Airfield operations community launches mental health support initiative

Story by Cynthia Griggs

Hill Air Force Base

Master Sgt. Jason Audette, an air traffic controller with the 75th Operations Support Squadron, has faced many stressful challenges in both his childhood and his 15-year Air Force career learning the importance of mental fitness and resilience. So, when the airfield operations community launched the Airfield Operations Strong (AO Strong) team and called for volunteers, Audette was quick to raise his hand.

AO Strong is on a mission to boost mental health awareness, provide valuable resources, dismantle negative stigmas, and overcome barriers to mental wellness. This initiative focuses on the airfield operations community, which deals with fast-paced and high-stress operations. Airfield operations include air traffic control, airfield management, and radar, airfield and weather systems.

The program is an expansion of the Air Traffic Control Strong initiative which focused on the air traffic control field.

“During the pandemic, the air traffic control career field completed a data call about mental health,” said (Senior) Master Sgt. Keara Fraser, AO Strong representative at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma.

“The data call uncovered barriers and stigmas that prevented air traffic controllers from seeking help, such as the belief that seeking help for mental health would be detrimental to one’s career. The ATC Strong initiative was created to tackle these obstacles. Once the initiative became well-known, fellow airfield operations members also expressed interest in the initiative,” she said.

While the AO Strong initiative is still in its infancy and beginning to roll-out at AO units across the Air Force, Audette said the AO Strong Team will devise ways for AO units to consistently and creatively build healthy cultures. The goal is to help Airmen meet mission demands without compromising their ability to stay resilient and mentally healthy.

“A resilient and healthy Airman is a combat-ready Airman,” said Audette. “It is our responsibility to provide our AO Airmen with every chance to master their combat toolkits ahead of any conflict.”

In the era of Great Power Competition, Audette emphasized the importance of mental fitness in the Air Force’s re-optimization efforts.

“We must ensure our Airmen develop a diverse multi-capable and mission ready skillset, but they must also push to instill a warrior mindset capable of dealing with a modern conflict,” he added.

Audette said AO Strong’s goals are two-fold.

“As a first step, we need to provide tools, data, connection to resources, and create opportunities to grow and develop healthy mental health habits,” he said. “This is done through sharing, teaching, and supporting each other.”

The second goal is to establish an AO Strong culture.

“An AO Strong Culture is a culture that encourages our Airmen to feel safe to seek out assistance and develop healthy mental fitness and resilience habits,” said Audette.

The AO Strong team consists of 34 Airmen and one civilian across the AO community, selected after an application and interview process. The team has come up with 12 key initiatives to address the 46 identified barriers which are categorized into four problem areas: stigma, culture, mental health awareness, and accessibility and availability. Initiatives include newsletters, a resilience calendar, employing anonymous drop boxes, sharing sessions, peer support groups, and a “Love Me Showcase.”

Audette highlighted that, as with any new initiative, the biggest challenge for the AO Strong Team members is getting buy-in at the unit level.

“Our AO Airmen face rigorous challenges every day that keep them busy and sometimes it’s easier to avoid extra work, even if it helps us in the end. We cannot adopt our AO Strong values without support from our peers at each station,” he said.

Audette added, “The only way for change and growth to occur is through initiative and dedication from people who have the capability and persistence to push regardless of the challenges they face. The goal of the program is for it to become a mantra, a mindset, and a culture that belongs to every Airman in our AO community.”

Audette said in his AO Strong application that he is ecstatic that the leaders in the airfield operations community are fostering mental health positivity. His passion is serving his Airmen and equipping them with the resiliency skills he has developed to strengthen his mental health.

“Our Airmen deserve it, and often don’t realize they need it. Just as one works out to improve their physical fitness, we need our Airmen to build their mental fitness muscles with focused effort,” he said. “For that, we need to empower them with knowledge and create safe spaces for them to incorporate it into their lives.”