Wingman culture key to suicide prevention, resiliency

by Staff Sgt. Benjamin W. Stratton379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs9/27/2013 - SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Resiliency is a term describing skill sets for Airmen to bounce back and grow following adversity. The Wingman Culture strengthens Airmen by providing them the tools and support to face the challenges of military life, especially while deployed.September is known across the Department of Defense as Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month, focusing efforts on the Wingman Culture and the availability of helping agencies for all service members. In a recent press statement, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said leaders throughout the department must make it understood that seeking help is a sign of strength and courage, not a sign of weakness. Echoing his secretary, President Barack Obama said there should be no shame in discussing or seeking help for treatable illnesses that affect too many people."We see it in veterans who come home from the battlefield with the invisible wounds of war," the president said. "[These are veterans], who feel somehow that seeking treatment is a sign of weakness when, in fact, it's a sign of strength."The DOD has launched numerous programs, hired hundreds of experts and continues promoting the importance of looking out for one another. Many of these programs and helping agencies are found at the nation's largest expeditionary wing, the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing."The Chaplain Corps assists Airmen struggling with suicide by providing a support that includes: a safe place to share their problems with complete confidentiality, a support network through a referral program that includes other helping agencies on base and spiritual care provided by a professional religious support team," said Maj. Ismael Rodriguez, the 379th AEW deputy wing chaplain deployed from Moody Air Force Base, Ga., and a San Antonio native. "It is extremely important for every Airman regardless of rank and position to seek help and know that it is a perfectly acceptable option."The chaplain said he sometimes sees people who are afraid to seek help because they think it will somehow end their career in the Air Force. Rodriguez said he tells Airmen it is better to voluntarily ask for help when they are just beginning to feel overwhelmed or start struggling with having a sense of hopelessness than to wait for the situation to worsen."It is never too late to see a chaplain or health care provider," he continued. "We have a chaplain on call 24/7 and we will be there to respond and be with that individual for as long as that Airman needs us."The Air Force wants its Airmen and their families to thrive in good times and bad. The service continuously strives to improve Airmen performance and readiness by building their confidence to lead, courage to stand up for their beliefs, and capacity for compassion to help others."It is important for Airmen to seek early assistance before feelings of suicide," said Staff Sgt. Aaron Guin, a 379th Expeditionary Medical Operations Squadron mental health NCO in charge deployed from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, S.C., and hails from Denver. "If you're having feelings of suicide, tell your Wingman or someone you trust. Our Wingmen and supervisors are incredibly important because they are the first to notice if behaviors change."Guin said mental health works with all the helping agencies on base including the chapel, Sexual Assault Response Coordinator, and military and family life counselors. The mental health clinic is open for walk-ins 7 days a week, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and is on call 24/7.The Air Force supports it's Airmen in responsibly seeking help and according to the 379th AEW wing staff agencies first sergeant, Senior Master Sgt. Darrell Harmon, it's all about getting to know the people with whom you serve."Sometimes our Airmen just want to sit down and talk with someone they know and trust," Harmon said, who is deployed from Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, and a Chicago native. "As supervisors and first sergeants, we need to express a genuine interest in our people and their development."Harmon said an Airman came to him one time asking to sit and talk. The first sergeant said during their conversation not once did it seem to him his troop was considering suicide. But months later, he received an email thanking him for the chat that day -- for he had considered taking his own life, but it was because of Harmon's genuine care, he made the choice to live."You may not know it at the time, but your actions have a huge impact on your people," he said. "First sergeants and supervisors are an Airman's first step to getting the help they need. It's up to us to point them in the right direction and be involved. We need to know what resources are available so we can be good Wingmen, leaders and mentors."Good Wingmen support others who ask for help when they are in crisis and remove any barriers to responsibly getting help."We can all make a difference by helping our Wingmen understand they are not alone and positive support is available," said Brig. Gen. Roger Watkins, the 379th AEW commander. "Our expeditionary Airmen have been engaged in a long war highlighted by continuous and sustained operational deployments and a demanding operations tempo. These service members are accomplishing a significant mission here that is vitally important to the safety and security of our nation."Although the resilience of the overall force has been remarkable, recurrent deployments and high mission tempo can affect service members' ability to recover and restore total fitness and balance in every dimension of their lives. The Air Force created the Air Force Deployment Transition Center to combat these issues. DTC uses a resiliency-building, strength-based approach to empower Airmen at high-risk for traumatic exposure to decompress and successfully progress through the reintegration process before returning home.All service members can help him identify early warning signs in their Wingmen and intervene to ensure others get help when needed. For 24/7 assistance call the base command post at 436-0160. Below is a list of resources available for service members both here and worldwide.Resources: 379th Expeditionary Medical Group: 437-4216379th MDG Mental Health Clinic: 437-8767379th AEW Victory Chapel: 437-8811Veterans Crisis Linehttp://www.veteranscrisisline.net/DOD Suicide Prevention and Awareness Programhttp://www.defense.gov/home/features/2012/0812_suicide-prevention/Air Force Suicide Preventionhttp://www.afms.af.mil/suicideprevention/National Suicide Prevention Lifelinehttp://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

Maintenance chaplain makes big impact

by Senior Airman Benjamin Stratton379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

5/23/2013 - SOUTHWEST ASIA -- With the blinding sun baking down on the hot tarmac, maintenance crews strive to keep aircraft strategically poised to support troops on the ground in the area of operations. The work isn't easy, the days are long and nerves can be frayed. That is until the maintenance group chaplain rolls up with a smile, devotion and a popsicle."It's nice to know we have the support of more than just our leadership," said Senior Airman Jonathan Donovan, a 379th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron C-130 Hercules crew chief deployed from Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. "He really connects with us at the most basic levels."That sentiment for Chaplain (Capt.) David Dziolek is carried across the maintenance group here, but as they say, "there's a rhyme for every reason.""He was maintenance like us, so we really feel like we can open up to him because he understands what we're going through day-in and day-out," said Airman 1st Class Paul Basirico, also a 379th EAMXS C-130 crew chief deployed from Peterson AFB.Dziolek, a Freesoil, Mich., native, began his career in 1991 when he enlisted in the Air Force as an F-15E Strike Eagle maintainer. While he had aspirations to play basketball in the NBA, he said he was needed elsewhere."The Lakers wanted me, but I had a calling to serve," he smiled.After completing technical training, Dziolek arrived at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., where he served for five years."I completed Airman Leadership School there," he said. "But I learned at Nellis a lot of what not to do and it wasn't until my next assignment I really felt like I belonged."Dziolek credits his next assignment, the former Naval Air Station Keflavik, Iceland, for turning his life around."The Lord really got a hold of me up there," he said. "I came to him broken. But he got a hold of me through the Gospels and the Navy chaplain took me under his wing and really began to mentor me."Losing his father at 12 years old, Dziolek hadn't had a real mentor or even father figure until meeting this chaplain."He had a huge impact on me," Dziolek said. "He was one of the first to say to me, 'I believe in you.'"It was under this Navy chaplain's spiritual mentorship he began reflecting on what the future had in store."God was doing some major molding in my life," he said. "He would come to me in visions while I was reading the Bible. These were moments of clarity in my life -- I could literally see myself dressed up in a suit and tie preaching God's word."Following his calling, Dziolek left the Air Force in 2000 to pursue the higher education necessary to be a chaplain. He attained his bachelor's degree in Pastoral Ministry in 2003 from Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn., joined the Air Force Reserves in 2005 and completed his master's in Divinity from the Church of God Seminary, also in Cleveland, Tenn., in 2006. From there he went active duty in 2010 as a chaplain and has since been assigned to Wilford Hall Medical Facility at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas.He's served the men and women of the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Group for the past six months as their chaplain. He said his experience here rekindled "some old energy and passion."These sentiments are rooted in the maintenance career field. He loves going out visiting with Airmen, because not only is he able to share God's message of salvation, he relives the things he grew to appreciate earlier in his career."I absolutely love the smell of the flightline," Dziolek said. "I love the heat baking down on you and to see those awesome planes fly."Maintenance at the core, the chaplain enjoyed reliving his youth here."I remember when the jets would break down hard and we had to troubleshoot the problem to get the aircraft back on the line," he said. "Out here you really feel connected to the mission. But now as a chaplain, I get to do some spiritual troubleshooting and help these guys with their issues -- watch them fly, spiritually."This gives Dziolek the greatest sense of accomplishment because at the end of the day, his work adds to the 379th's maintainer's spiritual readiness. But the chaplain hasn't accomplished all he has here without the guided help of his assistant, Staff Sgt. Bernard Untalan."Working with Chaplain 'DZ' I've experienced profound moments of ministry," Untalan said. "He made it a point to include me in everything he did. From our weekly devotions to simply delivering cold popsicles, I know we made a difference, but I wish we could've done more."Untalan and Dziolek both wished they could've spent more time with the crews, noting 25 or more units visited in a week just wasn't enough."We could never visit long enough," Untalan said. "As the chaplain's assistant you can really tell when your presence isn't welcome, but here, we were always welcome."Untalan feels like this had a lot to do with the chaplain's enlisted and maintenance background."You can't be mad when the chaplain walks in," said Maj. Bryan Webster, the 746th Aircraft Maintenance Unit officer in charge. "People couldn't help but smile when they saw the chaplain because he did a lot to help center us."With unit engagement as his number one priority, Dziolek made a huge impact on the maintenance group, but if you ask the chaplain, it was God working through him."To God be the glory," he said. "For all the great things he has done in my life, I'm just happy to serve."