FORT BRAGG, N.C. - “It is your connection to your paratrooper, his work and unit,” said Sara Loveless. “It is the best thing about my Army life; because this is unlike any other job - it is truly a lifestyle.”
Loveless, from Rochester, N.Y., is a Family Readiness Group volunteer with A Company, 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82ndAirborne Division, and the wife of Sgt. Brandon Loveless.
The 2BCT honored the volunteers and key leaders of the Brigade’s FRGs on March 20 at McKellar’s Lodge on Fort Bragg. The Brigade recognized the volunteers who went above and beyond to make their FRGs a success during the 2BCTs deployment to Operation New Dawn, and presented each of them with a certificate of appreciation a specially commissioned print.
The FRG is a community of volunteers that provides support to paratroopers and their family members. They support the unit by helping to take care of the paratroopers’ families. The FRG and the volunteers who lead them explain unit training and deployment schedules to new military spouses, hold social events for spouses and children, while also coming together to send care packages to their deployed paratroopers.
“We bridge the gap between the command and the families,” said Loveless. The volunteers help pass down important information from the command team to family members, especially those who are new to the Army.
Loveless said the paratroopers have less stress and are able to concentrate on their mission knowing their families are being taken care of, no matter what the issue is.
“They make us stronger, more capable of achieving our wartime mission and goals and this could not be done without the volunteers of the FRG,” said Col. Tim McAteer, commander of the 2BCT. He added that the FRG has a great impact on the “morale, well-being and readiness of the Brigade.”
“I would have been lost without the FRG,” said Amor Fanelli, from Santa Barbara, Calif., an FRG volunteer for A Company, 2nd Battalion, 325th AIR, and wife of Pfc. Gabriel Fanelli. She said it was hard being pregnant and taking care of another child all while moving from California to Fort Bragg. Fanelli expressed how stressful the move was, knowing that her husband was getting deployed to Iraq shortly after arriving. Amor left a familiar environment and moved knowing that she was going to be alone for an undetermined amount of time, and felt very lost in a strange city. Without any friends or family close by she was very grateful to be part of the FRG.
“It was a big relief when I was deployed, knowing that my wife had the FRG,” said Pfc. Fanelli. “Knowing that she was pregnant and could call someone in the FRG to get help or find information out was great. It helped me stay focused on my mission.” Pfc. Fanelli said, “This being our first deployment, I can only imagine how stressful it would have been without the FRG to help.”
The impact of volunteers can improve the “esprit de corps” within the unit, and increase the resiliency of paratroopers and their families. Many wives commented on the effects that the FRG has on their paratrooper, deployed and in garrison.
“Being in the FRG for awhile now, I have seen the positive effects on the paratroopers,” said Linda Hernandez, an FRG volunteer with Headquarters Company, 2BCT from Henryville, Pa., wife of Staff Sgt. John Hernandez. “The volunteers of the FRG spend a great deal of time on events and fundraisers, and it was nice to be appreciated with this ceremony.”