Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi —
The 81st Medical Group hosted a Student Health Fair for technical trainees July 19 here at Levitow Training Facility.
The event grew out of a previous collaboration between the 81st MDG and 81st Training Group to educate Airmen on various aspects of health and provide active learning activities to reduce injury risk, improve performance and increase resilience.
“We received very positive feedback from Airmen about their improved physical training scores, so we reached out to the 81st MDG to collaborate on supplemental PT sessions so Airmen on waivers could receive similar benefits,” said Staff Sergeant Owain Roberts, 81st TRG Military Training Office Military Training Leader. “During that time, the 81st MDG saw an opportunity to further educate Airmen on the variables that affect their health, which is what prompted us to work together to host a health fair.”
Each training company had a dedicated time slot during the fair for students to explore different aspects. At Fishbowl, booths featured numerous topics including audiology, mental health, emergency life-saving techniques, reproductive health and healthy relationship instruction. Additionally, students visited a running clinic in the band room to evaluate their running form and observed demonstrations of athletic movements to prevent injuries during physical training.
“I think this event was a lot of fun for our Airmen,” said Capt. Katherine Welch, 81st Operational Medical Readiness Squadron joint medical director. “In addition to providing education and resources, we introduced them to experts. Airmen would normally have to make an appointment to see an expert, but now they can get direct advice from an expert and have any questions they may have answered. When they go home, they can take that information home with them and use it in their training to perform at 100 percent.”
After witnessing the participants’ success and new understanding of Airmen’s health,st MDG and 81standard TRG hopes to establish the Student Health Fair as a regular event and explore future collaborations. By developing good habits while at Keesler, Airmen will travel to their next base with a new perspective on human performance and be able to maximize their potential as mission-ready warfighters in future high-end conflicts.
