BATTLE CREEK, Mich. –
Capus Bryant tries to pack in 20,000 steps each day. He hits the gym at 2:30 a.m. each morning. He puts in three 20-laps swim sessions each week. He maintains a high protein diet that includes a lot of fish and limits sugars and carb-heavy items like potatoes and bread. He consults with a nutritionist and stays disciplined about his portions. He is currently 215 pounds.
When the property disposal specialist arrives to work each morning at the Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services site onboard Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, he does everything he can to remain on his feet. He keeps busy, he moves, and it can seem like he’s in multiple places at once. In the past, he used a golf cart or forklift to get around the used property yard. No longer. These days, every time he can, he’ll walk instead.
“Customers don’t recognize me,” Bryant said. “People will come in looking for me and ask, ‘does he still work here? Is he in the back?’ I’m like, ‘you’re talking to him,’ and they’re like ‘whoa.’ That feels good.”
Bryant was a self-described “health nut” about a decade into his uniformed career as an Army logistician when a 2009 deployment incident left him injured and forced his medical retirement in 2012. With a body broken down by injury, Bryant said he fell into a long-term battle with depression, self-pity, and continuous weight gain. His blood pressure was good – no heart issues, no diabetes – and his productivity through various DOD contract jobs through the years remained high, but his pant size slowly expanded from a 38 to a 54 and he said the sting of embarrassment eventually crept in when he would step out with his wife.
Bryant’s weight peaked at 427 pounds in late 2020, shortly after joining DLA’s Anchorage team as a wage grade employee. Just 40 months later, he is literally half that size.
“Even at my heaviest, my wife still told me I was the [most attractive] man she ever met,” Bryant said. “But we’d go out and you could see people’s looks, you could feel their glances and their judgement. I made a decision to get it going, get it right, get back on track. … When I went in, I went in headfirst.”
Bryant said that properly attending to his mental health was a critical part of his physical rebound, as was his enrollment in the Department of Veterans Affairs’ MOVE! weight management modules, where a counselor helped him craft a diet plan and provided weekly consultation.
Bryant said people who are uncomfortable with their weight – or facing other challenges they’re trying to overcome – must be willing to address the root causes. Bryant said he had to recognize and accept that he’d been using his deployment incident and the associated physical and mental trauma as a crutch.
“Be honest with yourself. Be disciplined,” Bryant said. “I’ve seen people get started, they do well for a period of time, then they start slacking off and get back into those bad habits.”
He said that once he began realizing substantial losses during his weekly weigh-in, it provided him with extra incentive to strive for greater results.
“It’s easy now,” Bryant said. “The plan is to never feel the way I would when I’d be in public with my wife and get the side eye from people. The plan is to stay focused, stay motivated and keep working.”
Bryant’s success may come from his exemplary work ethic. He said his father always told him that when you’re on the clock for someone else, you give them everything you’ve got. He was a recent command employee of the quarter, cited for his contributions as facilities manager and his organization-leading property reuse metrics.
One of the many recent glowing customer comments on Bryant stated: “… He is responsive and helpful. He responds quickly to requests for additional photos/info as well. … In the past, the state has certainly missed out on items that would have benefited the public due to lack of details … This has all changed in the time since Capus has been running the program. I consider him a huge asset to the State of Alaska.”
Bryant takes pride in his work. He said that, even when he was heavier, he “still brought it every day.” He continues to pile up positive customer comments and his supervisor has offered high praise for the energy and effort he brings to the site.
“From always being the first person through the door at work, to having compassion for his team and customers, his presence is the workplace improves team morale and builds comradery,” said Alaska Area Manager Chris Milazzo. “I constantly witness Capus go the extra mile to assist his customers. From complex requests, all the way down to the simple questions, Capus delivers the same level of excellent customer service to the warfighter each time.”
Milazzo said Bryant is so productive, he often wonders if he’s got an identical twin taking care of some of the site chores, and his attitude lifts the group mood during Alaska’s notoriously long winters.
“When morale is low, Capus will tell a joke or engage in a conversation with the team to boost spirits,” Milazzo said. “When the workload is demanding, Capus will roll up his sleeves, put his head down, and dig deep to efficiently get the job done.”
Bryant will say that he hasn’t done it alone. Family, co-workers, VA contacts and even customers – Bryant said he’s thankful for all the support he’s received.
“Everyone here is cheering me on,” Bryant said. “My wife cheers me on. We have a 22-year-old son stationed here, he’s proud of me. I have a lot of people cheering me on. When I’m coming through the gate, they look at my ID and they look at me, and I’ve heard them say ‘Good job, sir!’ a few times.”
Bryant said there are parts of sharing his story that remain difficult. Talking about the injury incident is still hard to do. But he has made the choice to set his sights on his future, and he wants to encourage others to try and develop their resilience and turn it into a habit.
“I’m hoping I inspire someone else who is almost ready to get started but hasn’t,” Bryant said. His advice?
“Make everything positive. Embrace the journey. Just stick with it. It can be done. Just stick with it.”
DLA offers a “Resiliency for the Workforce” class online for all employees via LMS self-registration. The next iteration is scheduled for July 28, 2023. According to the course description, “Resiliency for the Workforce identifies the four pillars of resiliency and provides tools to measure your current levels of resilience. Throughout the course you will apply elements of resiliency to real-world scenarios and create action plans to strengthen your immediate and long-term resilience. In addition, the course identifies resources available for each resiliency pillar to help you achieve work-life balance. Inspirational ‘Profiles in Resiliency’ testimonials from employees provide additional motivation and encouragement.”