Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Banzhaf | Andrew Lane, an Atlanta native and an ROTC cadet at the University of Texas,...... read more read more
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FORT HOOD, Texas - Amidst the 340 square miles that is Fort Hood lays a vast landscape of sand and shrubs, training areas and tank trails, asphalt, concrete, bricks and mortar.
And nestled among all that is a unique, man-made landmark—a koi pond.
The koi pond serves as an oasis for Soldiers, families and DOD civilians to visit and reflect, and it is located at the center of the Resiliency Campus.
And Soldiers and officers from the 2nd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team explored it April 16 when they hosted a day of resiliency classes and briefings for University of Texas’ ROTC cadets here.
Battalion representatives took the cadets on a tour of Fort Hood’s Resiliency Campus, introduced them to the services it provides and demonstrated how leaders within the battalion use the campus to increase the unit’s readiness.
“There is not a better way to do it than to bring them up to the resiliency center here at Fort Hood,” said Lt. Col. Ryan McCormack, commander of the artillery battalion. “We can really get into resiliency and how we operationalize that for the individual and the units.”
This is the unit’s fourth event in support of their partnership with the school’s ROTC program. Previously, the unit has sent commissioned officers and senior noncommissioned officers to the school to brief the cadets on what to expect in the military and what will be expected of them.
“We reached out to the 1st Cavalry Division headquarters and asked if there were any opportunities that we can integrate with a unit and have them come to us to talk with the cadets,” said Maj. Christopher Stelle, a Cleveland, Texas, native and interim chair and professor of the Military Science Department at the university. “Immediately, Col. McCormack and the 2-82 Field Artillery Regiment jumped right on it.”
This event, the trip to Fort Hood’s resiliency center, was another step the battalion took to help create more well-rounded and resourceful leaders for the future.
“I went over the facilities, the tools, and the assets that the resiliency campus supplies and how resiliency affects combat readiness,” said Capt. Jason Norwood, a Moorestown, New Jersey, native and commandant of the Fort Hood Resiliency Campus. “I don’t call it a one-stop shop, because I want you to stop by multiple times. I can describe the campus as the single most comprehensive tool and asset for Soldiers to use to better themselves and those around them.”
Throughout their tour, the cadets met with the representatives from the various agencies in the campus, including financial counselors and performance enhancement counselors.
“We are the only place that takes a look at the comprehensive fitness right,” said Norwood. “We impact the spiritual, social, emotional, physical and family fitness.”
A unique characteristic of the campus is the availability of specialists in each field who can work together and collaborate in helping Soldiers and units.
Norwood gave an example of a Soldier who is injured and going through physical therapy.
“For most individuals, that injury will decrease your mental, social, spiritual and family fitness,” said Norwood. “There is no inherent partnership between mental health and physical therapy. But here, there is a partnership between the wellness center and military family life counselors.”
The wellness center, various counselors, a chapel that supports multiple beliefs and a functional fitness center all comprise the resiliency campus.
As the cadets learned about the services provided by the campus, they were given a crash course from some of the representatives.
“Hearing about the resiliency center’s resources that are on each base definitely seems like a great place to take Soldiers to,” said Andrew Lane, an ROTC cadet and an Atlanta native. “I think the financial and spiritual counseling is something that will be useful for me as well as for Soldiers.”
At the end of the visit, the battalion brought one of their battery commanders who has been using the campus’ resources to explain how he implemented the curriculum and discussed the end results.
“The Soldiers use visualization to make themselves better in a particular task,” said Capt. Jacob Gatewood, a Pittsburgh native and commander of Battery A, 2-82 FA. “Usually, a lot of focus is on the APFT and weapons qualification because those are the same for every Soldier in the Army. What we did was adapted the programs for artillery skills.”
Soldiers in Gatewood’s unit used what they learned about performance enhancement and followed up with every Soldier on a weekly basis during First Team Training Time on Thursdays.
“Performance enhancement breeds resiliency by making Soldiers better at their job,” said Gatewood. “We perform counseling; provide feedback; and have leaders go through the same training as Soldiers.”
He used examples from where his unit out-performed others. His battery completed Gunnery Table XII platoon level qualifications in eight hours, where others took more than 24.
“We built confidence, which has led to competence and that has led to a marked increase in our performance level,” said Gatewood. “There is not a lot that an external person can throw at either of the platoons or the battery that is going to stop them from accomplishing their mission.”
The battalion’s partnership with the university and all the interaction with unit leaders is helping ensure these cadets are given the tools that will help them when they graduate, commission and eventually become platoon leaders.
“I didn’t know the Army had a place like this on post,” said Lane. “My hopes are that by using these resources I can keep my first unit healthy and ready.”
| Date Taken: | 04.15.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 04.24.2015 14:01 |
| Story ID: | 161189 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TEXAS, US |
| Hometown: | ATLANTA, GEORGIA, US |
| Hometown: | CLEVELAND, TEXAS, US |
| Hometown: | MOORESTOWN, NEW JERSEY, US |
| Hometown: | PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 360 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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