COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- The 14th Flying Training Wing hosted a full-day Warrior’s Edge high-performance mindset workshop July 29, 2025, at the Trotter Convention Center in downtown Columbus, Mississippi.
The training marked the first full integration of Warrior’s Edge into pilot training at Columbus AFB, and emphasized a deliberate, science-backed approach to mental fitness for Airmen.
Led by Dr. Jannell MacAulay, retired Air Force pilot and human performance expert, the training introduced personnel from Columbus AFB to the tools needed to optimize cognitive performance in high-stress environments.
“Most of us learn to deal with mental stress by repetitively doing hard things,” MacAulay said. “But what we’ve learned from the science is that it’s very important for us to invest in a deliberate and intentional way of training our minds to prepare for challenging environments.”
Col. James Blech, 14th FTW commander, said the decision to bring Warrior’s Edge to the base aligns directly with the mission of producing World Class Pilots.
“We’ve found that the world class piece of this means our pilots need to be operating at optimal performance levels,” Blech said. “Today we’re investing in their mental fitness.”
The workshop included active participation from student pilots and personnel. MacAulay noted that pilot training itself is designed to apply pressure, making mental performance skills essential to success.
“That’s most of the game of pilot training, how well can you navigate stress?” she said. “Everyone will reach a point where they realize the status quo is no longer sustainable, and that change often lies in the mental skills space.”
Dr. Nicole Davis, a psychologist and Warrior’s Edge co-lead, emphasized the dual benefit of mental skills training; supporting both performance and resilience.
“The skill sets that help with mental health and well-being are the same skills that help with peak performance and thriving in pressure environments,” Davis said. “We’re leveraging decades of research in the field of psychology.”
The training is part of a broader mental performance initiative at Columbus AFB. MacAulay is currently training 20 CAFB personnel to become certified Warrior’s Edge coaches and helping the base establish a MindGym a space designed for the intentional development of cognitive and emotional skills.
“You train your body at the fitness center; you train your mind in the MindGym,” MacAulay said. “This is about building a comprehensive approach to human performance.”
The long-term goal is to institutionalize mental skills development as a core competency of pilot training.
“If we aren’t mentally fit, that could be the difference between winning and losing,” Blech said. “This is how we build leaders who are mission-ready for the complex environments that the future fight demands.”
The event demonstrates Columbus AFB’s continued commitment to innovation and its role at the forefront of shaping the future force.