From the Editor-in-Chief

On Mental Health

By LT Elisha "Grudge" Clark, USN

I hope that by the time you read this, you’re fully recovered from the fun and festivities of the NHA Symposium. For myself, I know there were a few dozen business days required for that to occur!

I also hope that by the time you are through reading this issue, you’ll be well informed about the mental and physical health of our Rotary Force, and a strong sense of how our community intends to implement the newly disseminated Navy Culture of Excellence 2.0, launched in March of this year. Among these pages you’ll find stories of new research and development by our very own Naval Aircrew Working Group, how generational differences can impact our views on mental health, and how the health of our people can further our goals toward a Culture of Excellence - just to name a few.

This issue comes from a very personal place. While physical health should be highly regarded, mental health took center stage for me in 2021. My COVID deployment experience had come to a close in December of 2020, and while I was ecstatic to be walking on dry land, I found it extremely hard to adjust. Faces were hidden behind masks, restrictions were more draconian and less predictable as time went on, and there was even a time I wasn’t allowed to leave a 1.5 mile radius of my own home. It was only during an interview for a security clearance, during which I crumbled at a very simple question, that I realized how much my mental health had declined.

How would you describe your mental health?

It is something we can all easily crack jokes about - you almost have to when there is no other solution - but it was only until I was very candidly asked the question that I truly looked within myself for the answer. It’s my hope that you all have something to gain from asking each other this question.

Our next issue deals with "Why We Fight." We brave through many trials and tribulations to make it to the next step - what keeps you going? For myself and my peers, it is coming quite close to the time to decide whether to stay or go; regardless of what your choice is, why are you making it? What motivates you, and what doesn’t? What do you want leadership to know about retention, and what would you like to know as a leader? I look forward to hearing from you.

V/R and HAGS, Grudge