Photo By Sgt. Steven Peterson | Seventeen Soldiers and their families from Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, I...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - All work and no play can make for very tired Soldiers and, over time, add a lot of pressure to the average Soldier’s marriage, but for Soldiers and family members of Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, I Corps a getaway was just what the commander ordered.
Led by Capt. Lyndon Jong, I Corps HHB chaplain, 17 Soldiers, along with their spouses and children converged on the Spa Resort in Centralia, Washington, to take advantage of a Strong Bonds getaway March 22 - 24 to engage in a training exercise geared toward marital peace, rest and relaxation.
Strong Bonds is a unit-based, chaplain-led program which assists commanders in building individual resiliency by strengthening the Army family. The core mission of the Strong Bonds program is to increase individual Soldier and family member readiness through relationship education and skills training.
“We wanted to take this opportunity to give a breather to some of those who’ve been working hard in I Corps,” Jong said. “These Soldiers and family members deserve some time with each other. I’m just happy I can help bring them closer.”
As a powerful training aid, Jong used excerpts of a seminar by Gary Chapman, pastor, motivational speaker and author of “The 5 Love Languages” and “5 Signs of a Healthy Family.” This showed the couples different ways people show love and how to better understand your spouse.
“This was a very informational trip and we had a lot of fun at the water park,” said Rebecca Winfield, wife of Sgt. David Winfield, light wheeled mechanic assigned to Headquarters Support Company, HHB. “My husband received some nice time off to take care of me and the children during the event.”
Strong Bonds is conducted in an offsite retreat format in order to maximize the training effect. The retreat or “getaway” provides a fun, safe, and secure environment in which to address the impact of relocations, deployments, and military lifestyle stressors.
The chaplain arranged for child care so that the couples could focus on the Strong Bonds portion of the trip. The last event was a sit down dinner for two, where Soldiers and spouses had alone time to talk about the overall event.
“The Army sets up opportunities like strong bonds for both married and single Soldiers, it is important that they take advantage of this types of events that they might not be able to afford,” added Jong.
| Date Taken: | 03.26.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 03.26.2015 16:28 |
| Story ID: | 158224 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 73 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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