riding.”
DAP offsets costs of mostly family trips and helps take their minds off deployment, Dent said. R4R also facilitates opportunities for families to meet others in the same situation and build relationships.
“Last year, we did a snowshoe trip to Medicine Bow National Forest, Wyoming, where deployed families cut down their own Christmas trees,” she said. “(F.E. Warren’s) outdoor recreation delivered these trees to their homes, served hot chocolate, and sang Christmas carols with the families who couldn’t be with their loved ones over the holidays.”
To find out more about this exciting initiative and other programs, visit www.myairforcelife.com