Family readiness officers keep families informed, educated

Photo By Cpl. Khoa Pelczar | Sgt. Christopher A. Latimer, 27, from Plymouth, Conn., a vehicle recovery operator with Support Company, 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, enjoys a few moments with his family before deploying to Afghanistan with his unit. Marines with 6th and 7th ESBs said goodbye to their families before leaving Camp Pendleton, Calif., Nov. 4. Service members' families can keep in contact with their family readiness officer for a variety of family resourses. The role of a FRO is to inform and educate service members families through the deployment cycles and give them the tools to cope when their loved ones are away.  

UNITED STATES

11.10.2009

Story by Cpl. Robert Medina 

1st Marine Logistics Group

As Marines and sailors deploy overseas, their families back home patiently wait for their safe return to the states. But who is back home keeping spouses and parents informed and active throughout a deployment? Family readiness officers within each unit of 1st Marine Logistics Group are trusted to do just that—inform and educate service members' families through the deployment cycles and give them the tools to cope when their loved ones are away.

"What the family readiness officer does is provide a multitude of services for the families," said Master Sgt. Alan Reid, family readiness officer, 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st MLG. "One of the biggest things that we do is provide a lot of information and referral services for the Marines and their families."

Reid, from Cleveland, said FROs are a source of information and show the families all the things that are available to them. He said they are that one stop shop for Marines and their families to access all pertinent information and give it to the appropriate people who need it.

"Family readiness is really preparing the families for deployment and to deal with the military lifestyle. All branches of service have a family readiness officer," said Marianne Espinoza, family readiness coordinator for 1st MLG. "The FRO is there to help that family become empowered with information, knowledge and education."

Espinoza, from Tucson, Ariz., explained that family members can come to the FROs for help with everyday situations like employment referrals, schooling and much more. They can give all the tools needed to be successful, empowering families to educate themselves and be more understanding of the military lifestyle. One unit that has recently deployed Marines is 7th Engineer Support Battalion.

"A lot of our Marines within 7th ESB are deploying or have already deployed, so simple things that we can provide the families will help out, like where the Marines are going to be or what types of things they are allowed to send through the mail, will benefit them on how they can participate during the deployment," said Reid.

The best way for families to become involved is volunteering at various social events throughout the deployment, said Reid.

Reid said 7th ESB is having different events working with family team building, a program geared towards building family readiness by providing educational resources through Marine Corps Community Services. There are several different workshops available for the spouses and children.

"We want to have a lot of different events and activities for the families to come to and meet with each other. They should understand that they are not alone and the only one going through this process and they could bond," said Reid.

Both Espinoza and Reid agreed that volunteering to help out the FROs is one of the best ways to stay involved. Bringing in cookies to events, helping set up or clean up are just a few ideas families or spouses can do to help.

"We do have a population of parents that are in the area and like to volunteer," said Espinoza. "There is a program for the parents called Lifestyles, Insights, Networking, Knowledge and Skills, a program for parents, teens, children and spouses to help overcome the challenges of the military lifestyle, and that is through Marine Corps Family Team Building."

Espinoza said it is a learning process going through deployment, much more than just the six or seven months of separation. It starts well before the deployment and ends well after, so communication is a must.

Communication is the key to a successful deployment for families and there are many ways to communicate. Both deployed service members and awaiting loved ones can e-mail, mail a package and even call home if the capability is there, said Espinoza.

"The most frustrating thing for a spouse is they can't just pick up a phone and call when they want to," said Espinoza. "Now with social networking sites that the unit has, the families can better see what the units are doing. It's just another way of communicating."

Espinoza said when waiting family members have those feelings of wanting to talk to their spouse, start writing down some of those feelings that they might have on an e-mail or letter and don't hold back anything. This will help release any anxiety one might have. They are only limited to their imagination on how you can communicate with each other.

"Be strong, do things for yourself, get with other families who are going through the same thing, volunteer to go to school, set goals for yourselves and have your own identity," said Espinoza. "This will benefit both sides during the deployment."

For more information on the many services available to spouses, parents and families, visit: http://www.mccscp.com/home/FamilyServices/Family_Team_Building.aspx

[Editor's note: This is Part 6 of a 9-part series detailing the issues Brig. Gen. Charles Hudson wants to address to the Marines and sailors of 1st MLG, including preparation for deployment, motorcycle safety, NCO leadership, suicide prevention, equipment accountability, family readiness, equal opportunity, and peer-to-peer review boards.]

• Date Taken: 11.10.2009
• Date Posted: 11.25.2009 12:27
• Story ID: 42009
• Location: US