You can lead a horse to water; can you lead an Airman to resiliency?

Senior Airman Karolynn Lieurance, 726th Air Control Squadron Theater deployable communications technician, rides a horse through Silver Springs, Idaho, July 10, 2014. Working with Outdoor Recreation, the chapel hosted a horseback riding event to assist Airmen with resiliency training. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Malissa Lott/RELEASED)

You can lead a horse to water; can you lead an Airman to resiliency?

Staff Sgt. Kimberly Miller, 366th Component Maintenance Squadron aircraft fuel systems repair technician, rides a horse through Silver Springs, Idaho, July 10, 2014. The all-day event helped strengthen the resiliency of Airmen at Mountain Home Air Force Base. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Malissa Lott/RELEASED)

You can lead a horse to water; can you lead an Airman to resiliency?

Airmen read their flag pages, a personality inventory, after lunch at Silver Springs, Idaho, July 10, 2014. Airmen had the opportunity to ride horses as well as hike through the surrounding areas to promote resiliency in Airmen’s day-to-day lives. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Malissa Lott/RELEASED)

You can lead a horse to water; can you lead an Airman to resiliency?

Published July 11, 2014
By Airman 1st Class Malissa Lott
366th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, Idaho -- Members from Mountain Home Air Force Base went horseback riding through Silver Springs, Idaho, July 10, 2014, as part of a chapel-based initiative to strengthen Airmen' s resiliency.

During the all-day event, half of the group rode trails through the ghost town while others hiked.

"One of the things we're working is the flag page," said Lt. Col. Patrick Genseal, 366th Fighter Wing chaplain. "It's a personality inventory that we are having the folks do before they go. You get a chance to not only look at your personality traits, but the folks you are with as well. Hopefully, they will take that information about themselves back into the work place to not only help their work interactions but their family interactions."

During the 19th century, Silver Springs became a mining town after silver was discovered in the Owyhee Mountains.

"This is important for the base population because this is an opportunity to not only think of this as an outdoor recreation event, due to the chapel's involvement, we can look at this as spiritual resiliency," said Michael Hurt, 366th Force Support Squadron Outdoor Recreation director. "Getting folks out during the week into an area like this gets them away from the work environment. I think it gives them a chance to unwind."

While some have ridden before, others had the opportunity to experience horseback riding for the first time in their life.
"I've ridden horses a couple of times when I was a child," said Master Sgt. Perry Foster, 366th Inspector General Inspections Wing Evaluation Team member. "Riding was a lot calmer than I thought it would be."

This trip welcomed Airmen and their families to get out of their day-to-day rut and get to know other individuals.

"The chapel asked us if we could run programs like horseback riding and day hiking," said Hurt. "It was back in early March when we started putting these together and came up with a game plan on how to run them."

Going through the daily stress, Airmen often need to recharge. Working with organizations within the Wing, the base chapel often hosts recreational trips designed to promote resiliency.

"This kind of event is important because it gets Airmen away from the daily grind," said Tech. Sgt. Robert Perry, 366th Quality Assurance Office QA inspector. "It gives them an opportunity to get to know other people, to spend time with their family and to take a break from their job for a little bit."