Good health means good morale!

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Keenan Berry
  • 509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
It is an environment filled with hard work and dedication, weight-lifting and pull-ups, intense facial expressions and sweaty shirts, leg exercises and treadmills. There is only one place on base where all these can be found together - the Whiteman Air Force Base Fitness Center.

Fitness Center personnel work in the gym to help maintain the cleanliness of the facility, as well as provide assistance, fitness guidance, and medical response capability, said Staff Sgt. Kira Otero.

They also help their patrons with equipment orientation and details on classes they have to offer.

Overall, the Fitness Center offers 30 classes throughout the week to help Airmen maintain fitness and morale.

"We offer fitness improvement classes such as spin-cycling, Boot Camp, 30/30 Fusion, and turbo-kick," said Senior Airman Melissa Givens, 509th Force Support Squadron fitness specialist. "These classes are an hour long; the instructors will lead the patrons through warm-ups, workouts and cool-downs. The start times for each class vary throughout the day, all year long."

The Fitness Center contributes to the Whiteman mission by ensuring Airmen are fit to fight, physically trained and equipped, ready for any challenge.

The challenging part of this job is dealing with health issues, said Otero. The physical stresses of working out can lead to dehydration, heart conditions, sport injuries and many other health-related issues.

Fitness Center personnel rely both on their own medical knowledge and alarms to respond to medical emergencies, from heart problems to torn ligaments and many others, said Givens.

Injuries occur on a weekly basis and range from minor to serious.

When a minor injury occurs, Fitness Center personnel log a report in a log book and handle the situation. If it is a serious injury, they will file a report and work with the 509th Medical Group to get an ambulance on-scene, said Otero.

"On average, 4-6 injuries are recorded a month," said Otero. "In the event of an emergency, a customer will report it to us first; we will go and ask the injured customer if they need any assistance and we will operate based off their answer. If we deem they may need help anyway, we will make the proper phone calls and inform the chain of command."

Inspections are performed daily to ensure equipment is functioning properly and does not present a hazard to patrons, said Givens.

Every two years, service personnel alternate between the dining facility, fitness center and the Whiteman Inn. This allows each Service member to experience each job the services career field has to offer.

While working in the Whiteman Fitness Center, these dedicated Airmen are constantly working to promote cleanliness, good health and a stress-free and safe environment for the Whiteman population as they pump iron or run that extra mile.

To contact the Fitness Center, call 660-687-5496.