Airmen inspire with stories of resilience

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Aaron J. Jenne
  • 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  The 4th Fighter Wing will hold its second "Every Airman Has a Story" event, March 14, at the base theater.

The quarterly storytelling event highlights Airmen who have overcome obstacles through resilience. Participants will share life lessons learned through trying times.

"We want to get your story out there, to see how it relates to the military, in the hopes it will touch someone in the audience who has gone through a similar situation," said Senior Master Sgt. Keith Castille, 334th Aircraft Maintenance Unit weapons superintendent. "Your story can inspire someone."

In the past, this event was held during the wing's Comprehensive Airman Fitness (CAF) day, designed to reinforce the concept of becoming well-rounded Airmen through resilience. However, this quarter, CAF events will be extended over a two week period and completed at the unit level.

At the last storyteller's event, four Airmen shared their personal stories with about 200 Team Seymour members. The stories focused on enduring battles such as alcoholism, homelessness and child abuse.

This event, adopted by the 4th FW, originated at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, in response to a statement from Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III.

"Every Airman has a story," Welsh said. "If you don't know the story, you can't lead the Airman. Please get to know your Airmen. If we do, all the stuff that happens to people - suicide, sexual harassment, assault - we'll get them under control. Because the better we know each other, the better we'll take care of each other, the more dependable we'll be, the more trust we'll share and the better we'll do the mission - because that is the bottom line."

Members who attend or watch the event on the internet will hear stories such as this.

"Like every Airman here at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, I have a story to share that will hopefully help other Airmen," said Tech. Sgt. Phillip Butterfield, 4th FW public affairs noncommissioned officer in charge of community engagement. "I'm going to talk about my addiction with alcohol and how I utilized Air Force resources and everything my leadership told me to make sure I could be a better person and Airman."

For those unable to attend, coordinators intend to stream the event live on the internet.

Those interested in participating should contact organizers at (919) 722-1817 or (919) 722-4427, by March 10.