20th FW builds emotional muscles through CAF Published Feb. 6, 2015 By Airman 1st Class Jonathan Bass 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. -- The 20th Fighter Wing held a Comprehensive Airman Fitness week for all Airmen here, Feb. 2-6. The CAF week focused on the resiliency domain of mental strength, with suicide awareness being the main topic of conversation. A guest speaker was brought in to talk about the importance of the topic. The speaker, Dennis Gillan, lost two brothers to suicide 11 years apart. He addressed Airmen and left them with a quote, "Life is going to throw some things at you that will absolutely kick you in the gut, but you will not be judged by the amount of times you get knocked down, but by the amount of times you get up." For the entire week, suicide awareness briefings were held for Airmen to attend. In addition there were briefings on dating, marriage, finances, raising children and even relaxation. These briefings focused on each of the four CAF domains, mental, social, spiritual, and physical. The CAF domainsm previously called pillars, were changed to allow flexibility in their usage. A pillar stands vertically, meaning that the spiritual pillar only affected spiritual matters. A domain is more flexible, which allows spiritual resiliency tactics to be used in the physical domain. When each domain is properly strengthened, the Airman as a whole is stronger, said Karan Fleming, 20th FW community support coordinator. Fleming said the response from Airmen has been very positive, many have expressed their enjoyment of Gillan's talk and the holistic approach by the variation of classes held around base. Col. Stephen Jost, 20th FW commander, expressed his feelings for the event, "I am sincerely grateful to (Fleming) for leading the planning and execution of a robust and value-added (CAF) week agenda for our Shaw community." He went on to add that the events dealt directly with the heart of his Airman Up! initiative, which helps build resiliency in Airmen and their families. For more information on CAF and resiliency at Shaw visit, http://www.shaw.af.mil/library/comprehensiveairmanfitness/index.asp.