TUCSON, Ariz. - Guard and Reserve members, much like their active duty counterparts, deploy routinely in service to their country. When they do, spouses remain to take care of the household. For reserve component families, that can be challenging since most don’t live near or have the same access to resources as large military communities.
The Army National Guard is well aware of these issues. “The Senior Enlisted and Spouses Reintegration Professional Development Workshop” held here July 12-16 focused on providing information on resources available to support Guard forces and their families.
Army National Guard Command Sgt. Maj. Richard Burch hosted the weeklong event. As advisor to the director of the Army National Guard, he concentrates on matters pertaining to policies and actions that affect enlisted Soldiers.
“My focus this year with the workshop is with the fatigue that the force is feeling because of multiple and extended deployments and shortened Army force generation cycles,” said Burch. “It’s kind of wearing on the force. When I got up to the National Guard Bureau, I noticed a few indicators that pointed me in the direction of focusing this workshop on Soldier, family services and comprehensive Soldier fitness.”
The command sergeant major explained his view on comprehensive Soldier fitness as a program that looks at the whole Soldier, taking into account physical fitness, mental agility, social and spiritual fitness.
Command sergeant majors, senior enlisted Soldiers and spouses from seven different regions attended the workshop to learn about a variety of topics that affect Soldiers. Aspects defined by the Soldier Family Support Services and Yellow Ribbon program were incorporated into daily training sessions.
The Yellow Ribbon program provides information, services, referrals and outreach programs to members of the National Guard and Reserve and their families through all phases of the deployment cycle.
Spouses attended separate training sessions throughout the week that included training on child and youth services, chaplain services, financial management and survivor service programs to name a few.
Debbie Van Pelt, spouse of New York’s Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Van Pelt, has attended similar workshops since 2002.
“The one thing that I appreciate most about coming to these types of training is I leave with new friends, new networks and am able to share information on programs with other spouses,” said Van Pelt.
For the spouses that work with or participate in Soldier Family Support programs, they are the eyes and ears for their community. Sharing information about programs in place or on the horizon can alleviate many potential stressors associated with deploying.
“We are not here to make them experts but to make them aware so that they can ask the right questions. They can go back and advise family members, unit leadership and fellow Soldiers on what the current or future programs are and how to access them,” said Burch.
Training sessions for Soldiers were divided by region. They attended training on suicide senior review groups, the enlisted promotion system automated board, spiritual fitness, social fitness-stigma, psychological first aid, caregiver/compassion fatigue, program integration and physical fitness.
“As a noncommissioned officer I have experienced the benefits of these workshops,” said Sgt. Nikolas Campbell, workshop coordinator. “Senior enlisted leaders and spouses do good things in the Guard community with this information.”
Building a healthy and productive work environment requires support from leaders and the Guard community at all levels. One aspect of the Soldier ethos is to never leave a fallen comrade. Command Sgt. Maj. Burch states that no fallen family members will be left either.
“I highly encourage anybody that feels the stresses of life and feels that they need to reach out, to do so,” he said. “Don’t hold yourself back. We expect a lot of our Soldiers. They work, train and go on deployments. As leaders we need be a part of solutions to help Soldiers and families have healthy lifestyles through comprehensive Soldier fitness, and inform them of the programs we have available.”