A DECADE SINCE 9/11 - Striving to create a resilient air force

  • Published
  • By Col. Creig A. Rice
  • AETC director of safety
Air Education and Training Command --  As we reflect on the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and the operational tempo of our Air Force in the past 10 years, I can't help but be humbled by the sacrifices our Airmen make.

The terrorist attacks on 9/11 took the lives of 2,977 people and invoked a military response that is still on-going. Many of our Air Education and Training Command Airmen have deployed numerous times to Iraq, Afghanistan and other places around the world and have been exposed first hand to the horrors of war. In Iraq and Afghanistan alone, we have lost nearly 6,200 U.S. troops ­-- fellow warriors who were fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters.

Each of us probably knows someone who lost his life in Afghanistan or Iraq or knows somebody who lost co-workers, family members or friends. These losses affect each of us in different ways, and coping with these losses and the increased ops tempo associated with continuous combat operations can be difficult.

Last year while serving in Afghanistan in the air advisor mission, one of our Mi-17 helicopters returned after being hit by small arms fire. The Mi-17 was piloted by one of our American advisors, and the rest of the crew was from the Afghan Air Force. The Afghan flight engineer took an AK-47 round through his leg.

You can imagine the screaming that was going on, as he was losing a significant amount of blood. Our Afghan interpreter was able to apply a tourniquet.

The pilot diverted and landed next to the NATO hospital in Kabul and arranged for medical care for the Afghan Air Force member. Needless to say, it was very chaotic and stressful in the cockpit, and our pilot was still a bit shaken when I arrived at the aircraft. The coping skills that he used, and we used as a team, are the same types of tools that we all use when facing stressful situations. He demonstrated a great amount of resiliency in this and many other cases in Afghanistan.

Recently, the Air Force implemented the Comprehensive Airmen Fitness initiative to help make our Airmen more resilient. The goal of Comprehensive Airmen Fitness is to enhance and sustain a culture of resilience by fostering mental, physical, social and spiritual health.

The Air Force chief of staff recently said, "Resilient Airmen and families are key components to a well-functioning force. As leaders, supervisors and wingmen, we must strive to promote resilience and reduce risk through education and outreach. Comprehensive Airmen Fitness is vital to this effort."

As we take time to reflect on the decade since 9/11 and the journey we, our Air Force and our nation have taken, please think about the ways you can increase your resiliency and help those around you.