The Mission Support Battalion (MSB) helps other units meet their mission demands. Each day is different, which can lead to stress and reduced energy. MSB rarely interacts as an entire team, so the MSB unit leader wanted to bring team members together to build rapport and establish a unified identity.
Master Resilience Trainer - Performance Expert (MRT-PE) Kaite Conway from the Fort Knox Ready and Resilient (R2) Performance
Center met with MSB’s leader to discuss the unit's unique work stressors and plan for the unit to come together, create connections and improve performance.
Conway and MRT-PE Allie Lugin led Soldiers through a mental fitness course, at the Sadowski Center, consisting of eight stations.
At the number grid station, participants took turns finding five numbers on a randomized number grid in ascending order. Each team had points added to their total based on how many numbers they found. This station put the participants under pressure while also requiring them to stay focused in a distracting environment. At the stack attack station, participants went from the big movements of the previous station’s exercise and switched to small motor movements to successfully stack hex nuts. The riddles station featured six riddles to solve, which challenged participants to think creatively and collaborate to find the answer.
The mental fitness course challenged the Soldiers’ team cohesion because each station required full completion by each team member, with many stations set up in a “relay” style in which one team member cannot begin their portion of the task until the previous person completes their portion.
“The course challenged Soldiers’ problem-solving ability in more ways than one. It encouraged the Soldiers to strategize how to successfully complete each station using the resources and information offered to them. It also encouraged Soldiers to think creatively and stimulated quick, flexible thinking due to the time constraints,” Conway says.
“In terms of the Soldiers’ physical endurance, the mental fitness course incorporated four out of eight physical challenges that put their aerobic and anaerobic capacities to the test, while also testing their ability to recover from short spurts of maximal physical exertion.”
“I think it’s especially important for Army teams to establish a unified identity beyond the one that the Army requires of them. Each Army team/unit operates as a subunit of the Army, which makes it a unique team in and of itself, thus warranting its own team identity,” Conway says.
“Rapport-building, establishing deeper connections and unifying the team identity is crucial for effectively meeting mission requirements,” Lugin says.
“The cup-stacking station was the most interesting to me because each team used a different approach to the task. Some teams interpreted the instructions literally and stacked all the cups in descending order, while other teams interpreted the instructions in ways that allowed for shorter cup stacks and, in turn, afforded more towers in the given amount of time.”
After the training, Conway met with unit leaders to discuss Strengths of Character and Core Values and Beliefs and their importance to leadership, and overcoming adversity. MSB requested the R2 Performance Center’s participation in future semiannual trainings to reinforce the skills and qualities of their team identity.
“This was the best training we have ever had! Thanks for making it so much fun at 0600!” a participant says.
To schedule training to increase your team's performance and cohesion, contact your nearest R2 Performance Center. Visit https://www. armyresilience.army.mil/ard/ R2/I-Want-to-Schedule-Training.html.
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