260th QM hosts prayer breakfast, focuses on resiliency

By Sgt. Patience Okhuofu, 260th Quartermaster Battalion Public AffairsAugust 25, 2011

260th QM hosts prayer breakfast, focuses on resiliency
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260th QM hosts prayer breakfast, focuses on resiliency
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FORT STEWART, Ga. - The Army Comprehensive Fitness Program focuses on building resilience and enhancing the performance of Soldiers, Family Members and Army Civilians by using what it calls the Five Dimensions of Strength: Physical, Emotional, Social, Family and Spiritual.

The 260th Quartermaster Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, Third Infantry Division held a prayer breakfast, Aug. 9, at the Hunter Army Airfield Chapel. The theme was Spiritual Resiliency, which strengthens a set of beliefs, principles or values that sustains a person beyond Family, institutional and societal sources of strength.

"We all have stressors," said Chaplain (Capt.) Anthony Keim, 260th Quartermaster Battalion Chaplain. "The Army has a unique set of stressors in the form of Permanent Change of Station, deployments, and training events. At these times we need a very special kind of strength to get us through. We need to be spiritually resilient."

Chaplain (Capt.) Keim chose the story of Job as an example of Spiritual Resilience. Job was a very wealthy man in the Bible who lost everything he had and was afflicted with a terrible illness. Despite all he went through, Job never denounced God. Instead, he went to God with his problems. He did not bottle everything inside and go off on a rampage or self destruct, and at the end he was restored.

"What kept Job going was constant communication with God," said Chaplain (Capt.) Keim. "Whatever your religion is, do not ignore spiritual practice; say your prayers, read your Bible. Practice your religion and live by them."

"This is a great event," said Lt. Col. Jimmy Brown, 260th Quartermaster Battalion commander. "As Soldiers and as citizens, we have to always maintain balance in our lives. We have the 'work room,' 'Family room,' 'Spiritual room,' and the 'me room,' but whatever your faith is, do not ignore the Spiritual room. We need to invest time and energy in the Spiritual room."

Command Sergeant Major Dexter L. Speights, 260th Quartermaster Battalion Command Sergeant Major, thanked Chaplain (Capt.) Keim for organizing the event and emphasized the importance of resiliency in the Army.

"You do not struggle with right and wrong if you are spiritually strong," he said. "Spiritual resiliency helps us to overcome some of the ills that we encounter, but things will get better if you have faith that it will, but it may not the very next day or week."

The 260th Quartermaster Battalion command team also thanked and presented a Certificate of Appreciation to members of the HAAF Protestant Women of the Chapel for preparing breakfast for the Soldiers.

"We were really excited to participate in the Prayer Breakfast," said Rachel Eugene, Vice President of Programs, PWOC. Eugene, who is also an Army Veteran and a military spouse, said when they heard about the event, they offered to cook the breakfast for the Soldiers.

"I think [the prayer breakfast] is a great way to bring God to the Soldiers," she said.