Program keeps SMDC team ready and resilient

By Jason B. Cutshaw, USASMDC/ARSTRAT Public AffairsSeptember 13, 2016

Program keeps SMDC team ready and resilient
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Alabama -- Soldiers, civilians and family members battle with many challenges, and the Army is making efforts to help them stay strong in the face of these encounters.

In conjunction with the Army's Ready and Resilient, or R2, Campaign, the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command is closely coordinating its efforts to support the workforce to enable them to overcome setbacks, recover and grow from adversities, and thrive on a sustained basis in a program called Ready and Resilient.

"Ready and resiliency is a method of bringing a culture change," said Abigale Dixon, USASMDC/ARSTRAT Readiness and Resilience coordinator. "It is more than just a way to bring health and well-being to the workforce.

"With this effort, it gives the workforce an actual voice and the ability to impact change in a positive way," she added. "It is not just sending suggestions to the suggestion box, but allowing them to propose a solution and then bringing that solution to fruition."

Resilience is the ability to bounce back and recover from the challenges and setbacks of life. The way people think about obstacles and process these experiences internally has a direct correlation to how they respond outwardly.

"Ready and Resilient came about because of our military members," Dixon said. "Some people think it is a suicide prevention program, but that is not the root of it. We don't want anyone to get close to that point if we can help it.

"To the greatest extent possible we want our people strong and able to help themselves by asking for help if they need it," she added. "We also want to help others who are struggling and help them to feel comfortable asking for help and not just feeling like they have no hope."

SMDC has tailored the Army's R2 mission to provide Ready and Resilient capabilities to commanders and leaders that will enable them to achieve and sustain personal readiness and optimize human performance.

"It will consist of a few working groups that will help eliminate some of the issues we have had in the past," she added. "We will be addressing the health and well-being of the workforce."

Dixon said the Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness, or CSF2, program is part of the Army's overall R2 Campaign and the Army's CSF2 model consists of the physical, emotional, family, spiritual and social aspects of people's lives.

"We will have a steering committee of approximately six to eight executive level members of SMDC helping with our efforts," Dixon said. "We will also have a design team consisting of specialized people who will be the voice of the workforce by conducting focus groups and utilizing surveys to offer direction."

Ready and Resilient provides comprehensive resilience training for Soldiers, family members and Army civilians that develops coping skills and behaviors, increases capability, produces an enduring cultural change, and yields an Army environment that supports and develops its members to perform at their optimum level both personally and professionally.

Dixon said she has connected to the Army's G-1 Ready and Resilient division and ensured SMDC is on the same page. She said as Ready and Resilient continues to evolve, the command will continue to grow with the help of the workforce and their support.

"The Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness program is where our resiliency training will come into play," Dixon said. "We have 14 resilient skills we are taught and we would like to use them as team building opportunities for small groups to help them learn what their strengths and weaknesses are to help them grow."

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