FORT BRAGG, N.C. - Members of the 1st Theater Sustainment Command welcomed a special guest to the unit on Friday. Bern Nadette Stanis better knows as Thelma from the '70's sitcom 'Good Times', spent the day with Soldiers emersing herself in military life.
Stanis' day started out bright and early conducting physical fitness with the Soldiers of the 1st TSC. Her day also entailed a motivational speech on resiliency, photo opportunities with those in attendance, lunch with the Soldiers, a visit to the Fort Bragg Fight House to see combatives, and a brief with the 1st TSC command group.
During her speech to the Soldiers, Stanis reflected upon her life growing up and having a father who served in the military.
"As a little girl I grew up knowing that my dad was a Soldier in the United States Army and that was one of the best things to be," she said. "My father taught me how to be committed to something, never to give up, to be determined and resilient and he also taught me about the heart of the Soldier."
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Paul R. Brown, 1st TSC, class I operational ration manager, shared what he took from Stanis' speech.
"Her speech brought a little more clarity and a more in-depth understanding of resiliency and what it means," said Brown. "Not just to the military, but to all. Resiliency does not have an identifying marker or particular person it bestows itself to."
Brown, a lifelong fan of Stanis', has lived through many times that required him to be resilient, not only for himself, but for his fellow Soldiers and Family.
Stanis went on to say that each of us has to face so many battles every single day; not only the battle of fighting for our country, but battles of being a Family man or woman and living every day with uncertainty.
"There are Soldiers' in the military and there are Soldiers in civilian life and some of you are both," Stanis said.
She urged the Soldiers to never forget that the heart of a Soldier is resilient.
"What is around you does not need to be in you," said Stanis. "I have always known that the environment that I am in has nothing to do with me, that I can make it through it."
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