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    When thinking about Comprehensive Airman Fitness, think of your base health and wellness center

    When thinking about Comprehensive Airman Fitness, think of your base health and wellness center

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    SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Throughout Air Mobility Command, officials at the base and command and base levels have been looking at ways to expand the culture for Comprehensive Airman Fitness, or CAF. A place that is fully a part of the CAF culture is your base health and wellness center.

    At Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., officials at the 92nd Force Support Squadron's health and wellness center say the HAWC is a good place to start achieving better health through nutrition, exercise and education.

    "Excellent health is achievable by everyone," Alexander Eclar, 92nd FSS HAWC health promotion manager, said in a news report by 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs. "So often we limit ourselves by believing that our parent's or our grandparent's health determines ours. That means that if our parents had Diabetes Type II, we would too. That's not the way it works. We achieve our level of fitness by the commitment we show to living a healthy lifestyle."

    Comprehensive Airman Fitness, or CAF, began July 1 at AMC and officials point out that CAF is not a program, "but an approach to better equip Airmen and their families to handle stress." There are "four pillars" to the CAF culture -- physical, social, mental and spiritual fitness. There are also the five "Cs" of CAF -- caring, committing, communicating, connecting and celebrating.

    At a health and wellness center, Eclar said a lot of what they do to support all customers of the HAWC fits right into the CAF culture.

    "We are trying to change the perception of why we are here," Eclar said. "We're not just the place to come when people get in trouble with their fitness assessment. We're here to equip people to exceed in their physical training. We also help people avoid killer diseases like heart disease, cancer, stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease."

    Health and wellness centers throughout Air Mobility Command bases offer a variety of classes, services and consultations free-of-charge, that are available to all active duty, retired military personnel, their family members and Department of Defense civilians. In each HAWC staff, they may have exercise physiologists, registered dietitians and health educators.

    "We're here to help everyone get to where they want to be with a healthy lifestyle," Ms. Ashley Destefano, health program manager for the 628th Force Support Squadron HAWC at Joint Base Charleston, S.C., said in a November news report from Joint Base Charleston.

    Whether it's going to the HAWC or finding some other way to live a healthier life, Gen. Raymond E. Johns, Jr., AMC commander, said CAF is important for all to remember.

    "Comprehensive Airman Fitness reflects our commitment to developing a holistic approach to caring for our people that equips, enables and empowers everyone to grow more physically, socially, mentally and spiritually fit," General Johns said in a June meeting addressing CAF to AMC wing commanders. "It's not another program, but rather, a means to enhance mission effectiveness by intentionally investing in one another."

    For more on Comprehensive Airman Fitness, visit the AMC Web page for CAF at http://www.amc.af.mil/caf/index.asp.

    (Mr. Scott King, 92nd ARW Public Affairs, and Airman Jared Trimarchi, Joint Base Charleston Public Affairs, contributed to this story.)

    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 12.06.2010
    Date Posted: 12.06.2010 09:17
    Story ID: 61444
    Location: SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, ILLINOIS, US

    Web Views: 137
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