Thousands of briefings, PSA’s, social media posts and stand down days are organized and executed every year, with the goal of inspiring Airmen to become more resilient. Airmen often feel disillusioned by the monotony of annual training and become desensitized to what it genuinely means to BE or lean on a wingman.

For this issue, we talked to a licensed clinical social worker, a first sergeant from a guard unit, three doctors who study suicide and resilience and the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force.

We asked how Airmen can transform resilience from a buzzword into a daily practice. We’ve found that the quest to wellness is as unique, personal, demanding and fulfilling as every Airman and Guardian’s path to service.

Resilience: The glue of the forces

If you want to understand how the Air Force instills resilience into every uniformed member, think back to your time at basic military training, basic cadet training, field training or officer training school. Through grit and determination, you overcame many challenges, to become an Airman, and developed coping skills and techniques to help you stay focused.

This is a large part of the ethos built into the Air Force’s Spectrum of Resilience program, but it will take every Airman continuously improving in each of these tenets to infuse wellness into the culture.

Resiliency Research Task Force studies issues affecting Airmen

The Resilience Research Task Force at the Air Force Culture & Language Center studies the issues affecting our Airmen's mental health.

True North clinic and caring for military training instructors

Steffanie Sargeant is a licensed clinical social worker at Basic Military Training's Human Performance Squadron. She explains the mission of the True North clinic and the challenges they face while caring for military training instructors.

Unexpected mental health challenges

New to training Military Training Instructors, Tech. Sgt. Nigel Cotton shares the challenges he faced while acclimating to the new environment and the experience he had seeking mental health services.

Challenges being in a new environment

Master Sgt. Jonathan Fiore, 149th Fighter Wing first sergeant, discusses the challenges of being in a new environment during an Innovative Readiness Training in Dayton, Tennessee.

At Altitude Podcast: Spectrum of Resilience

At Altitude: CMSAF JoAnne Bass

Airman Magazine interview with Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne Bass covering her accomplishments, priorities and the need to increase the capabilities and resilience of Airmen for a potential future fight with peer adversaries.

Spectrum of RESILIENCE

Visit the following links for more information or assistance about some of the mental health options available to Air Force personnel

One of our greatest sources of strength to meet the unique challenges of military life comes from our connection with others across a Spectrum of Resilience. Ourselves, our family and friends, our peers and social networks, as well as support agencies and clinical/medical health professionals all influence and contribute to our personal resilience.