HOUSTON, Texas - Ready & Resilient, the fourth campaign in the Army National Guard's Decade of Health Program was recently launched here at the 2009 Joint National Guard Family Program Professional Development Seminar.
Seminar host, Col. Martha Wong, the chief of family programs at the National Guard Bureau, highlighted the 2009 campaign goals and encouraged family program group leaders to take advantage of the online support resources at www.decadeofhealth.com.
This campaign will empower both Army and Air National Guard communities with real life messages, resources and tools and provide quick links to other information that will strengthen resiliency and encourage planning and preparation to ensure operational readiness.
The Decade of Health is a 10-year strategic deployability and readiness media and outreach program supporting personal awareness and responsibility for health and wellness.
Col. Louis "Tod" Guernsey, the assistant surgeon general for Mobilization, Readiness and National Guard Affairs in the U.S. Army Office of the Surgeon General said the purpose of the campaign is "to maximize the capabilities of our National Guard Soldiers and Airmen, their families and communities to cope with the many stresses of our current operational environment."
He also emphasized the importance of community health in the Army Guard. "As many healthcare systems have shifted their focus to the prevention and reduction of health risks in their populations--so has the Army National Guard--that is why we developed the Decade of Health program.
"This year, Ready & Resilient will continue to focus on wellness and prevention with an emphasis on Soldier/Family Support and health literacy, just as in prior campaigns," he said.
Previous campaigns included: the 2006 ARNG Dental Bytes outreach that resulted in an increase in ARNG dental readiness from 55 percent in 2006 to 86 percent by June 2008; hypertension awareness during the 2007 ARNG Get Cuffed! Campaign, which was strengthened by an alliance with the American Heart Association; and the Lighten Up! campaign in 2008 to address healthy weight management, which also debuted with AHA support.