JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. – Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst hosted Warrior Heart training, aligning with the readiness line of effort initiated by Air Mobility Command commander, Gen. Mike Minihan.
The two-day event held on Aug. 22-23, highlighted the AMC-wide effort to promote Warrior Heart culture and introduced Airmen, spouses and civilians to the concept of mindfulness and how it is integral to their performance, well-being, and ability to thrive through adversity.
“What we’re trying to get after with this effort is a cultural change,” said retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col., Dr. Jannell MacAulay, Ph.D., leadership and performance consultant. “It’s a new way of seeing how we perform and how we face adversity.”
Conceived by Dr. MacAulay and former U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Anthony Brinkley, resiliency training coach and author of ‘You Can’t Run Away from You,’ Warrior Heart is built upon four foundational pillars: resilience, self-care, mindfulness, and performance. Rather than simply creating a program, the primary objective is to dismantle stigmas and obstacles that impede the cultivation of a mentally robust force
“A lot of times other programs are talking to people and telling them what to think and what to do,” Brinkley said. “Warrior Heart is different in the sense that it has an introspective aspect where you evaluate the effectiveness of your actions and how your attributes are moving your life forward.”
The program seeks to enhance the performance of members by not only providing information, but teaching individuals how to apply information in order to transform an organization.
Brinkley explained, “As leaders, we have to deploy a creative and agile training platform to increase understanding of each other and redefine our culture to ensure our forces are prepared for the next fight.”
Throughout the nine seminars, the Warrior Heart initiative focused on taking leaders and teams through a transformational journey of self-reflection to learn actionable skills to master their internal environment, command their mindset, and elevate their performance.
“We want to start investing in training our minds like we invest in training our bodies and our craft,” MacAulay said. “Although this is kind of a new concept to military members, I’m trying to give them the tangible skillsets that will benefit not only themselves, but their Airmen.”
Leaders and teams are better poised to overcome challenges, elevate their performance, and foster enduring well-being within their units and lives by fostering a culture that prioritizes mindfulness.
“Warrior Heart creates a culture and climate focused on fine-tuning the mind, body, and craft to fortify the will to win,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Anthony Smith, commander for Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. “In order for us to fortify this will to win, we have to train and maintain our greatest asset—our Airmen.”