CMSAF, Airmen display resiliency on Mt. Fuji

By Tech. Sgt. Christopher Marasky, 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs / Published July 15, 2015

PHOTO DETAILS / DOWNLOAD HI-RES 1 of 6

Members of Team Yokota pose with Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James A. Cody at the 5th station before beginning the hike to the summit of Mount Fuji, Japan, July 11, 2015. Hikers bus to the 5th station at nearly 7,000 ft. altitude before beginning the trek. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Elizabeth Baker/Released)

PHOTO DETAILS / DOWNLOAD HI-RES 2 of 6

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)

PHOTO DETAILS / DOWNLOAD HI-RES 3 of 6

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)

PHOTO DETAILS / DOWNLOAD HI-RES 4 of 6

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)

PHOTO DETAILS / DOWNLOAD HI-RES 5 of 6

Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James A. Cody interacts with Airmen at the summit of Mount Fuji, Japan, July 11, 2015. Cody spent time getting to know many of the hikers, taking time to pose for pictures, sign walking sticks and talk to the Airmen. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Elizabeth Baker/Released)

PHOTO DETAILS / DOWNLOAD HI-RES 6 of 6

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)

MOUNT FUJI, Japan (AFNS) --

Resiliency. It's 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, Japan, tested many of those pillars as they climbed Japan's tallest mountain, Mount Fuji July 11, 2015. The climb, which reaches an altitude of 12, 389 feet, started at the 5th station, at 7, 562 feet elevation and took four to seven hours to accomplish.

Yokota Airmen had a special guest climbing alongside them, as Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James Cody climbed to the summit of Fuji with the group.

"Having the Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force climb alongside us was a great bonus," said Staff Sgt. Kelcey McDonald, 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," Mc Donald 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, 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.

"You draw strength from one another," Cody said. "People definitely drew strength from each other today."

In the end, McDonald said it was a great experience, heightened by having the Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force lead the way.

"This is another example of our top Airmen leading the way," McDonald added. "It was great to have him there at the summit to welcome those who have followed the path and achieved the same outcome."

If you wish to comment, use the text box below. AF reserves the right to modify this policy at any time.

This is a moderated forum. That means all comments will be reviewed before posting. In addition, we expect that participants will treat each other, as well as our agency and our employees, with respect. We will not post comments that contain abusive or vulgar language, spam, hate speech, personal attacks, violate EEO policy, are offensive to other or similar content. We will not post comments that are spam, are clearly "off topic", promote services or products, infringe copyright protected material, or contain any links that don't contribute to the discussion. Comments that make unsupported accusations will also not be posted. The AF and the AF alone will make a determination as to which comments will be posted. Any references to commercial entities, products, services, or other non-governmental organizations or individuals that remain on the site are provided solely for the information of individuals using this page. These references are not intended to reflect the opinion of the AF, DoD, the United States, or its officers or employees concerning the significance, priority, or importance to be given the referenced entity, product, service, or organization. Such references are not an official or personal endorsement of any product, person, or service, and may not be quoted or reproduced for the purpose of stating or implying AF endorsement or approval of any product, person, or service.

Any comments that report criminal activity including: suicidal behaviour or sexual assault will be reported to appropriate authorities including OSI. This forum is not:

This forum is not to be used to report criminal activity. If you have information for law enforcement, please contact OSI or your local police agency.
Do not submit unsolicited proposals, or other business ideas or inquiries to this forum. This site is not to be used for contracting or commercial business.
This forum may not be used for the submission of any claim, demand, informal or formal complaint, or any other form of legal and/or administrative notice or process, or for the exhaustion of any legal and/or administrative remedy.

AF does not guarantee or warrant that any information posted by individuals on this forum is correct, and disclaims any liability for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on any such information. AF may not be able to verify, does not warrant or guarantee, and assumes no liability for anything posted on this website by any other person. AF does not endorse, support or otherwise promote any private or commercial entity or the information, products or services contained on those websites that may be reached through links on our website.

Members of the media are asked to send questions to the public affairs through their normal channels and to refrain from submitting questions here as comments. Reporter questions will not be posted. We recognize that the Web is a 24/7 medium, and your comments are welcome at any time. However, given the need to manage federal resources, moderating and posting of comments will occur during regular business hours Monday through Friday. Comments submitted after hours or on weekends will be read and posted as early as possible; in most cases, this means the next business day.

For the benefit of robust discussion, we ask that comments remain "on-topic." This means that comments will be posted only as it relates to the topic that is being discussed within the blog post. The views expressed on the site by non-federal commentators do not necessarily reflect the official views of the AF or the Federal Government.

To protect your own privacy and the privacy of others, please do not include personally identifiable information, such as name, Social Security number, DoD ID number, OSI Case number, phone numbers or email addresses in the body of your comment. If you do voluntarily include personally identifiable information in your comment, such as your name, that comment may or may not be posted on the page. If your comment is posted, your name will not be redacted or removed. In no circumstances will comments be posted that contain Social Security numbers, DoD ID numbers, OSI case numbers, addresses, email address or phone numbers. The default for the posting of comments is "anonymous", but if you opt not to, any information, including your login name, may be displayed on our site.

Thank you for taking the time to read this comment policy. We encourage your participation in our discussion and look forward to an active exchange of ideas.