32nd AAMDC goes head over heels for unique approach to resiliency training

Spc. Randall Shaver, maintenance specialist for Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command, playfully rolls down a sand dune after Spiritual Fitness Training. Photo by Staff Sgt. Brandon Little, 32nd AAMDC Public Affairs.

Staff Sgt. Brandon Little,
32nd AAMDC Public Affairs:

Resiliency training has been persistently taught to service members and their families to help them cope with potential challenges they may face during their service to this nation.

The command unit ministry team for 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command took this training from the humdrum classroom and auditorium setting and used the majestic New Mexico terrain as a training aid.

Soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 32nd AAMDC learned a little more about themselves and the desert during Spiritual Fitness Training held at Whites Sands National Monument, N.M.

According to the National Park Service, the gypsum that forms the white sands was deposited at the bottom of a shallow sea that covered this area 250 million years ago. Eventually turning into stone, these gypsum-bearing marine deposits were uplifted into a giant dome, and over time the center of this dome began to collapse. Rain and snow that fall on the surrounding San Andres and Sacramento Mountain ranges dissolve gypsum from the rocks and carry it into the Tularosa Basin.

During the resiliency training, the two main topics addressed by the 32nd AAMDC’s UMT were change and adaptation, and what better location to find training aids for these subjects than a seemingly barren environment, said Sgt. 1st Class David Townsend, command chaplain’s assistant for 32nd AAMDC.

He talked about plants like the Yucca, which elongates its stem and grows as much as a foot a year to keep its leaves from being buried by rising sands, and animals such as the Plains Pocket Mouse and Cowles Prairie Lizard, which have developed a white coloration to blend with the sands for protection from predators.

Chaplain (Col.) Dean Bonura, command chaplain for 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command, reads a bible verse that focuses on adapting to change to several Soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 32nd AAMDC during Spiritual Fitness Training held Oct. 18 at White Sands National Monument, N.M. Photo by Staff Sgt. Brandon Little, 32nd AAMDC Public Affairs.

These plants and animals had to evolve because their survival was dependant on their ability to adapt to this environment; and as Soldiers, it is important to possess the fortitude to adapt to and overcome adverse situations that may arise, said Townsend.

Chaplain (Col.) Dean Bonura, command chaplain for 32nd AAMDC, also read a few bible verses that focused on coping with change and prevailing over challenges in life.

Bonura also talked about how a person’s faith can be a source of strength when times are at their most distressing.

After the resiliency training was complete, the Soldiers took to the dunes of White Sands to have a little fun while further exploring one of the world’s greatest natural wonders.

Overall, the Soldiers said the training was very informative and the unique location provided a different perspective for strengthening their resiliency.

Hopefully this training will be something they can put in their tool-kit and remember to use it when life’s challenges seem overwhelming, said Bonura.

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