Building Resiliency
By AMY L. WITTMAN, Editor in Chief
We have learned that building
resiliency and reducing stress makes a difference in the health
of our warriors and
our families, because
the whole family goes
to war, it’s not just the
warrior,” Rear Adm.
Karen Flaherty, deputy chief, Bureau of
Medicine and Surgery, and deputy
surgeon general of the Navy, told
guests at the Sea-Air-Space Salute to
wounded warriors April 10.
The event, held at the Potomac
River dock at National Harbor, Md.,
honored wounded warriors from
the Navy Safe Harbor Program and
Marine Corps Wounded Warrior
Regiment.
Referring to Navy Medicine per-
sonnel, Flaherty told the wounded
warriors and guests that “our patient-
and family-centered philosophy ap-
proach is not only our mission, it is
the bedrock of who we are.”
Their aim, she said, is to provide
support so that when wounded
warriors come home, “they come
home to arms that are full of hope
and support. We focus on how to
heal our wounded warriors in
mind, spirit and body.”
Suicide is a big concern for U.S.
military leaders, so it is important to
also focus on the invisible wounds
our warriors bear. To that end, the
Navy has partnered with several aca-
demic colleagues to create “family
resiliency” programs, such as Project
FOCUS — Families Overcoming
Under Stress. The Marine Corps has
implemented OSCAR — Operational
Stress Control and Readiness teams
— because “if we put
people in units and
they know their col-
leagues, they know
when their colleagues
are doing well or not
so well, and they can
provide resources” to
help those in trouble,
she said.
SEAPOWER
THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE
NAVY LEAGUE OF THE UNITED STATES
Volume 54, Number 5, May 2011
PUBLISHER
Daniel B. Branch Jr.
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
Dale A. Lumme
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Amy L. Wittman
awittman@navyleague.org
DEPUTY EDITOR
Peter E. Atkinson
patkinson@navyleague.org
MANAGING EDITOR
Richard R. Burgess
rburgess@navyleague.org
ASSISTANT EDITOR
John C. Marcario
jmarcario@navyleague.org
DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING SALES
Charles A. Hull
charlesahullbus@msn.com
DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS
Kerri Carpenter
kcarpenter@navyleague.org
SEAPOWER CORRESPONDENTS
Patricia Kime
Megan Scully
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Lisa Nipp
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Jean B. Reynolds
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SEAPOWER
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COMMUNICATIONS BOARD
CHAIRMAN: Brandon R. “Randy” Belote III
NATIONAL OFFICER: Daniel B. Branch Jr.
MEMBERS: Merritt Allen, Maureen Cragin,
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B. Holtz, Guy Shields
EX-OFFICIO: Karen Crawford, Dale A.
Lumme, Tom Van Leunen, Amy L. Wittman
SEAPOWER / MAY 2011
