PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Peterson Space Force Base held its second annual Forge the Force Fest July 16.
The event was co-hosted by Space Base Delta 1 and SBD 41, bringing together military programs and community organizations from across the Pikes Peak region. By providing educational workshops and resources in an engaging, interactive way, the event aimed to improve the resiliency of service members, civilians, contractors, and their families.
“This event is like broccoli with ice cream, it’s hard conversations with fun,” said U.S. Space Force Chief Master Sgt. Martha Burkhead, Space Base Delta 1 command senior enlisted leader. “The old resiliency days weren’t working and so, this was an easy sell to leaders. We began it as an effort to move away from standard resiliency practices, and I am proud to see how it has grown into an annual event attended by thousands.”
Formatted as a "Choose Your Own Adventure" day, participants customized their schedules from a wide variety of available activities.
The options included 31 workshops, a resource fair with over 75 booths, group and individual fitness challenges, a fun zone, free food trucks, and complimentary karaoke buses shuttling between event locations.
Beyond the large-scale increase of the fest, this year’s new additions included gamifying participation; for each booth or workshop attendees visited, they earned virtual tickets for prizes. The planning team also added a virtual application that hosted items such as the agenda, an avenue for signing up for workshops, access to information to include parking and announcements, and biographies on the keynote speakers.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Michael J. Simmering, NORAD and USNORTHCOM chief of staff, provided opening remarks and U.S. Space Force Gen. Stephen Whiting, U.S. Space Command commander, provided the closing remarks.
U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Alysha Ivory, North American Aerospace Defense Command and United States Northern Command first sergeant, and Master Sgt. Nicole Egloff, 21st Civil Engineer Squadron first sergeant, were behind the first iteration of the fest last year, which they planned in less than 30 days.
“We had lost momentum on standard resiliency stand-down days, and those that were still happening were less effective,” said Ivory. “No one wants to hear, ‘be more resilient,’ anymore, so we had to reinvent the way we looked at resiliency.”
Ivory described the impact of Forge the Force Fest as a profound sense of purpose, calling it a rare opportunity to directly support and sustain both her service members and their families.
“Our service and helping agencies are more focused on intervention,” Egloff said. “That is why events like this are important; they are geared toward prevention, providing the skills needed for our Guardians, Airmen, and families to build a resilient foundation and prevent the need for intervention.”
To keep the momentum going and ensure its success in the future, the fest is now led by the Integrated Primary Prevention office with Melissa Dashner as the lead. As an Army veteran and social worker, she is passionate about expanding awareness of resources to those going through every stage of life, from brand-new service members or spouses to those about to retire and re-enter into civilian life.
While some installation support services are available only to military members, many civilians, contractors and family members may not know where to turn when they need assistance. By partnering with local organizations across the Pikes Peak Front Range community, the fest helps raise awareness of trusted off-base resources and ensures everyone in the installation community knows where support is available.
“Being able to arm people with tools and giving them the option to empower themselves with knowledge, is what it is about,” Dashner said. “Resources are only as good as they are utilized. We shouldn’t be learning about them in crisis; we need to be proactive.”
Keynote Speakers included U.S. Space Force Lt. Gen. Gregory Gagnon, U.S. Space Force Combat Forces Command commander, U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Andrew Morgan, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command deputy commanding general for operations and retired NASA astronaut; retired U.S. Space Force Chief Master Sgt. Roger Towberman, the first chief master sergeant of the Space Force; retired U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael Schlitz, Wounded Warrior; Robert Irvine, chef, author and entrepreneur; Elliott Yamin, American Idol finalist; and Obie West, spoken word poet, advocate and author.