Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst --
Weaving through deployments, civilian careers, tours of duty, home life and all the components attached with being a citizen Airman, provide unique challenges and stressors on reservists.
In addition to staying physically fit, reservist must balance their life by taking care of their emotional and psychological health.
To assist in strengthening Airmen resiliency, Jaclyn Urmey, 514th Air Mobility Wing's first director of psychological health, is here to provide mental health services for wing reservists and staff seeking pre-deployment counseling, assistance with post-deployment re-integration, or finding resources to help with the stress of daily life.
Previously, access to on-base mental health assistance was limited for wing members battling personal, combat-related or operational stress.
According to Urmey, the new services will provide comprehensive health services exclusive to wing members on or off duty.
"We've been trying to find the gaps between the services provided by the Airman and Family Readiness Center here and fill the void to help meet those needs," she said. "Now I am able to help members navigate through things that can help them improve their well-being so they are able to be productive during drill and meet mission requirements."
Reservists can submit referrals, request an appointment or visit on a voluntary basis without channeling requests through the chain-of-command, unless it's a need-to-know scenario. Urmey will be able to provide up to eight sessions with members before referring them to other resources.
She hopes to remove the burden from reservists to seek their own help or rely on online sources which may overwhelm untrained Airmen with a wealth of unreliable information, she said.
"A lot of legwork was placed on the reservists," she said. "That has prevented them from receiving the help that they need. I'm trained in finding resources for people because it's harder than it sounds. People get fatigued and they don't end up getting the help that they need."
Additionally, she brings a depth of experience, training and knowledge to the position as a former active-duty lieutenant in the Navy and as a mental health counselor at the New Jersey Training School, a juvenile justice center that houses approximately 200 males in Monroe Township, N.J.
"It's an amazing position," she said. "It incorporates so many moving parts of military social work - the advocacy piece, resource piece and mental health piece."
More critically, Urmey said she hopes to become a valuable resource for Airmen requesting her services. If wing members are faced with a crisis or just need to talk to someone to process an issue, they have a professional who's able to meet their needs.
"I encourage folks to reach out," she said. "People might not know what they need but they know their life is incomplete and I can help them with that - if they need counseling or some type of fitness plan, or just needing to vent about life. Stress is all around us and I just want to be a resource to helping staff and our service members with being as stress free as possible and resilient as possible."
Urmey is also partnering with wing chaplains to assist with the Yellow Ribbon Program, a program designed to assist all service members and their families during pre- and post-deployment mobilization, and the Military One Source program, which offers personalized resources related to military life, in addition to her primary duties, she said.
For more information on services offered, contact her office at (609) 754-2542 or Jaclyn.urmey@us.af.mil.