Here's how you know
 **Official websites use .mil** .mil
 **Secure .mil websites use HTTPS** lock () https://


Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 Toggle navigation
            
            
            
            
            National Guard
                        Always Ready Always There
                    National Guard
            
            Search National Guard:
                        Search
                    Search
                        Search National Guard:
                            Search
    Home

    News
    
        Guard News

    Overseas Operations

    State Partnership Program

    News Features

    RSS Feeds

    Press Releases

    Transcripts

    Features
    
        Features by Year

    Posture Statement

    State Partnership Program

    Special Features

    About the Guard
    
        How We Began

    Air National Guard

    Army National Guard    
    
        DEERS Soldier Journey

    Leader Development Program

    History and Heritage

    I am the Guard

    NGB Official March

    Leadership
    
        CNGB

    VCNGB

    SEA

    DANG

    DARNG

    Joint Staff    
    
        J-1

    J-2

    J-3

    J-4

    J-5

    J-6

    J-7

    J-8

    Personal Staff    
    
        Inspector General

    General Counsel    
    
        Special Victims Counsel

    Public Affairs

    Executive Support Services

    Legislative Liaison

    Special Staff    
    
        Office of the Provost Marshal

    Office of the Joint Surgeon

    Director of Acquisitions

    Small Business Programs

    Chaplain

    Senior Leader Management Office

    Diversity Equity Inclusion

    Comptroller

    Resources    
        National Defense Strategy Implementation Guidance

    Community Engagement

    FOIA

    Fact Sheets

    Helpful Links

    Image Gallery
    
        News Images

    Graphics

    Historical Paintings

    Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

    Legislative Liaison

    Small Business Programs

    Social Media

    State Websites

    Videos    
    
        Featured Videos

    On Every Front

    2019 Videos

    2020 Videos

    2021 Videos

    Suicide Prevention

    Family Programs

    Environmental

    Trial Defense Service

    Holistic Wellness Challenge

    Contact Us  Home
  News
  Article View
 
 Download
 Details
 Share
 NEWS
 Kentucky's Operation Immersion gives health providers an up-close look at National Guard training By Cody Stagner
                Kentucky National Guard
 GREENVILLE, Ky. - During Kentucky's Operation Immersion, behavioral health professionals were invited to Wendell H. Ford Regional Training Center here from Nov. 14-16 for a behind-the-scenes look at military culture and ways to improve behavioral health care for service members and veterans living in Kentucky. The event helped bridge the gap between the military and civilian worlds. A Soldier's mindset stems from unique training, experience and military culture, which can be misunderstood by members outside the military community. Misconceptions like the one above are also evident when Service Members seek assistance in behavioral health. The same mindset of being strong and tough creates the stigma of service members feeling a call for help is a sign of weakness. But, when they do reach past this stigma, other barriers may continue to keep them from receiving the best available care. To reduce these barriers, the Kentucky National Guard teamed with Kentucky's Division of Behavioral Health to offer a first-of-its-kind immersion program in the Commonwealth. "Access to care is the largest problem surrounding behavioral health in the Kentucky National Guard," said Col. Michael Gavin, the state surgeon for the Kentucky Guard. "We need more services available, and we need our providers to know how to reach out and find additional support. Operation Immersion gave Kentucky a chance for its providers to learn better ways to treat and service the military at the same time as networking with their peers." Participants stayed in barracks, ate military food, conducted physical fitness training, completed basic soldier tasks, and attended classroom lessons on a multitude of behavioral health subjects. Sgt. Maj. Steven Woods and his team from the Pre-mobilization Training Assistance Element (PTAE) instructed portions of this training to give perspective on being a Soldier. "At the Field Leadership Reaction Course, challenges consisted of obstacles in which a team had to plan and work together in order to negotiate the obstacles," said Woods, the senior noncommissioned officer for the PTAE. "The course causes team members to have to give up some of their comfort levels and learn how to depend on and support others." Teams navigated across the lava leap, breached laser beams, balanced their way across a rushing river, escaped the POW camp, and completed many other challenges. "One of my most memorable experiences was the team challenges that we did the first day," said Brad Nelson, a drug court specialist from Louisville. "This was a great tool to show people what teamwork is all about." Nelson included the early-morning physical fitness training on the second day as another challenge he will never forget. Between the dark hours of 5 to 6 a.m., the entire group broke a boot-camp-like sweat with nationally known Master Fitness and Resilience training instructor Staff Sgt. Ken Weichert, a.k.a. "Sgt. Ken". Micah Thompson, a marriage and family therapist associate from Paducah, Ky., enjoyed the simulation ranges at WHFRTC the most. "The EST and VCOT simulators gave a priceless closer look at what service men and women are really exposed to and have trained for," Thompson said. According to Woods, the Engagement Skills Trainer and Virtual Convoy Operations Trainer allowed participants to simulate engaging the enemy with several different weapons in virtual reality tactical environments. Operation Immersion progressed from electronic simulators to live rounds when participants tested their skills in urban combat. They were issued military-style paintball rifles and required to identify and eliminate threats as real Soldiers would in combat. Although lives were obviously not in real danger, the urban combat scenario was a climax of the deployment experience. Intense engagement with opposition forces—members of the PTAE—conveyed heightened levels of adrenaline, fear and anxiety as experienced by service members in combat roles overseas. "I have lived in a military town most of my life," said Noelle Fenske, of Elizabethtown, Ky., a suicide prevention specialist. "While I have always had great respect for service members, it is easy to get used to them and forget their sacrifices when they are part of your community.  Operation Immersion was a reminder of just how much our service members do for our country." From the battlefield to the classroom, Operation Immersion staff kept the behavioral health providers busy. Classroom instruction focused key points on suicide prevention, post-traumatic stress, resilience, traumatic brain injury, military culture, service member stories and others. "I work with service members regularly," said Fenske. "This event has given me tools that will help me to better relate to the service members I work with. The experience was truly a privilege that I will remember for a lifetime."
 SHARE
 PRINT
 
 North Carolina Guard Welcomes New Zambian State Partnership
 By Lt. Col. Ellis Parks,
  Vermont Army Guard Soldiers Attend Brazilian Mountain School
 By Sgt. Denis Nunez,
  Idaho Air Guard Conducts Panther Shadow Exercise
 By Senior Master Sgt. Joshua Allmaras,
  More
 Idaho Air Guard Conducts Panther Shadow Exercise5/3/2024Massachusetts Guard Helps Host Crisis Leadership Seminar5/2/2024Massachusetts Air Guard Airmen Test New Air Combat Tactics5/2/2024 View more Guard News »
 Vermont Army Guard Soldiers Attend Brazilian Mountain School5/3/2024
New York Army Guard Soldiers Heading to North Africa4/30/2024
Pennsylvania National Guard Members Deploy to Africa4/19/2024 View more Overseas Operations News »
 North Carolina Guard Welcomes New Zambian State Partnership5/3/2024

Guard Leaders Stress NCOs Role in State Partnership Program5/3/2024

Enduring Partners 2024 Begins with Thai-US Airmen Exchange5/2/2024 View more State Partnership Program News »
 Back-to-school tools for military families8/11/2015DoD sends blended military retirement proposal to Congress6/16/2015First employment symposium held for National Guard spouses5/11/2015 View more Family Programs News »
 Home
 Site Map
 Privacy & Security Policy
 Link Disclaimer
 Web Policy
 DOD Information Quality
 DOD Open GovernmentFOIA
 No FEAR Act
 Accessibility/Section 508
 Contact Us
 Army Guard Careers
 Air Guard Careers
 USA.gov
                    
Staying Connected
    XYouTubeFlickrFacebookInstagram
                 
                
                

Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil