Photo By Staff Sgt. DeMarco Wills | Allison (right) and Hailey write a personal note to their trooper, Chief Warrant...... read more read more
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AUSTIN, Texas- “Taking care of the spouses and Families of our deployed service members is a priority,” said Col. Jeffery Thompson, commander of the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division.
These were his words to the brigade’s unit ministry team as they led a Strong Bonds training event Dec. 11-13 for Family members and spouses of deployed troopers from the Air Cav.
Strong Bonds events, Family readiness support, military Family life consultant and other UMT programs are all examples of support systems the Air Cav is making available to Families of deployed service members who are currently supporting operations across the globe.
During the retreat, participants shared powerful reflections on how they were still resilient and sustainable while supporting their loved ones and the unit’s deployment.
Among those who shared their story was Tonya Dunn, wife of Air Cav’s senior enlisted adviser, Command Sgt. Maj. Sean Dunn, who was also present to support Families.
“We are in this together,” said Tonya, to the 51 Family members and spouses who attended.
Yolanda Conrad, wife of Maj. Steve Conrad, executive officer for 3rd Assault Helicopter Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, explained how deployments can bring couples closer, despite the distance.
“[Their] love has grown stronger and deployments have heightened their awareness of how much they cherish each other, and to never take each other for granted,” said Yolanda.
She shared a story on how she dealt with deployments before, and how each deployment is different, and explained how deployments are part of a bigger picture – defending our freedom.
“When our military stands up to build a civilization of peace and justice around the world, it makes all of us safe at home,” Yolanda said. “However, it involves sacrifices, and sacrifices pay off.”
While spouses were attending classes, children were busy writing Christmas cards and putting together packages that will be shipped overseas for service members in Germany, Romania, Latvia and Korea.
“We provide these resources for them [Family members] to use, so they can relax while their spouses are deployed accomplishing the mission” Thompson said. “There is no such thing as a strong Army if you do not have strong Army Families.”
| Date Taken: | 12.12.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 12.16.2015 15:52 |
| Story ID: | 184693 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TX, US |
| Hometown: | CALIFORNIA CITY, CA, US |
| Hometown: | OAKLAND, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 43 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Air Cav builds bonds with deployed troopers’ Families, by SFC Julie Wallace-Myles, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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