By Spc. Bradley J. Wancour
Third Army/ARCENT Public Affairs
CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait -- The 3rd Medical Command (Deployment Support) held its first Warrior Wellness Expo at Camp Beuhring Jan. 7.
The 3rd MDSC's goal for the event was to inform Servicemembers of the available services to strengthen their physical, emotional and spiritual wellness.
"Not everyone here knows what is available to them," said Capt. Lois Colwell, behavioral health consultant, 3rd MDSC and native of Providence, R.I. "This was a good way to get all the information in one place."
Throughout the expo, several $50 Army and Air Force Exchange Service gift cards were given away. The event culminated with the giveaway of $250 and $500 AAFES gift cards, plus a separate drawing for a Harley Davidson motorcycle jacket.
In order to be eligible for these prizes, attendees visited each of the informational booths and received valuable information before turning in a signature card for the drawings.
"A lot of people come up here just to get a signature," said Capt. Eric Storey, field services veterinarian, 994th Medical Detachment (Veterinary Services) and Baton Rouge, La. native who ran a booth for his unit. "While they're waiting, they ask some good questions and we are able to engage them."
In addition to the drawing, there was a relay which was comprised of such events as a football throw, sprint, and Humvee push. In all, 30 teams competed in the relay, which promoted camaraderie between Servicemembers.
"While we wanted to get information to the Servicemembers, we also wanted to make it fun," explained Colwell.
The expo was inspired by a similar event in September at Camp Arifjan called the Care Fair, said Colwell.
"The Care Fair did so well that the command team wanted to do it again," said Colwell.
The event was held again Dec. 31 at Camp Arifjan, under the new name, Warrior Wellness Expo.
"We also wanted to bring this to Camp Beuhring so Servicemembers here can get the same exposure those at Camp Arifjan got," Colwell stated.
Like the previous events, attendees here were asked to fill out a survey, which asked which booths they liked and what causes stress during deployment.
"We got a lot of good feedback from the surveys of the previous events," said Colwell. "They said they had fun and learned a lot, which was the reason we wanted to do it again."
Third Army is dedicated to ensuring Servicemembers are physically, mentally, and spiritually fit by holding events designed to increase awareness of services offered in a deployed environment.
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