JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
Friday is Wingman Day; A day when units across Joint Base Charleston stop what they are doing to take a well-needed break from their everyday routines and focus on what is truly important in this life: each other.
During the course of today, you're going to hear a lot about resiliency. We all know what it means to be resilient; to have the ability to withstand, recover and grow in the face of stress and diversity. But why do some people have the ability to let life's curveballs roll off their back like water off a duck and some people get mired down in difficult situations to the point where they feel there is no hope at all?
Serving in the military is stressful. We all know and accept that fact when we sign up. What we might not have known at the time was how stressful it could be. Deployments, inspections, long hours and permanent change of station moves combined with difficult and often dangerous working environments are everyday facts of life for us. To add to this, we all have lives outside of our work. Family issues, financial difficulties, illness, car problems and hundreds of other things also add to our stress levels.
All this can lead to a sense of it's you against the world. This is where the Wingman concept comes in. No matter what, our men and women who serve this great Nation are members of a strong family dedicated to taking care of each other.
The importance of looking out for one another was driven home this week during the memorial for Staff Sgt. Tony Wilkins. I was proud of how his unit came together to immediately support each other as well as the outpouring of support from across the installation.
Building these kinds of bonds is a key part of resiliency. The world can be turbulent but if each and every one of us can look left and look right and see a strong, supporting teammate, there is nothing we can't face.
Let's make sure at the end of today's Wingman Day, our Service Members and their civilian partners know they are part of something larger than themselves.