Tech. Sgt. Megan Longendyke: Nutrition course bolsters wellness for wingmen

Each deployment rotation at Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations typically consists of several Air Force reservists and guardsmen activated to a full-time status.

This requires many to step away from their families and civilian careers to take part in AFMAO's mission but allows for a wide array of unique personalities, perspectives and skill sets among the deployed members who oftentimes share their expertise with fellow Airmen.

One of those with a unique skill set is Tech. Sgt. Megan Longendyke, a reservist who deployed from the 433rd Force Support Squadron at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas to be the noncommissioned officer in charge of the Fisher House for Families of the Fallen. During her time at AFMAO, Longendyke used her civilian experience as a fitness and nutrition coach to host weekly classes teaching her fellow Airmen different ways they can improve their eating habits.

"As deployers, we do not have immediate access to a kitchen in our rooms, so my plan was to create the baseline," Longendyke said. "Once they have that baseline, I wanted to ensure they developed a plan, set goals and address how to make meals while we're here."

Longendyke said these conditions, mixed with most peoples complicated relationship with nutrition, is what motivated her to pursue teaching the course, which she titled Mission Nutrition.

"The vast majority of people choose, or don't know how to choose the options that they have in front of them and a lot of choices are based on their emotions," said Longendyke. "In an environment where the easy choice is to eat out, people tend to seek the path of least resistance."

Military service members must maintain their physical fitness to be fit to perform their duties, but also to live healthier lives - something Longendyke says is less about the gym and more about the kitchen.

"It's not necessarily about working out, but nutrition," Longendyke said. "About 80 percent of being physically fit is based on what we choose to put on our plate, so I wanted to focus on nutrition and how to make healthier, less emotionally driven choices."

In addition to healthy decision making, her classes included lessons on nutrients, ranging from macro to micro, and the drastic effects they have on not only your body, but your total wellbeing.

"I feel like if your nutrition and your inner self is good, everything else around you will be good," said Longendyke. "The things you are putting in your body drastically affect your overall wellness, so the healthier we eat the healthier we will be as a whole and that was the main theme in all of my classes."

AFMAO's resiliency team encourages Airmen to lead classes, like Mission Nutrition, to further bolster wellness - capitalizing on individual strengths brought in from the diverse backgrounds of the reservists and guardsmen.

"Our deployers are diverse and come to AFMAO with a wide range of skills," said Staff Sgt. Carissa Lovelace, AFMAO resiliency team religious affairs Airman. "We are always excited when a member steps forward to share their experiences in a meaningful way that drastically benefits their fellow Airmen's resiliency."

As she wraps up her own journey at AFMAO, Longendyke reflected on why the course was important to her and shared her hopes for the future wellness of her wingmen.

"Throughout the course of my deployment, I've seen a tremendous amount of progress from those who came to the classes," Longendyke said. "Making even minor changes toward healthier choices should have enabled them to perform our sacred mission at their peak ability and my hope is that they carry these lessons with them as they return home."