Page 5 - Nellis AFB Bullseye 7-3-15

BULLSEYE
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Hunters save lives through RPA Human Performance Team
By Tech. Sgt. Nadine Barclay
432nd Wing/432nd Air Expeditionary Wing
Public Affairs
CREECH AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. —
As the persistent demand for remotely
piloted aircraft support increases, the
burden on the Airmen who fly, main-
tain, and support these operations also
increases, often times leaving some
questioning their ability to continue in
this rewarding but highly stressful job.
Providing disciplined war-fighters,
who dominate the intelligence, sur-
veillance, reconnaissance and kinetic
operations globally, 24/7, for our na-
tion and its coalition partners, it is a
daunting and sometimes stressful task. contributors affecting stress and morale
Fortunately, those closest to the fight
recognize the need to take care of their
most valuable asset: the Airmen.
“Every single day this base is at war,”
said Col. James Cluff, former 432nd
Wing/432nd Air Expeditionary Wing
commander. “What we do here isn’t
autonomous. It starts with the people,
and the people are the heart of it, the
manpower it takes to operate this en-
terprise is at the heart of this system
and we must do what we can to protect
them.”
Normally reserved for special opera-
tions commands, human performance
teams focus on helping Airmen win
today’s fight while they prepare for
tomorrow through physical, social,
spiritual, intellectual and emotional
support.
Considering the demands facing
the RPA enterprise, Team Creech has
formed their own human performance
team to meet the needs of those sup-
porting RPA operations at this one-of-
a-kind deployed-in-place location.
“Our vision with this program is
to shape the future of airpower,” said
Chaplin (Maj.) Mark Williams, a mem-
ber of the human performance team.
“Through motivated, innovative, and
trained warriors we can deliberately
develop and take care of our Airmen.”
The Creech HPT consists of an op-
erational physiologist, an operational
psychologist, operational medicine,
and the Chaplin corps who together
treat the five areas of wellness for all
Creech Air Force Base Airmen.
Due to the sensitive nature of the
Team Creech mission, the HPT are
cleared to the top secret and sensitive
information levels to allow them ac-
cess to Airmen’s work centers to allow
greater day-to-day availability to help
those in need.
“Having access to the Airmen in
their units allows us to break down
the stigmas associated with getting
help,” said Williams. “Whereas before
News
Considering the demands facing the remotely piloted aircraft enterprise, Team Creech has formed their own human performance
team to meet the needs of those supporting RPA operations at this one-of-a-kind deployed-in-place location. The team consists of an
operational physiologist, an operational psychologist, operational medicine, and the Chaplin corps who together treat the five areas
of wellness for all Creech Air Force Base Airmen.
we were seen as outsiders we are now
viewed as part of the team since we
can observe what they experience first
hand.”
In a 2012 RPA survey, Air Combat
Command Airmen rated their top five
as unit manning, shift schedules, extra
duties and administrative tasks, work-
ing long hours, and having sleep issues.
Armed with this information, the
Creech HTP tailored training to give
Airmen the tools needed to remain
resilient despite those factors.
The 432nd WG/432nd AEW opera-
tional physiologist, Maj. Maria Gomez-
Mejia, works to fill the non-traditional
aspects unique to Creech AFB through
educational training aimed at fatigue
mitigation, performance enhancement,
risk management analysis and observa-
tions, and RPA specific human factor
threats.
“Most of our Airmen here at Creech
AFB spend long periods of time sitting
between flying and the drive to and
from work in addition to the shift work,
so it’s vital that we target the physical
aspects of this job,” said Gomez-Mejia.
“The partnership of the program is es-
sential.”
Annually, the HPT collects 9,000
standardized aviation risk management
reports from crew members who re-
ceive personal stressor scores from the
operational physiologist, psychologist,
or the Chaplin as needed.
In addition, the psychological as-
pects are also addressed to optimize
performance, improve organizational
climate, unit moral, team dynamics,
operational readiness and combat ef-
fectiveness.
“Among ACC RPA Airmen we are
focused on energy management, goal
setting, improving home relation-
ships, mental resilience and work
relationships,” said Maj. Eddie, 432nd
WG/432nd AEW operational psycholo-
gist.
If a problem persists and cannot be
treated through non-medical avenues
Airmen can partner with flight medi-
cine.
“We like to remind the Airmen that
seeking help is a sign of strength and it
is not detrimental to their career,” said Force is doing something right,” said
Lt. Col. James Senechal, 99th Aerospace
Medicine Squadron flight doctor. “We
are committed to solving the problem
and getting Airmen back in the seat.”
The HPT is focused on getting Air-
men to the right expertise for their
issues, which occasionally requires
multiple aspects of the team at once to
treat the five areas of wellness.
“A hundred feet from our door, our
Airmen are at war,” said Williams. “We
5July 3, 2015
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U.S. Air Force photo illustration by Tech. Sgt. Nadine Y. Barclay
must do everything we can to keep our
Airmen and their families healthy.”
Treating the source of the problem
is a huge part of the HPT’s mission
and families are strongly encouraged
to seek help along with their Airman
from this unique group.
“Sometimes it’s nutritional help an
Airman is seeking and throughout the
conversation we discover they have
an issue sleeping which makes them
irritable and thus affects the family dy-
namic,” said Gomez-Meija. “So we edu-
cate both the Airman and the spouse
on ways to cope with the changes in
mission and schedules.”
For Airmen who have been helped
by the program, its impact is immea-
surable and speaks volumes for the
amount of caring the wing leadership
has for its Airmen’s well-being.
“I think that in this aspect, the Air
Col. Brent Caldwell, 726th Operations
Group commander, a total-force unit
comprised of members from both the
Nevada Air National Guard and the
Air Force Reserve. “We didn’t wait for
this to become an acute issue before
we started treating it; we’re attacking
it head on.”
For more information, please visit
the Creech Chaplin Corp website at
http://www.creech.af.mil/chapel.asp.