OCTOBER 10, 2022 – Quintrina Edwards, or Ms. Trina, is the Embedded Integrated Prevention Coordinator (EIPC), also known as the Deployed Resiliency Educator (DRE), aboard amphibious assault carrier USS Tripoli (LHA 7). She serves as a non-clinical trainer and collaborates with the ship’s Deployed Resiliency Counselor (DRC). Edwards holds workshops to educate Sailors and Marines about topics relating to their personal development. She also facilitates some annual general military training (GMT) topics including suicide prevention and sexual assault prevention and response (SAPR).
“A personal goal of mine is to boost morale and to let the Sailors and Marines know we hear and see them,” said Edwards. “I hold a minimum of five workshops per week. The objective is to provide relevant information, resources, and referrals to help service members manage the practical and emotional aspects of deployment.”
Her workshops, titled “Real Talk with Ms. Trina,” deal with topics such as communicating with partners over long distances, stress, anger management, and even tips on buying a car.
“[This] helps people get ahead of the game and be proactive,” said Edwards. “The workshops I lead empower us to thrive and not just survive while separated from our families and friends.”
When Edwards is not facilitating workshops, she collaborates with the Quality of Life stakeholders such as the DRC, the Command Climate Specialist, and Suicide Prevention specialists.
Together, they establish prevention activities based on the interpretation and analysis of trends from the Defense Organizational Climate Survey (DEOCS).
During one workshop, Edwards passed out sheets of paper and had Sailors and Marines write down what they thought the hardest part of deployment is. She mixed up the answers and redistributed them for others to read out loud.
“A lot of people are not comfortable speaking out but they want to say what’s on their mind without others looking at them in a different way,” said Edwards. “My rule is that every person who comes up with a problem needs to provide a proposed solution. The Sailors and Marines really like this workshop because we can all relate to the different hardships of deployment and it brings us closer together. A Sailor might hear a similar issue and say, ‘I feel the same way too.’ It doesn’t matter what rank, background, or religion you are. We are all faced with the same challenges and we can be there for each other by addressing our issues preemptively.”
Tripoli’s Sailors had a lot of positive words to say about Ms. Trina’s approach to training and her general presence aboard.
“Ms. Trina is a fresh, new, and very much needed person to share our deployment with,” said Cryptologic Technician (Collections) Second Class Tynajia Ford. “Deployment seems never-ending, but she helps us take it one day at a time and is always available to help or just talk.
Edwards is the first EIPC to deploy on the West Coast. This new Fleet and Family Support Center program originally started with nine positions across the Navy, including Edwards. Before the EIPC program, she was full-time SAPR Victim Advocate for the U.S. Air Force, and a Captain in the US Army. Before her military career, she was an executive in the hip-hop music industry for an independent record label that released three albums in two years under Slip-N-Slide Records and Atlantic Records.
“My mom, Ms. Angel, and my family, the Sanders family, are my biggest role models since they have been so supportive of my career,” Edwards said. “Without them holding down the fort, I wouldn’t have had an exciting and rewarding career as an Army officer, music executive, and now Navy EIPC.”
Tripoli is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with allies and partners and serve as a ready response force to defend peace and maintain stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
For more information about Tripoli, head to the command’s Facebook (www.facebook.com/usstripoli) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/officialusstripoli) pages.
The Epic EIPC
By Ensign Matt Cuartero, Tripoli Public Affairs