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WICHITA, Kan. - While many Americans were enjoying a three-day
weekend in October, courtesy of Christopher Columbus, a little-known
event was making its way through Kansas. The event was a part of a
much larger one called The Old Glory Coast to Coast Relay, in which
one American flag was carried by runners from California to
Washington, D.C.
The relay was organized by a nonprofit
veteran's organization called Team Red, White and Blue. According to
their website, “Team RWB's mission is to enrich the lives of
America's veterans by connecting them to their community through
physical and social activity.”
Current and retired Kansas
National Guardsmen participated in the relay, which spanned more
than 400 miles from the Colorado to Missouri state lines. Despite
windy conditions, Airmen assigned to the 184th Intelligence Wing
joined other Team RWB members from Wichita to carry the flag 132
miles from the small towns of Dighton to Holyrood. Chapters from
Fort Riley, Fort Leavenworth and Kansas City were also part of the
relay.
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October 1, 2014 - Team Red, White and Blue gets together twice a week for fitness
activities and once a month for social events. The gatherings offer
a fun and welcoming environment where veterans can be part of a
supporting team.
(U.S. Air Force photo by Matthew Mccoy)
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Team RWB takes an active approach in
helping veterans deal with post-traumatic stress and
traumatic brain injuries. In developing their approach,
they've conducted studies that revealed the wants and needs
of veterans.
According to their research, veterans
desire a connection to community, physical activity,
camaraderie, opportunities to serve and meaningful
relationships. The research also found that the participants
fell into one of three groups, which included
connection-seekers, family-focused and driven veterans. Team
RWB has developed ways for veterans in each category to
fulfill their needs through social activities centered on
physical fitness and sports events. The events are designed
to set the stage to build meaningful relationships.
“Suicide is most often the result of deep despair, a total
loss of hope,” said Blayne Smith, executive director of Team
RWB, in a testimony delivered to the United States Senate.
“We can proactively address this challenge by ensuring that
veterans are connected to a supportive community with
programs that provide a sense of purpose, identity, and
camaraderie.”
Master Sgt. Marla Urban, 184th
Sustainment Services Flight, discovered Team RWB through her
connection with the Veterans of Foreign Wars. She learned
that a chapter was forming in Wichita and signed up through
the website.
“When I learned more about it, it seemed
like a group that I needed to belong to,” said Urban.
While researching the organization, she found that Team
RWB was an inviting and accepting community. Fitness,
friendship and a sense of belonging drove her to meet some
of the members.
“Once I met the members, it was like
we connected right away,” said Urban. “After a long day,
meeting up with others that may be struggling even harder
then you just seemed to help all of us. If we walk, we talk
about things, or we may run to get our stress level down.”
Urban also found that membership was free and didn't
require participants to be veterans.
“My husband
joined and has volunteered for a lot of events, so it's just
not a veteran-focused community,” said Urban.
She began
spreading the news about the organization to coworkers,
veterans and retirees.
“This is a way to keep that
‘belonging' going once members retire or just decide to get
out of the service,” said Urban. “Some feel lost or may not
know how to adapt after retiring, so this is one way that we
can offer to help that transition.”
Urban currently
serves as the Team RWB's community outreach director in
Wichita. Gene McCreight, retired Kansas Army Guardsman, is
the chapter captain and Susan Ballard, retired Kansas Air
Guardsman, is the athletic director. Together they partner
with running companies to provide support and runners for
events. They also organize running events with local charity
groups to raise funds.
“Fitness is the goal; how we
get members to do the fitness is the key,” said Urban. “We
have members that are coping with PTSD, depression, health
problems and more, but I see them show up to events and it
seems like our team is their medicine.”
Learn more about Team RWB in Wichita
By U.S. Air Force Matthew Mccoy
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2015
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