‘When you get knocked down, you get back up again’: For JBER Airmen, resiliency is the key to success

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - For U.S. Air Force service members, resilience is key to success.

However, first-timers often face complex challenges, especially for those who wind up in the Last Frontier.

Staff Sgt. Armani Martinez is a Resilience Trainer Assistant at the JBER First Term Airman Center (FTAC).

He says for many incoming service members, moving to Alaska can sometimes come as a culture shock.

“Some people have never seen snow before and they come up here and they’re dreading the first three years, and they have no idea what to anticipate,” Martinez said. “My job is to instill that resiliency into them, to make sure that they understand why it’s so important, especially when times get rough.”

Development Advisor SMSgt. Charles Figgins says personal resiliency isn’t just strength and determination; it’s also knowing when to reach out for support.

“When you get knocked down, you get back up again and get stronger for it, and you’re always going to get knocked down,” Figgins said. “But it’s a way to bounce back and then know where to go when you need that help.”

CMSR Figgins says the mission of the FTAC is to prepare service members for long-term success.

“They build lasting friendships that can last their whole career, then also ways to network and communicate with their leadership,” he explains. “A lot of airmen new to the force don’t necessarily know where they can go or who they can go to help. So we offer and provide all those services and avenues so they can go to if they need.”

As leader of the FTAC, Martinez teaches new USAF members the fundamentals of resiliency.

Courses available at the FTAC include financial literacy, suicide awareness, and several mental and physical well-being classes.

Sharing these resources, Martinez says he hopes to encourage an open dialogue among fellow airmen.

“Everybody’s human at the end of the day and our jobs as wingmen, as leaders, and as teammates, is to instill that amongst ourselves,” Martinez said. “We’re all one team and we’re going after the same thing.”

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