Photo By Spc. Jordy Harris | Staff Sgt. Samuel Lima, a squad leader with Bravo Troop, 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry...... read more read more
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FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. – Staff Sgt. Samuel Lima, a squad leader with Bravo Troop, 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), developed a concept for Soldiers in his formation to use Eagle Tribe Time to have open discussions of issues, think critically, and build team cohesion.
For his efforts, Lima was awarded a certificate of achievement by Maj. Gen. JP McGee, commanding general, 101st Abn. Div. and Fort Campbell, and Col. Ed Matthaidess, commander of 2nd Brigade Combat Team, March 29 during a cohesion roundtable brief.
“He took his section out to Fort Donelson [National Battlefield] and put them through a pretty robust PT session, working through the battlefield, talking about their mission as cavalry scouts,” Matthaidess said. “Then he transitioned to talk about some of the resiliency skills that came out of that battle under inclement weather, harassing fires, and wrapped up with the suicide prevention brief. He pulled some personal examples to help make those connections happen for the team.”
The cohesion roundtable is conducted monthly in conjunction with the Executive Commander's Ready and Resilient Counsel, or CR2C, during which Fort Campbell senior leaders review progress along the counsel’s lines of effort and provide information briefings related to resources and services available.
The March cohesion roundtable provided additional education about the Fort Campbell Behavioral Health Program, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and suicide prevention.
Fort Campbell CR2C objectives include cultivating leader and Soldier character development, fostering unit cohesion and strengthening organizational climate, optimizing physical performance, enhancing mental performance, promoting work-life balance, and improving communication.
Lima addressed all the CRC2 objectives during the Fort Donelson event.
“Referencing events from Fort Donelson during the Civil War, we developed this concept to bring together past and present cavalry tactics and applied the mindset of our predecessors in a harsh condition to solve problems,” Lima said. “We discussed the various situations they went through as Soldiers and talked about how that may relate to suicide prevention, tying in the different programs we have available here at Fort Campbell as a resource that can help.”
With the U.S. Army focusing on developing more holistic ways to bring awareness to Soldier spiritual fitness and self-care, the efforts of Lima fit in with his commander’s intent of seeking to go beyond decades of focus almost solely on just physical fitness by expanding Soldier readiness to nutritional, sleep, mental and even spiritual areas.
“Team cohesion definitely grew,” Lima said. “Our esprit de corps grew as well. Looking back on past cavalry tactics and finding positive ways to handle situations made us all feel more connected, as we look back on where we came from to obtain a better understanding of where we are going in the future.”
The event at Fort Donelson created an outlet for members of his unit to also speak about personal mental health experiences and daily life stressors while building on trust and shared experiences.
“Within my organization, even the lowest ranking individual knows that somebody is always there for them, whether today might be the worst day of their lives or just a minor upset,” Lima said. “I believe that suicide can always be prevented and there is always another option, especially in our day-to-day jobs and lives, a lot of things are more stressful than people realize and having a good outlet and trustworthy team makes it easier.”
Recognizing Soldiers who perform exceptionally has been a longstanding effort of the 101st Abn. Div. and its commanders, and events like the cohesion roundtable is a key point to connecting leadership with actions, ideas, and facts that create better experiences for all Screaming Eagle Soldiers.
| Date Taken: | 03.29.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 04.06.2022 17:47 |
| Story ID: | 417801 |
| Location: | FORT CAMPBELL, KENTUCKY, US |
| Web Views: | 329 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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