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LAS VEGAS - As the persistent demand for remotely piloted
aircraft support increases, the burden on the Airmen who fly,
maintain and support these operations also increases, often times
leaving some questioning their ability to continue in this rewarding
but highly-stressful job.
Providing disciplined war-fighters,
who dominate the intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and
kinetic operations globally, 24/7, for our nation and its coalition
partners is a daunting and sometimes stressful task. Fortunately,
those closest to the fight recognize the need to take care of their
most valuable asset: The Airmen.
“Every single day this base
is at war,” said Col. James Cluff, 432nd Wing/432nd Air
Expeditionary Wing commander. “What we do here isn't autonomous. It
starts with the people, and the people are the heart of it, the
manpower it takes to operate this enterprise is at the heart of this
system and we must do what we can to protect them.”
Normally
reserved for special operations commands, human performance teams
focus on helping Airmen win today's fight while they prepare for
tomorrow through physical, social, spiritual, intellectual and
emotional support.
Considering the demands facing the RPA
enterprise, Team Creech has formed their own human performance team
to meet the needs of those supporting RPA operations at this
one-of-a-kind deployed-in-place location.
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Considering the demands facing the RPA enterprise, Team Creech has formed their own human performance team to meet the needs of those supporting RPA operations at this one-of-a-kind deployed-in-place location. The team consists of an operational physiologist, an operational psychologist, operational medicine, and the Chaplain corps, who together treat the five areas of wellness for all Creech Airmen. (U.S. Air Force photo illustration by Tech. Sgt. Nadine Y. Barclay)
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“Our vision with this program is to shape the future of
airpower,” said Maj. Mark Williams, chaplain, a member of
the human performance team. “Through motivated, innovative,
and trained warriors we can deliberately develop and take
care of our Airmen.”
The Creech HPT consists of an
operational physiologist, an operational psychologist,
operational medicine and the Chaplain corps, who together
treat the five areas of wellness for all Creech Airmen.
Due to the sensitive nature of the Team Creech mission
the HPT are cleared to the top secret and sensitive
information levels to allow them access to Airmen's work
centers to allow greater day-to-day availability to help
those in need.
“Having access to the Airmen in their
units allows us to break down the stigmas associated with
getting help,” said Williams. “Whereas before we were seen
as outsiders, we are now viewed as part of the team since we
can observe what they experience firsthand.”
In a
2012 RPA survey, Air Combat Command Airmen rated their top
five contributors affecting stress and morale as unit
manning, shift schedules, extra duties and administrative
tasks, working long hours and having sleep issues.
Armed with this information, the Creech HTP tailored
training to give Airmen the tools needed to remain resilient
against those factors.
The wing operational
physiologist, Maj. Maria Gomez-Mejia, works to fill the
non-traditional aspects unique to Creech through educational
training aimed at fatigue mitigation, performance
enhancement, risk management analysis and observations, and
RPA specific human factor threats.
“Most of our
Airmen here at Creech spend long periods of time sitting
between flying and the drive to and from work in addition to
the shift work, so it's vital that we target the physical
aspects of this job,” said Gomez-Mejia. “The partnership of
the program is essential.”
Annually the HPT collects
9,000 standardized aviation risk management reports from
crew members, who receive personal stressor scores from the
operational physiologist, psychologist, or the chaplain as
needed.
In addition, the psychological aspects are
also addressed to optimize performance, improve
organizational climate, unit moral, team dynamics,
operational readiness and combat effectiveness.
“Among ACC RPA Airmen we are focused on energy management,
goal setting, improving home relationships, mental
resilience and work relationships,” said Maj. Eddie, wing
operational psychologist.
If a problem persists and
cannot be treated through non-medical avenues Airmen can
partner with flight medicine.
“We like to remind the
Airmen that seeking help is a sign of strength and it is not
detrimental to their career,” said Lt. Col. James Senechal,
99th Aerospace Medicine Squadron flight doctor. “We are
committed to solving the problem and getting Airmen back in
the seat.”
The HPT is focused on getting Airmen to
the right expertise for their issues, which occasionally
requires multiple aspects of the team at once to treat the
five areas of wellness.
“A hundred feet from our
door, our Airmen are at war,” said Williams. “We must do
everything we can to keep our Airmen and their families
healthy.”
Treating the source of the problem is a
huge part of the HPT's mission and families are strongly
encouraged to seek help along with their Airman from this
unique group.
“Sometimes its nutritional help an
Airman is seeking and throughout the conversation we
discover they have an issue sleeping which makes them
irritable and thus affects the family dynamic,” said
Gomez-Meija. “So we educate both the Airman and the spouse
on ways to cope with the changes in mission and schedules.”
For Airmen who have been helped by the program its
impact is immeasurable and speaks volumes for the amount of
caring the wing leadership has for its Airmen's well-being.
“I think that in this aspect, the Air Force is doing
something right,” said Col. Brent Caldwell, 726th Operations
Group commander, a total-force unit comprised of members
from both the Nevada Air National Guard and the Air Force
Reserve. “We didn't wait for this to become an acute issue
before we started treating it; we're attacking it head on.”
By U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Nadine Y. Barclay
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2015
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