L&DS provides resiliency perspective to Team March personnel

  • Published
  • By Capt. Jessica Gross
  • 452 AMW Public Affairs
March Air Reserve Base, Calif. --  

Airmen and senior leaders assigned to March Air Reserve Base, California gathered for a recent segment of the Leadership and Development Series (L&DS) during the combined 2018 April A and B unit training assembly (UTA) located at the Cultural Resource Center (CRC) on base.

Since the launch of the L&DS seminars, the Chiefs Group has sought effective and powerful topics that are relevant to the development of all uniformed personnel.  A topic of focus has included resiliency.

On 29 April 2018, the series included a guest speaker and a powerful testament.

Retired United Stated Marine Corps First Sergeant Marcus Wilson embodies resiliency.  First Sergeant Wilson served as an Infantryman, where he experienced a traumatic event during his second deployment that would change his outlook on life forever.

On 14 November 2006, First Sergeant Wilson’s team was in the process of conducting a bridge assessment in Haditha, Iraq when his vehicle made contact with an improvised explosive device (IED).  Wilson was the sole survivor in the vehicle.  Wilson lost his left leg and sustained significant injuries that included six fractured vertebrae, several broken bones, punctured lungs, and burns to his face.  

As First Sergeant Wilson reflected on the incidents surrounding the attack on his vehicle and the loss of three of his Marines, he told the audience that he often finds himself asking, “Why am I still here?”

Wilson informed the audience that his resiliency has come from the support of his family and the contacts he has made with service members over the years.  Wilson reminded the audience that every individual and their mission can have an impact.

“I’m forever grateful,” said Wilson.  First Sergeant Wilson reminded audience members of the countless individuals, across the armed forces that supported him from the moment of the attack and through his recovery.  “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you,” Wilson tells the airmen.

When asked what resiliency means to Wilson, he said “To me it means going through a traumatic event and coming out smarter and wiser.”