PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii - Navy Region Hawaii, along with Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet and the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations hosted a Resilient Workforce Summit at the Ford Island Conference Center Oct. 24-25.

This year’s Resilient Workforce Summit theme was “Culture of Excellence – Living Signature Behaviors.” This summit is conducted on a two-year rotating schedule throughout the Pacific Fleet area of responsibility, giving Sailors the opportunity to directly interact with fleet program directors and subject matter experts about leadership and personal behavior, creating a culture of dignity and respect, and suicide prevention, operational stress control, and other Navy programs.

Guest speaker Eric Hipple, former quarterback for the Detroit Lions, shared life experiences that helped him be successful, and how they could translate to being a Navy leader.

“I was a good athlete, but I really got into the NFL because I had great leadership,” said Hipple. “It is a big part of being a great team and taking the individual parts and figuring out how they work together to complete the mission. That’s really where I think the key is, at the individual level. Hopefully I can give you some tools today to get there.”

Hipple mentioned how one of his high school coaches taught him that every choice he made had a consequence and he had to decide if he was going to weigh out the pros and cons of a situation. This helped him make those tough calls on field.

During the Summit, U.S. Pacific Fleet Master Chief James Honea, also addressed Sailors about the importance of the summit and how lessons learned at the individual level contribute to overall mission success.

"When you're talking about your at-risk Sailors or those that need more attention, those are the opportunities to make sure that we're doing the right thing as leaders, said Honea. We need to do right by them and get them the help they need. That's what these workshops are designed to do, to help us build on those tools."

Following Honea’s remarks, a panel of experts took the stage to answer questions on a variety of topics, including equal opportunity, sexual assault prevention and response, physical readiness, and other Navy programs. He thinks the subject matter experts, from the different Navy programs will be one of the most tremendous tools they will receive.

“It’s important that we take time to remember the role we play in the Navy as senior leadership,” said Chief Navy Counselor Demacardo Williams, a Sailor attending the summit. “It’s my job, to my Sailors to be the best leader I can be, so when the time comes and one of my Sailors are going through something I have the insight to recognize it and help them.”

The Resilient Workforce Summit will continue to spread awareness on these different topics throughout the world’s largest fleet command. The U.S. Pacific Fleet consists of approximately 200 ships, submarines, nearly 1,200 aircraft, and more than 130,000 Sailors and civilians.

For more information on suicide prevention, please visit http://www.veteranscrisisline.net/.