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    Volunteers support National Guard and national defense

    2009 National Guard Family Program Volunteer Workshop

    Photo By Master Sgt. Jim Greenhill | Paula Sumrall, national volunteer coordinator, addresses 1,200 people attending the...... read more read more

    DEARBORN, UNITED STATES

    07.31.2009

    Story by Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill 

    National Guard Bureau

    DEARBORN, Mich. — When Beth Neild's husband asked her to lead his New York Army National Guard unit's volunteer family readiness group, she wasn't thrilled.

    A special education teacher, Neild was finishing a master's degree and committed to her church's Sunday school. Furthermore, the unit was a two-hour drive from her home and based in Walton, N.Y., a rural community of 3,000 where cell phone service is iffy.

    But a yearlong overseas deployment to a combat zone loomed for the 80-plus Citizen-Soldiers of Detachment 1, 827th Engineer Company, commanded by Capt. Tim Neild.

    "I saw that it really was important," Beth Neild said. "There was a huge need there. There was no family readiness group, really."

    So she became an FRG coordinator, one of about 11,000 people in every state and territory and the District of Columbia, who have stepped up to support Citizen-Soldiers, their families and their friends.

    Since the National Guard is often a community's only direct connection with the armed forces, members of other components also use its family programs.

    In September, Neild started work. By January, her FRG was meeting regularly. In the last week of July, she joined more than 500 volunteers among the 1,200 people, who attended the 2009 National Guard Family Program Volunteer Workshop here.

    Family programs support Guard members when units are home and during deployments, said Alex Baird, the National Guard Bureau's chief of family programs.

    "Our Guard members can only do their job if their family members are being taken care of," he said. "If [their] family ... is being taken care of, the service member can focus on the mission and doing their job."

    Paula Sumrall is the national volunteer coordinator. "It's incredibly important to our national defense," she said. "It's critical that the people of the United States continue to recognize that we are at war, that it affects our families — and some of those families are right there in your neighborhood."

    Support includes briefings for Soldiers, families and friends on the mechanics of an upcoming deployment, and training, such as drawing up a power of attorney or managing money during a Soldier's absence.

    "We're the ones who have to stay behind and support our Soldiers," Neild said. "If they don't feel like we're supporting them, they're more likely not to want to stay in the National Guard — and we're not likely to want them to be in there."

    Family readiness groups offer mutual support throughout a deployment. As units prepare to come home, FRGs prepare for Guard members' returns and reintegration. "You've been mowing the lawn," Baird explained. "You've been taking the garbage out. Now you're going to have to adjust to that person being back in the house."

    Volunteers range from close family members to people whose only previous connection with the National Guard was admiration for its work. "I don't think there are any 'typical' volunteers," Sumrall said. "We have youth ... elderly people ... retirees ... spouses. You find that it's not just a spouse, which I think is pretty much a traditional thing in the active component. ... Within the National Guard, we have a lot of people who are not spouses.

    "The community reaches out, too. We have a lot of community members who have absolutely no connection with a member of the Guard, but they are there because they recognize that the Guard is part of their community."

    Most important workshop

    At the annual workshop here, Neild mingled with other volunteers, paid staff, observers from other components and senior Department of Defense, Office of the Secretary of Defense and National Guard officials.

    Gen. Craig McKinley, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, said it was the most important workshop he would attend this year. The workshops started in 1988; this year's had record attendance.

    "I'm a dork," Neild said. "I love learning."

    That passion brought her to the 2009 workshop, where dozens of breakout sessions were offered that included combating burnout, psychological readiness, wounded warriors, childcare, keeping volunteers engaged and standing-room-only classes on understanding Islam

    "It's really important to learn as much as possible so that I can bring that to my families and my Soldiers," Neild said.

    Baird hopes the information-packed annual workshops are contagious, attracting evermore volunteers. "If we're not teaching them, they won't come," he said.

    Besides, Neild understands that commanders rotate through units and the day will likely come when her husband and she reluctantly part with his unit — and that someone else needs to be ready to take her place and keep the family readiness group going.

    "I'm someone who really likes to help people, but I need to empower my families to advocate for themselves," she said. "I can't always do it for them, but I can give them the tools. Sometimes, I'll make the phone call for them, but really I should be letting them make the call."

    Volunteer qualities

    Sumrall listed the qualities of good volunteers:
    • "Flexibility, intelligence, being fair, not taking sides"
    • "Non-judgmental, because what's happening in one family is perhaps something that would be totally alien to another family, but, if help is needed, they need to be able to provide that help"
    • "Self-confident ... Having a care and concern for their fellow human beings ... not just that they are Guard families, but they care about their fellow human beings"
    • "Be able to understand confidentiality and not get involved with gossiping or spreading rumors"

    Neild helped Det. 1, 827th Engineer Company — readying for its first deployment in five years —
    re-establish an ailing FRG program, applying herself to marketing, networking far-flung families and coordinating a treasurer, secretaries and the creation of a Web site.

    "I had no idea what I was doing," she said.

    But the New York National Guard's state family programs office offered training by phone on family readiness groups and being a coordinator, and Neild found useful Webinars.

    "Putting a bulletin board in the armory was the best thing I ever did," Neild said. "I put a cheesy 'teacher border' around it. I had so many compliments that day, saying that it spruced up the armory. I put a wide range of resources on there, even things like the free trips that you can get to Disney World or Sea World and all the education resources that you can get, [like] the new G.I. Bill."

    The challenge to a Guard FRG

    All of the armed forces provide family support.

    "The challenge for the Guard is so much greater," Baird said. "If you think about an [active component] installation, normally people live within 40 miles. ... In our case, they may not live within 400 miles."

    That has been Neild's experience. "We're geographically spread out throughout New York state," she said. "That's a huge challenge. ... It's really difficult to get all the families in one location."

    The Internet gives Neild one way to connect far-flung families. "We really need to utilize that Web site, e-mail — really spread things through different mediums," she said.

    But a December 2008 Gallup poll found that less than half of Americans are frequent Internet users, defined as those who surf an hour or more daily. The poll found less affluent, less educated and older Americans use the Internet the least.

    Neild's solution: Take meetings to each of the regions where members of Det. 1, 827th Engineer Company live. "I don't mind traveling," she said. "I want to have meetings spread throughout New York state."

    In a world where the meaning of "family" itself has shifted, the FRG also needs to offer a diversity of programs, she said. "Some people have kids. Some people have parents. Some people are girlfriends or boyfriends. Some people are just friends. So we need to have a broad range of programs set up."

    Since 9/11, family programs have become an even more essential Guard tool.

    "The problems that we're dealing with have become so much more complex," Baird said. "If you think back to Sept. 10, 2001, folks may have been dealing with minor issues, maybe some marital problems, maybe slight financial problems.

    "When you look at people now who are dealing with multiple deployments, you've got folks that are going into bankruptcy, people that are having a lot of financial problems, especially given the economy. But just the wear and tear it takes on the family to go through multiple deployments."

    "We need to have battle buddies, too."

    Neild will define success during this upcoming deployment as having events to support those left behind — and seeing everyone have the support they need. "That people would seek someone else out — it doesn't necessarily have to be me," she said. "Everyone needs someone. [Soldiers] have battle buddies in the field. We need to have battle buddies, too."

    Not all families want support. "More than the family members, there's a lot of Soldiers who don't want their family members involved," she said. "Sometimes, they don't want them to get the information from anyone but them. Some of the Soldiers didn't want to tell their wives that they were deploying for as long as possible, and I can understand that to some extent."

    Among improvements Neild would like to see: An annual opportunity to bring all the families together in one place for one night to socialize and bond.

    The National Guard Bureau has improvements in mind, too.

    "We would like to see a little bit more consistency from state-to-state," Sumrall said. "Some states have outstanding programs where there's a lot of volunteer training ... and, in some, they're just very weak. They either don't see the need for it or maybe the person that's in the position would be better suited for another job. ... We cannot dictate to them how they run their program. We can offer suggestions, but they don't have to take them."

    Like most of the National Guard's Citizen-Soldiers and -Airmen and their family members and friends, Neild juggles family, work, community commitments and her own contribution to the National Guard.

    "Time is a really valuable resource," she said. "Especially when you're under stress, time gets even more critical."

    But this once-reluctant volunteer is giving her time.

    "I am so thankful that I did it," she said. "I've gained a tremendous amount of respect [for the Guard] since becoming part of the FRG. A lot of that is from learning about the military and getting a sense of what they do. You have a fear of the unknown. Once you know it, it's not so scary anymore. ... I love knowing all the families. You know, I support them — but they support me just as much."

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 07.31.2009
    Date Posted: 08.03.2009 15:32
    Story ID: 37100
    Location: DEARBORN, US

    Web Views: 145
    Downloads: 127

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