TRIPLER ARMY MEDICAL CENTER, Hawaii - An annual National Prayer Breakfast was held, here, Feb. 28, and Tripler was honored to host the Army Medicine Chaplain, Col. Mike Tarvin, as the keynote speaker.
As Navy Capt. Jose Acosta, Deputy Commander for Clinical Services, Pacific Regional Medical Command and Tripler Army Medical Center, welcomed the audience to the prayer breakfast, he thanked the 25th Infantry Division Band for playing at the event.
"(The annual prayer breakfast) is a time to come together and give thanks for all our blessings as we pray for the challenges facing our nation," Acosta said.
Prior to Tarvin's speech, prayers were said for our national leaders, Armed Forces personnel, deployed Soldiers and their families and TAMC patients and staff.
Also, Coast Guard Chaplain (Lt. Cmdr.) Carl Barnes, District 14 Command Chaplain, sang "His Eye is On the Sparrow" as part of the event.
Tarvin, who entered the Army as a chaplain in 1987, focused his energy on the defining characteristics of being a winning warrior.
"Success as a winning warrior has a lot of elements but some of the key ones: have faith, act with goodness, persevere in your life, be kind, be an encourager and be a loyal member of the team," Tarvin explained.
"In the new Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program, spirituality is one of the pillars," Tarvin explained. "The Army has recognized the need for faith, for a belief in something bigger than yourself ... A true winning warrior begins with having faith in something that is bigger than themselves; a higher standard of right and wrong."
Tarvin explained that a key part of having faith and being a winning warrior is accepting help from others.
"A hospital is a great example of this," Tarvin said. "Be part of a team ... the concept of ohana here in Hawaii is great. We are all interconnected and we all need each other. The Soldier's Creed begins with 'I am an American Soldier. I am a Warrior and a member of a team.' The Army knows it ... to be a warrior you have to be a member of the team."
As the breakfast wound down, Tarvin challenged the TAMC staff to make a commitment to be an encourager, not a discourager.
"True leaders, true winning warriors, exhibit acts of goodness and caring for those under them and those around them," Tarvin said.
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