Army wife takes point for Lewis-McChord family support group

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

04.02.2012

Story by Erika Stetson 

U.S. Forces Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan – One Army intelligence officer deployed to a coalition base in Kabul says his wife, rather than he, deserves the largest share of credit for enduring personal sacrifices and being devoted to the military.

“Just because I’m deployed over here does not mean she’s not my hero – or heroine in this case,” said the officer, who asked not to be identified for security reasons.

His wife, Jennifer Morse, first volunteered for, then, in December, took over leadership of his unit’s support group at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington.

The two are newlyweds, having married on Oct. 30, 2010. Morse said she was new to the Army. Her husband, having begun his military career in the Navy, also was new to the Army.

Jennifer, who holds a doctorate in plant physiology and works as an agricultural biotechnology consultant for General Mills, said her career, professional network, and life routines all changed after their marriage, and she only had a short time – six months – living in DuPont, Wash., located just outside the base, before her new husband deployed.

“It is the soldier’s responsibility to adjust the family to whatever, but the culture shock was quite impressive,” Morse said. “… It would have been very helpful to have had an opportunity to have met and interacted with other military people and wives who had been doing this for 20 years.”

But few people reached out to her when she became a new military spouse, a situation she soon decided to help change for others, whether they were new to the military, or just new to the area.

Her family readiness group is attached to 1st Corps, Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, Bravo Company. She said family readiness groups began as family run organizations, but became official military organizations in 2001, with commanders accountable for running them.

With that change, she said, the dissemination of official information about the military became the focus and the social aspect of the FRG diminished. She made turning that around a focus for her group.

That effort began with assembling a roster of the unit’s families and their contact information. It also included changing meetings to a family friendly place rather than the previous “deep, dark dungeon” in the unit’s command center and scheduling meetings at the same time each month, ensuring they’re not moved around the calendar.

“For deployed families, structure is everything,” she said.

The meetings now include a potluck meal, speakers to share information about the military and an FRG organizational session. The group, which has added five more volunteers in addition to her, also works to offer at least one social event per month.

Previous events have included a 1980’s-themed cocktail party at Morse’s home and a pageant-themed murder mystery dinner.

“For our deployed spouses it was kind of ideal, because there were a lot more female roles than male roles,” she said. “But we actually ran out of male roles because there was interest. It was just fun to be completely ridiculous and make believe about something. And we still kind of refer to each other as our Miss Whatever-We-Were, Miss California, Miss Alabama.”

Her FRG serves roughly 270 soldiers’ families. Social events tend to draw 10 to 15 people, she said.

“But I’m really proud that the people who are coming are new to the unit, and new to the area. And I’ve found out that some of them are off doing things with each other when we’re not having meetings,” she added, proving that the FRG has helped build relationships between spouses.

Her husband said his wife understands that the military needs a strong family network to help cope with the stress of deployments. He also said his wife’s participation in the support group gives him peace of mind because it puts her in touch with people she can reach out to for help while he’s away.

“It allows me not to have to worry and be focused on something other than my job over here,” he said.

• Date Taken: 04.02.2012
• Date Posted: 04.14.2012 03:09
• Story ID: 86747
• Location: KABUL, AF
• Hometown: DUPONT, WASHINGTON, US