Courtesy Photo | Sgt. Charles Keaton, an engineer and master resiliency trainer with Special Troops...... read more read more
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By Spc. Molleigh Crotty
2nd AAB, 1st Inf. Div., USD-C.
BAGHDAD—Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, United States Division – Center held a resiliency training forum, including classes on thinking traps and suicide prevention, Feb. 4 at Camp Liberty, Iraq, to promote positive thinking among the soldiers.
The forum was kicked off by 1st Sgt. David Rieckmann, first sergeant of Company B, Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, United States Division – Center and a White Bluff, Tenn., native, who provided the soldiers with a refresher on resiliency and stressed the importance of being able to bounce back from tough times. He engaged the audience with numerous exercises and made the topic relevant to individual soldiers.
“I really enjoyed how the instructors had us participate—it helped make the class easy and fun to attend,” said Spc. Chane Nohr, an orderly room clerk with Company A, STB, 2nd AAB, 1st Inf. Div., USD – C and a Mountain Home, Idaho, native. “It was not just a boring, one-sided PowerPoint presentation.”
The next instructor, Sgt. Charles Keaton, an engineer with STB, 2nd AAB, 1st Inf. Div., USD – C and a Yuma, Ariz., native, discussed avoiding thinking traps and how individuals can first identity them. Keaton then provided the soldiers with a method to escape those traps and morph those thoughts into more effective ones.
“I found the instructors to be enthusiastic and subject matter experts on the topics covered—you could tell that they did their homework; they brought relevance and substance to the classes,” Cpl. Heather Blanton, a supply specialist with Company A, STB, 2nd AAB, 1st Inf. Div., USD – C and a Cincinnati native.
The final block of instruction was led by Capt. Jason Palmer, chaplain with STB, 2nd AAB, 1st Inf. Div., USD – C and a High Springs, Fla., native, and focused on preventing suicide within the battalion. Palmer discussed each individual soldier’s responsibility to watch over each other and the processes soldiers can use to contact support channels.
“Chaplain Palmer did an outstanding job on the suicide prevention part of the class,” said 2nd Lt. Thomas Burkhart, a platoon leader with Company A, STB, 2nd AAB, 1st Inf. Div., USD – C and a Killen, Ala., native. “He was informative, interactive and fun to listen to. All the soldiers that I have talked to have said it was one of the best classes they have sat through, which can be tough since it deals with such a sensitive subject.”
“Resiliency isn’t about avoiding all the challenges that we have to deal with on deployment,” said 1st Lt. George Hotaling, an executive officer with Company A, STB, 2nd AAB, 1st Inf. Div., USD – C and a Jefferson, N.Y., native. “Those are inevitably going to come. It is about the second and third step you take after you have experienced those challenges. Resiliency is about being able to take the challenges and continue on knowing that it will be OK.”
| Date Taken: | 02.04.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 02.14.2011 11:00 |
| Story ID: | 65411 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 70 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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