JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. -- The 459th Air Refueling Wing Military and Family Readiness Office found a way to help wing Airmen combat day-to-day stress via acupuncture. The office held the free acupuncture session for wing Airmen on March 8, 2023, at the wing headquarters.
Acupuncture is a centuries old method of medicinal therapy using needles placed strategically throughout the body to remedy ailments like pain and stress. The Military and Family Readiness Office decided to introduce the wing to the practice after seeing its use with Team Andrews partners across the base.
“Since many of our staff are not able to make it over to the other side of base to attend classes, we decided to bring the service to us,” said Carmen Wyatt, Director, 459th Military & Family Readiness. “This allows our staff to have minimal impact on time away from their duties.”
The service was administered during lunch by the same former Air Force medical doctor used by the base host unit. Wyatt says it’s just one of the ways they hope to address a stress trend increase noted by the 316th Medical Group.
Wyatt said this shouldn’t be the last time acupuncture is offered here. Moreover, there are plans to provide more stress-relieving opportunities. Though acupuncture is unique, it’s not the first event the wing has implemented to combat stress.
“We offered a stress class for the Rising 6 this past UTA, and we are looking into starting regular meditation and mindfulness classes,” said Wyatt. “We are also looking at having classes on sleep, and we are working on having a presentation on nutrition. Stress, sleep, and nutrition were identified as negative trends for the 459th, so we are collaborating with other resources to address these issues in the hopes of improving work/life balance.”