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CAMP GRUBER, Okla. – Soldiers with the 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT), Oklahoma Army National Guard (OKARNG) conduct pre-mobilization training at Camp Gruber, Oklahoma, in preparation for deployment to Ukraine as part of the Joint Multinational Training Group – Ukraine (JMTG-U).
Since 9-11 the Oklahoma National Guard has deployed multiple times in support of overseas operations. Through deployments, the citizen Soldiers of the National Guard prove time and again their commitment to serve not just the people of Oklahoma, but the Nation as a whole. Combined with their standard commitment of one weekend of service per month and two-weeks per year, Guardsmen would find life difficult without the support of their families and civilian employers.
One of those Guardsmen is Oklahoma City native, Spc. Jaquith Farris, a medic with Headquarters Company, 45th IBCT. Farris works at the Oklahoma Crisis Intervention Center, a facility operated by the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse. Farris holds a Bachelor of Science in psychology and sociology, as well as a master's degree in education.
“We treat each other like family; anytime someone leaves your family you’ll worry, and I worried that everything was going to be okay,” Farris said. “They told me everything would be fine, my place in the [work] family was safe, and they constantly check in with me to see how I’m doing.”
Col. David Jordan, commander of the 45th IBCT, states the importance of civilian employers and their commitment to support our Guardsmen when they are called to serve. He said that without that strong employer relationship, the commitment our Guardsmen make to server our state and nation would be difficult.
“I’d love to thank the civilian employers and the families for their cooperation in dealing with this really quick turn,” Jordan said. “Between mobilization and pre-mob training, there were really only a couple weeks. The employers and the families had to make a lot of adjustments right away. None of us in uniform could do what we do without the families and the employers standing behind them.”
The continued support of families and employers is as essential to the Guard moving forward as it is to helping Guardsmen integrate back into civilian life upon returning home.
| Date Taken: | 11.17.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 11.21.2016 13:46 |
| Story ID: | 214902 |
| Location: | CAMP GRUBER, OK, US |
| Hometown: | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK, US |
| Web Views: | 34 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Employers Support the Guard like Family, by SSG Eric McDonough, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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