Ultimate Unit Spring Break Challenge hosts nearly 500 Soldiers at Fort Cavazos

FORT CAVAZOS, Texas — Nearly 500 Soldiers over two days participated in the Ultimate Unit Spring Break Challenge, receiving resources and information from more than 15 programs across post and locally, March 18-19 at Belton Lake Outdoor Recreation Area.

The event, organized by the Fort Cavazos Suicide Prevention Program, was a way for the Soldiers to receive extra training and be informed of the resources and information available to them outside of the work place while reinforcing camaraderie and teamwork.

“… We brought out prevention partners and community programs to just give education information to service members so they know what other opportunities are out here,” said Summer Dixon, lead Suicide Prevention Program coordinator. “It’s (also) an opportunity to get people out here in the sunshine and fresh air, to get connected with others and have a chance to just unwind and destress.”

The first day saw Soldiers from 89th Military Police Brigade and 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade while the following day saw Soldiers from 3rd Cavalry Regiment and 36th Engineer Brigade. The Soldiers were split into groups to rotate around to different stations.

Along with the Suicide Prevention Program representatives from the Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers program, Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention program, the Ready and Resilient, or R2, Performance Center, Army Substance Abuse Program, U.S. Army Chaplains Corps, Veterans Outreach Ministries, Psi Delta Tau Military Fraternity Inc., Alpha Gamma Xi Military Sorority, Inc. and more were there to inform Soldiers about what they do.

Events like these help establish a relationship with Soldiers, said Addie Daniels, prevention coordinator for ASAP.

“… It puts a face to the agencies and organizations so it kind of helps build this network of, ‘Hey I know you. I can come talk to you,’” Daniels said. “So I feel like it’s the first step in building a rapport with the community.”

Daniels and other ASAP representatives explained the dangers of being under the influence of substances, the consequences and tips for responsible drinking.

“… It’s very important for them to understand the standard size,” Daniels said. “They need to understand it’s not just about how much is actually in the cup. It’s about how much you actually pour in there. So giving them a better understanding of what a standard size is — that will help them understand how to drink responsibly based on their size, weight and everything else.”

Some Soldiers put on goggles that simulated the visual impairment of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, experiencing firsthand how much it can affect a person. Spc. Zeylon Latimer, 89th MP Bde., attempted to dunk a basketball with the goggles on and was unsuccessful.

“Before I put them on, I thought, ‘I can easily dunk because the rim is lower,’ but as soon as I put them on, it just shows you how drinking can affect your vision and how it can affect your everyday life,” he said.

Soldiers also learned about motorcycle safety from Veterans Outreach Ministry, a nonprofit that assists veterans. Members of the nonprofit regularly ride bikes and came to instill the importance of safety while riding, said MaryGrace Sellers, founder of Veterans Outreach Ministry.

“There’s a bunch of them who’ve said that they’re interested in riding, and it’s just really important that they tell them they got to take the class, they got to wear helmets, they got to wear protective covering on their feet and their arms … because that’s just really important for them, especially when you’re riding home,” she said.

“Be alert because people aren’t watching out for us,” she added. “They’re in their cars, they’re on phones — they’re not watching out for us. So we have to drive defensively. We have to watch out for them.”

Along with learning about the number of resources available, the units competed in a basketball and volleyball tournament, with each unit taking home a win. In basketball, 69th ADA and 3rd Cav. Regt. reigned supreme while 89th MP Bde. and 36th Eng. Bde. were crowned champions in volleyball.

“It’s just another morale booster,” said Spc. Jeremiah Long, 69th ADA, about the basketball competition. “We all work together as a team, even if it’s just 69th (ADA) by itself, but just even bringing down to the smaller 4-5 (4th Battalion, 5th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 69th ADA), we still worked together, still got one goal, one mission — be on top — and I feel like today we accomplished that.”

Staff Sgt. Jawannica Treadwell, 89th MP Bde., enjoyed the spring break challenge and said it was nice to get out of the office and mingle with other Soldiers. She said it was important to see representatives from the programs and organizations face to face.

“For the most part, we get a lot of briefs about some of the organizations and stuff they have out here, but just getting out, seeing them interacting with the people, asking questions maybe you don’t want to ask in a big group or something like that, it’s pretty good,” she said. “I think it was a really, really good idea to do this.”

Dixon agreed.

“I think (this event) shows our service members for one: your community cares about you; Fort Cavazos community cares about you,” she said. “Your senior leaders care about you, because that’s who gave us permission to get all this together. So I think it shows (the Soldiers) we care about their well-being. They’re not just a number, not just another Soldier, not just another green suitor. All of us together make up the Fort Cavazos, Texas, Army family, and that’s very important.”