JBLM Soldier Guide Online Workshop 3/17/2021
As a company commander I have a couple different problem sets I’m trying to address. One of them is Soldiers well-being and mental health. I see 200 Soldiers in my company and I can’t affect every one of them. Neither can the chaplain. Summit’s is an extension of leaders who are able to communicate with Soldiers and be empathetic in addressing underlying issues.
___
Summit has been a great help with my sobriety. I am three months sober and I don’t think I could have done it without some of my other small group members. They’ve been a big help.
___
I see a lot of Soldiers with suicidal ideation, loneliness, or poor coping skills. I know Soldiers who have gone through Summit and those issues that had previously been brought to the commanders attention were now being addressed. Summit was an outlet for those sorts of things. Sometime I think Soldiers just need someone to talk to and share their hardships with. Summit provides that.
___
I came to Summit at one of my lower points. It really helped me get through some tough times having a support group of people around me that were my peers or even slightly above me. It was a good way to interact with my fellow Soldiers as a person and it gave me the support I needed to not give up on the Army.
___
I think a lot of times Soldiers shy away from chaplains if they’re not religious. This is another way for the unit ministry team to engage with everyone, as opposed to people who are just seeking spiritual guidance.
___
I’ve seen an impact on one individual who had gone through a pretty life changing event. I know if it wasn’t for the (Summit Program and Leaders), that individual would have been affected in a much more negative way than he was. His attitude going forward was due in part to the Summit program and what the unit ministry team has been doing with that program. It gives him a sense of purpose because he is one of the leaders in the program.
___
I have never had an organization where so many Sergeants were so personally involved in young Soldiers lives and turning them from where they had been headed to being fruitful in life, being successful Soldiers, having successful marriages, and no longer alcoholics. There are a litany of things that Soldiers have bounced back from.
___
What Summit does is allows for community in groups. When we’re in the field I need something to be able to break myself away from that constant work cycle and to re-center myself.
___
Summit has changed my life and it has helped not only me but my family in some difficult times.
___
It’s important for chaplains to realize the need for women’s groups. Having that community of women, you’re able to be vulnerable at a level that you might not feel comfortable doing in a group of men. I think our Summit group is one of the most important things the women’s lives that are in the group. It’s keeping them afloat. For some, this is the one thing they look forward to in their week.
___
Summit has given me the ability to interact with some of my leaders outside of work and it breaks down that divide a little bit and shows you that everyone, at the end of the day, goes home and takes the uniform off and they're a person just like you and have problems too.
___
I've been in for 21 ½ years and I’ve never seen anything like this before. The success speaks for itself. You see the involvement in the program with Soldiers with in the battalion and it doesn’t matter the rank. It’s officers, NCO’s and enlisted Soldiers. You can see the impact Summit has.
___
It’s a program that enables the unit ministry team to create that community you want within the organization.
___
I think that Summit provides stability and friendship that the Army doesn’t always necessarily provide. I’ve seen some of the strongest people in my battalion tell some really hard stories. I’ve seen grown men cry. You would never see that at work, especially in the infantry. Being able to know the person to my left and right on a different level other than work is what Summit is about. It’s about getting to know that person to your left and right better.
___
I’ve had some problems in my life that I struggled with and needed to be able to talk to other people about to be able to help me through it. I think I’ve connected really well with other Soldiers going through those same exact problems.
___
Summit has been a great help with my sobriety. I am three months sober and I don’t think I could have done it without some of my other small group members. They’ve been a big help.
___
I see a lot of Soldiers with suicidal ideation, loneliness, or poor coping skills. I know Soldiers who have gone through Summit and those issues that had previously been brought to the commanders attention were now being addressed. Summit was an outlet for those sorts of things. Sometime I think Soldiers just need someone to talk to and share their hardships with. Summit provides that.
___
I came to Summit at one of my lower points. It really helped me get through some tough times having a support group of people around me that were my peers or even slightly above me. It was a good way to interact with my fellow Soldiers as a person and it gave me the support I needed to not give up on the Army.
___
I think a lot of times Soldiers shy away from chaplains if they’re not religious. This is another way for the unit ministry team to engage with everyone, as opposed to people who are just seeking spiritual guidance.
___
I’ve seen an impact on one individual who had gone through a pretty life changing event. I know if it wasn’t for the (Summit Program and Leaders), that individual would have been affected in a much more negative way than he was. His attitude going forward was due in part to the Summit program and what the unit ministry team has been doing with that program. It gives him a sense of purpose because he is one of the leaders in the program.
___
I have never had an organization where so many Sergeants were so personally involved in young Soldiers lives and turning them from where they had been headed to being fruitful in life, being successful Soldiers, having successful marriages, and no longer alcoholics. There are a litany of things that Soldiers have bounced back from.
___
What Summit does is allows for community in groups. When we’re in the field I need something to be able to break myself away from that constant work cycle and to re-center myself.
___
Summit has changed my life and it has helped not only me but my family in some difficult times.
___
It’s important for chaplains to realize the need for women’s groups. Having that community of women, you’re able to be vulnerable at a level that you might not feel comfortable doing in a group of men. I think our Summit group is one of the most important things the women’s lives that are in the group. It’s keeping them afloat. For some, this is the one thing they look forward to in their week.
___
Summit has given me the ability to interact with some of my leaders outside of work and it breaks down that divide a little bit and shows you that everyone, at the end of the day, goes home and takes the uniform off and they're a person just like you and have problems too.
___
I've been in for 21 ½ years and I’ve never seen anything like this before. The success speaks for itself. You see the involvement in the program with Soldiers with in the battalion and it doesn’t matter the rank. It’s officers, NCO’s and enlisted Soldiers. You can see the impact Summit has.
___
It’s a program that enables the unit ministry team to create that community you want within the organization.
___
I think that Summit provides stability and friendship that the Army doesn’t always necessarily provide. I’ve seen some of the strongest people in my battalion tell some really hard stories. I’ve seen grown men cry. You would never see that at work, especially in the infantry. Being able to know the person to my left and right on a different level other than work is what Summit is about. It’s about getting to know that person to your left and right better.
___
I’ve had some problems in my life that I struggled with and needed to be able to talk to other people about to be able to help me through it. I think I’ve connected really well with other Soldiers going through those same exact problems.