Stress reduction kit at Randolph - Tig bits: best practices from the field - Randolph Air Force Base - Brief Article

TIG Brief: The Inspector General, Sept-Oct, 2003 by Pat Aguon

To help with the stress of deployment, troops going through the processing line at Randolph AFB, Texas, receive a stress reduction kit from the 12th Flying Training Wing Health and Wellness Center. The kits can be used on an airplane, in a tent--wherever the troops are.

The convenience is especially important to airmen at locations without fitness facilities.

The kit contains a Thera-Band, similar to a long strand of rubber tubing, to stretch, do bench and military presses, bicep curls, hamstring curls and many other weightroom-style exercises. Thera-Bands are lightweight and take up almost no space.

Other kit items include a "twistable" and a stress management compact disc. The twistable, also called a "stress wand," is similar in purpose to a stress ball. It can be bent into virtually any shape. The stress management CD provides relaxing music. also in the information packet is a sample of a healthy snack and general information about staying fit while deployed.

Feedback from Randolph's military personnel flight indicates that the fitness-stress reduction kits keep troops occupied. They read the materials while waiting to board their aircraft, providing a healthy diversion from the stress associated with deployment.

Ms. Pat Aguon

pat.aguon@randolph.af.mil

DSN 487-2300