FORT SILL, Okla. (Nov. 2, 2017) -- Advanced individual training Soldiers from 1st battalion, 78th Field Artillery in hold-over and hold-under status attended a spiritual resiliency and life skills training event, Oct. 13.
The Soldiers are those who have either completed AIT and are waiting for orders to get processed or new students awaiting a class start date.
Organized by the Fort Sill chaplain's office, the event occurred at Frontier Chapel Center and was designed to teach the Soldiers techniques and strategies for future success.
"We're using the '7 Habits of Highly Effective Soldiers,' though we don't really have time to cover all seven habits. So we've been beginning with 'Begin with End in Mind,'" said Chaplain (Capt.) Patricia Nichols, 428th Field Artillery Brigade chaplain. "We've then been putting those mission statements into an art form, kind of like a blueprint for their mission statement. Then they can see it change as their goals develop."
One of the Soldiers attending, Pvt. Adam Cooper, who has been waiting for a month and a half to start AIT, joked that "I came for the free food," but noted that he thought that the training was "pretty interesting."
"It's more or less like the MRT (master resilience training) we got in basic, but it's more in-depth," he said.
Cooper added the training seemed to be helpful with his current time waiting for school.
"It can help me not be so angry while waiting for classing," he said, noting it was a common feeling with his fellow students.
Fort Sill Garrison Chaplain (Maj.) David Ditolla, creator of the event, highlighted what he thought was the main issue these particular Soldiers faced.
"One of our big concerns with this at-risk population is that we want to make sure to keep them engaged. I think that when you're sitting around for that long it's hard for them to understand their purpose. We're trying to teach them that there's hope, and that this won't last forever, and how to cope in a healthy way when life doesn't exactly turn out as expected," said the major.
Nichols said the chaplain's officer plans to hold this training monthly.
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