Here are the top stories for the week of Jan. 25, 2021, straight from AWN News 6 Correspondent, Jolene McNutt:

Army’s New ACFT Faces Uncertain Future

Earlier this month, Congress passed the Fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, which included a provision for the Army to stop using the new Army Combat Fitness Test, also called ACFT, until an independent study determined its “impact on certain populations in the service,” said Military.com. However, the Army has stated it will continue to administer the test to collect data. When the Army began using test in October 2020, it was to record scores but the scores would not be counted as passing or failing until March 2022, “to give the force time to increase its fitness level.” Although the Army is continuing to use the test to collect data, there is no clear guidance whether the March 2022 date will change.

Coast Guard Creates New Recruiting Corps

Federal News Network reported that the Coast Guard has created a recruiting corps after struggling to recruit officers. Five billets have been authorized to kickstart the program, with four officers assigned to four different geographic regions and one supervisor. “The billets will be located in Miami, New Orleans, Atlanta, and Hampton Roads in Virginia,” said Federal News Network. These officers will develop relationships with colleges in their regions in hopes of recruiting college graduates. The Coast Guard plans to expand the program over time.

Help Teens With Healthy Coping Behaviors

New York Times contributor, Dr. Lisa Damour, a psychologist, author, and podcast host, shared three ways that your teen may be coping with stress—and highlights the benefits and risks. Dr. Damour said that the pandemic has created an additional layer of challenges for teens to destress in healthy ways.

Dr. Damour’s three suggestions outline ways for you to help your teen with making healthy choices. She said, “young people often use their downtime to text with friends or check their social media accounts.” Benefits of using digital resources for downtime include strengthening virtual connections and bonds with friends or positive experiences in something as simple as a funny meme. She warned that the flipside can have a detrimental effect on on a teen’s mental health and can include too much negative information from headlines or even neutral responses from a friend.

The other two areas that she highlighted are getting lost in distractions such as reading a book, playing a sport, or engaging in a hobby. And the third area was allowing space for the mind to wander. She said unlike engaging in a hobby that takes focus and concentration, space to let the mind wander while doing a less-intensive task such as taking a long shower, is helpful to allow the mind to process information.

This Week in History

On Jan. 25, 1890, Nellie Bly, was the first woman to circumnavigate the globe. She followed the route outlined in the fictional novel, Around the World in Eighty Days. Nellie Bly was an investigative reporter and documented her 72-day journey, which was published by New York World. She traveled primarily alone with her money hung around her neck for safekeeping. Bly’s fortitude and bravery is inspiring!

Weightlifting photo by Victor Freitas on Unsplash