And you thought it was just a snowman Published March 11, 2014 By Chief Master Sgt. Larry Williams 60th Operations Support Squadron DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- I have spent many years in various positions here at Dover Air Force Base and I can honestly say, I never remember the winters being this cold. The single-digit temperatures we have seen recently, either did not exist or I have conveniently blanked them out of my mind forever. This blistering winter, however, is one that I will never forget. It has taught me that some of life's important lessons can be revealed in the most unexpected ways, such as building a snowman. As I was driving around base after one of our recent snowstorms, I saw what on the surface looked like a simple snowman. But, after talking with some of the architects of this age old frosty-like fellow, I realized my initial impression had been shallow at best. To see a snowman on a military installation is perhaps rare. Thus, the site of Airmen building one baffled me, especially because they had to trek through the snow to get to work, shovel sidewalks and catch up on their primary duties after a three-hour delay. I could not understand why they would waste their time building a snowman in freezing weather. But after sitting back and observing, I realized they weren't wasting their time at all. In fact, they were taking the time to build resiliency. It is no secret that we are continually growing a resiliency culture and spending lots of intellectual capital trying to increase those skills in our ranks. We seem to constantly be in either a crisis or managing a constant decrease in resources, while at the same time the desire for our services seems to be growing at an alarming rate. Our recent force management programs are a perfect example of the uncertainty we face, and coupled with a high operations tempo, can be daunting to our Airmen. Here at Dover, we have an Air Force recognized program called Leadership Pathways that is second to none and it does a great job of providing classes to build resilient and well-rounded Airmen. Resiliency in my opinion cannot be measured with numbers and graphs. It has to be observed and as leaders, we have to place faith in things we can't control. That thing is the hearts and minds of our Airmen. All the 100 percent compliance with cyber-based tests, training and classes will not result in a snowman at the entrance of your squadron if people are not buying what you are selling. We should constantly be trying to win on that front, not by training and crunching numbers, but by encouraging the thing that seems to escape us: cohesion, unity and espirit de corps. This is why I believe building a snowman in subfreezing temperatures is a measurement of resiliency. This can be seen by using all four pillars of our current resiliency model: Physical--you should have seen how big the base of this snowman was, it was definitely a physical event for all involved and there is no way one person could have accomplished this on their own. It took pure physical strength and teamwork. Sometimes we look too hard for team building activities when they are right in front of us. Mental--anyone who voluntarily braved those temperatures and that wind-chill to spend time with their fellow Airmen has psychologically mastered going to their warm, tropical, happy place. Most challenges we face and things we decide to do are hampered primarily by the mental aspect. Social--as I said before, you can't build a great snowman on your own. As with most things, it takes a team working together towards a common goal to produce a great result. This snowman was strategically built. It had a gas mask, reflective belt and various other military gear. It was suited to look like part of the team. Spiritual--You can bet, when times get bad or we need a lift, everyone seems to find a higher power to make a request to. I can assure you, someone in that group said a small prayer in hopes that no one would freeze over. Not only was I impressed by the snowman, I was also intrigued by the cohesion displayed by the Airmen in the 436th Operations Support Squadron that day. Normally, we build snowmen with our families at home, away from work or duty. This unit has crossed those boundaries, built cohesion that transcends the normal lines and arrived at the conclusion that just like your family, a squadron is the place that supports them, sustains them when times are tough or simply when they need help. By focusing their efforts there, they ultimately deliver motivated people to do our nation's work. I drove around the rest of the base that day and didn't see any more snowmen, maybe others were too busy and I understand that. The Airmen who did take the time to build that snowman unarguably desired to participate and the experience further bonded them as Airmen. All the metrics and training in the world can't make someone more resilient or even change the way they think unless we get them to realize that the place they work in is more than just a location for employment and the person serving next to them is more than a coworker.