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        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Members from Yokota Air Base, Japan, hike the Yoshida trail on the way to the summit of Mount Fuji, Japan, July 11, 2015. To make sure all 86 hikers returned safely from the mountain, hikers traveled alongside a wingman, keeping each other motivated along the way. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Elizabeth Baker)CMSAF, Airmen display resiliency on Mt. Fuji
                        
                        
                        Members from Yokota Air Base, Japan, hike the Yoshida trail on the way to the summit of Mount Fuji, Japan, July 11, 2015. To make sure all 86 hikers returned safely from the mountain, hikers traveled alongside a wingman, keeping each other motivated along the way. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Elizabeth Baker)
                
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        A worker at one of the stations on Mount Fuji, Japan, stamps a hiking stick, July 10, 2015. Collecting commemorative stamps on a hiking stick is part of the experience hikers can take home after climbing Mount Fuji. Airmen from Yokota Air Base used teamwork and resiliency to make sure that all members returned safely from the mountain. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Elizabeth Baker)CMSAF, Airmen display resiliency on Mt. Fuji
                        
                        
                        A worker at one of the stations on Mount Fuji, Japan, stamps a hiking stick, July 10, 2015. Collecting commemorative stamps on a hiking stick is part of the experience hikers can take home after climbing Mount Fuji. Airmen from Yokota Air Base used teamwork and resiliency to make sure that all members returned safely from the mountain. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Elizabeth Baker)
                
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        Hikers make their way up the Yoshida trail on their way to the summit of Mount Fuji, Japan, July 11, 2015. Airmen from Yokota Air Base used teamwork and resiliency to make sure that all members returned safely from the mountain. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Elizabeth Baker)CMSAF, Airmen display resiliency on Mt. Fuji
                        
                        
                        Hikers make their way up the Yoshida trail on their way to the summit of Mount Fuji, Japan, July 11, 2015. Airmen from Yokota Air Base used teamwork and resiliency to make sure that all members returned safely from the mountain. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Elizabeth Baker)
                
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        A hiker makes his way past the ninth station of the Yoshida trail on Mount Fuji, Japan, July 11, 2015. To reach the summit of Mount Fuji, hikers had to climb over 5,000 feet, taking anywhere from three to seven hours. Airmen from Yokota Air Base used teamwork and resiliency to make sure that all members returned safely from the mountain. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Elizabeth Baker)CMSAF, Airmen display resiliency on Mt. Fuji
                        
                        
                        A hiker makes his way past the ninth station of the Yoshida trail on Mount Fuji, Japan, July 11, 2015. To reach the summit of Mount Fuji, hikers had to climb over 5,000 feet, taking anywhere from three to seven hours. Airmen from Yokota Air Base used teamwork and resiliency to make sure that all members returned safely from the mountain. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Elizabeth Baker)
                
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        An Airman thanks Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody for hiking alongside members from Yokota Air Base at Mount Fuji, Japan, July 11, 2015. Cody invited Yokota AB personnel to join him on the hike so that he could take time to interact with them. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Elizabeth Baker)CMSAF, Airmen display resiliency on Mt. Fuji
                        
                        
                        An Airman thanks Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody for hiking alongside members from Yokota Air Base at Mount Fuji, Japan, July 11, 2015. Cody invited Yokota AB personnel to join him on the hike so that he could take time to interact with them. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Elizabeth Baker)
                
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        Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody talks with Airmen after climbing to the summit of Mount Fuji, Japan, July 11, 2015. After climbing to the summit, Cody spent time socializing with the rest of the hikers. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Elizabeth Baker)CMSAF, Airmen display resiliency on Mt. Fuji
                        
                        
                        Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody talks with Airmen after climbing to the summit of Mount Fuji, Japan, July 11, 2015. After climbing to the summit, Cody spent time socializing with the rest of the hikers. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Elizabeth Baker)
                
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        Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody signs a walking stick for an Airman at the summit of Mount Fuji, Japan, July 11, 2015. During his trip to Japan, Cody extended an opportunity to 85 Yokota Air Base personnel to join him on a resiliency day trip to the summit of Mount Fuji. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Elizabeth Baker)CMSAF, Airmen display resiliency on Mt. Fuji
                        
                        
                        Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody signs a walking stick for an Airman at the summit of Mount Fuji, Japan, July 11, 2015. During his trip to Japan, Cody extended an opportunity to 85 Yokota Air Base personnel to join him on a resiliency day trip to the summit of Mount Fuji. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Elizabeth Baker)
                
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CMSAF, Airmen display resiliency on Mt. FujiPublished July 15, 2015
                    
                    By Tech. Sgt. Christopher Marasky
                    
                    
                    374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
            **MOUNT FUJI, Japan (AFNS) --**Resiliency is a word that every Airman serving today should know, as it's the cornerstone of the Air Force's Comprehensive Airman Fitness.
The CAF is built upon four pillars that help build resilient Airmen: physical, spiritual, mental and social.
Airmen from Yokota Air Base tested many of those pillars as they climbed Japan's tallest mountain on July 11. To reach the summit of Mount Fuji, hikers had to climb over 5,000 feet, starting at the fifth station at an altitude of 7,562 feet, and ending at the summit at an altitude of 12,389 feet. The climb can take anywhere from three to seven hours.
Yokota AB Airmen had a special guest climbing beside them: Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody.
"Having the chief master sergeant of the Air Force climb alongside us was a great bonus," said Staff Sgt. Kelcey McDonald, a U.S. Air Force Band of the Pacific-Asia audio engineer. "I got a chance to shake hands with him on the journey and talk with him at the top of the mountain."
But the trip up the mountain wasn’t an easy trip, and when challenged, Airmen had to rely upon those pillars of resiliency to accomplish their goal of reaching the summit.
"The challenges I faced were spiritual, mental and physical," McDonald said.  "When I wanted to quit, I had to believe my higher power would help me make it to the top, even as I debated in my mind how much I had left, versus how much I'd already climbed."
Despite the challenges, McDonald was able to reach the summit, a feat which he attributes to his resiliency and the importance of having a wingman.
"Being resilient and having an Airman wingman were critical to my success," McDonald said.  "You have another voice to encourage you and remind you that you are not alone in the journey."
Building that wingmanship is a core aspect of resiliency, according to Cody.
"Team building is building resiliency," Cody said.  "When you learn things about people, get to know them on a more personal level, start to think about them a little bit differently, start to care about them differently, it does go to the resiliency."
That resiliency and wingmanship was important as members climbed to the top of the mountain, according to Cody.
"You draw strength from one another," Cody said.  "People definitely drew strength from each other today."
In the end it was a great experience, heightened by having the chief master sergeant of the Air Force lead the way, McDonald said.
"This is another example of our top Airmen leading the way," McDonald said.  "It was great to have him there at the summit to welcome those who have followed the path and achieved the same outcome."Yokota AB 



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