New HAWC director promises fresh ideas

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Samuel Taylor
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  The Heath and Wellness Center at Dover Air Force Base, Del., is under new management. Thomas Ward assumed the position of health program management last month, and promises fresh ideas in the future for the base's total-Airman fitness.

There is a culture shift in the world of Air Force health promotion - the focus is now on reaching out and building strong partnerships with various base agencies to project our goals, said Ward.

Among Ward's top priorities is reversing a trend towards reactionary treatment, instead focusing on offering more preventative measures to service members. Specifically, the HAWC plans to send subject matter experts throughout the base to educate service members on health risks and treatments.

"By creating a supportive environment in a [service member's] place of work, we will foster individual growth," said Ward. "By being proactive, hopefully we will prevent heath issues before they begin."

In addition, the HAWC plans to work with the new fitness center, dining facility and commissary to maintain proper health standards, using the Military Nutritional Environmental Assessment Tool. With MNEAT, the HAWC can perform Air Force-level assessments of a facility's healthy options for service members.

Furthermore, the HAWC is intensifying its efforts to help service members quit using tobacco as part of Tobacco Cessation Month; with many Dover AFB members using some form of tobacco product, they have a hard battle ahead of them. By the end of 2020, Ward says he hopes to cut the number of smokers at Dover AFB by half by promoting positive outlets for the stress of quitting, and educating service members about the risks of smoking.

"Studies show the average tobacco-using Airman spends a month's salary on tobacco per year," said Ward. "I think they are tricked into a false-consensus effect; they spend time with people who smoke, and see tobacco used frequently at smoke pits, so they think it is more acceptable than it is."

By combining efforts to reduce health detractors, such as tobacco, and increase health promoters, Ward says that service members will not only benefit at Dover AFB, but while deployed as well.

"Being downrange is not the time to realize you should have treated your body better; when you are facing danger, you will want your body to respond effectively," said Ward. "Without maintaining fitness standards while stateside, lives could be put at risk while deployed."

Therefore, the HAWC's innovative campaign against threats to service members' health may prevent causalities ranging from high-explosives to high cholesterol. In spite of Ward's new initiatives and methods, the HAWC's mission remains the same - to keep service members healthy in order to survive and thrive throughout their military career.