As the departure date for the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (BAT ARG) approaches, they are getting assistance from many organizations to ensure the sailors, Marines and their families are operationally ready for deployment.
To support pre-deployment requirements, the Navy Legal Service Office at Naval Station Norfolk provided assistance with Powers of Attorney on USS Bataan (LHD 5) March 16. Norfolk’s Fleet and Family Support Center (FFSC) and Navy Marine Corps Relief Society (NMCRS) provided pre-deployment briefs on Bataan March 14-15, USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19) March 16 and Jan. 12-14 on USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41).
“Our briefs are open to sailors, Marines and their family members, and we discuss all of the programs that are offered by NMCRS and we talk about how we can help families while their active duty service member is deployed,” said Joe Schnurbusch, NMCRS Norfolk’s shipboard program coordinator.
The deployment readiness briefs provide the service member and their family with practical ideas for getting families prepared, emotionally and practically, to support the service members’ deployment.
“Our ‘deployment readiness briefs’ discuss financial planning, communication and coping skills and strategies for both married and unmarried service members and their families. Parents and siblings are affected by deployments as well. Additionally, we provide information to help families understand how their children may react to a parent deploying,” said Darryl Anthony, FFSC’s work and family life consultant and deployment support specialist.
The Navy Exchange long-term parking program has been assisting service members with storing their vehicles during the deployment as well.
“We do what we can to help them out because not everyone on the ship has a place to store their car during the deployment,” said Bill Waite, long-term parking supervisor for the Navy Exchange. “This is one item of concern they don’t have to worry about because we’ll take care of their car and they’ll be able to drive it off the lot when they return.”
All of FFSC’s programs are geared toward supporting the service member and their families through any transition or deployment demand placed on them. Personal and financial counseling play a vital role in the successful pre-deployment and deployment readiness planning for families.
“The resources we discuss may be just what the family needs to make it through a difficult event during the deployment,” said Anthony. “Many of our younger families have never had to adapt to maintaining a relationship from a distance, so the strategies we discuss provide answers to the questions that they are facing. Many families will be missing the presence of one of the parents, ‘How will my children react and what resources are available if my child has difficulties?’ are common questions from the parent left at home. We are able to address issues like that during our brief to help families adjust to the changes they will be experiencing.”
From finances to communication, the organizations are happy to lend a hand and the Sailors, Marines and their families are grateful for the overwhelming support.
"The amount of work required to set our Sailors up for success on a surge deployment could never be accomplished without the Navy's amazing support system," said CMDCM (SW/AW) Brian Collier, Bataan's command master chief. "Since we received the order to deploy, not a day has gone by without a phone call from one of a dozen different agencies asking ‘how can we help’.”
The BAT ARG is made up of the following units; Commander, Amphibious Squadron 6, the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan, the amphibious transport dock ship USS Mesa Verde and the dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island.