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Family
Readiness Groups
by guest editor, Katherine Tiberghien
Family
Readiness Groups are a Commanders program to keep family members in
the loop of informational readiness. Although the name may tend to
lend itself as being just for Family Members, it is for the ENTIRE
unit, to include single Soldiers.
During
deployments, many FRGs come together to do craft like things to send
to their Soldiers overseas. For instance, my FRG just had a night to
make Valentine's Day cards for the Soldiers. They provided all the
materials, all we had to do was bring the creativity.
Unfortunately,
when I asked "Are we making cards for the Single Soldiers?"
I was told, "NO."
NO?
Why not?
Single
Soldiers are an important part of the FRG, and should be included in
all functions. You do not know if those Soldiers are getting anything
from anyone. Sure, we would like to believe that their parents and
friends are sending them things, but the truth is, some do not have
supportive parents. Sending them a card from the FRG may be worth more
to them than anything else, because it shows that you CARE.
When
married Soldiers return from deployments, they go back to their homes,
which have food in the kitchen, sheets on the bed, and all the other
"nice" things in a home. When Single Soldiers come back,
they go to a barracks room with 4 empty blank white walls, no sheets,
no food, no shower curtains, NOTHING. They do not get their belongings
out of storage for at least 2 to 3 weeks. Wouldn't be nice if the FRG
could do SOMETHING for these Soldiers? Even if it is just getting
government bedding and making the beds, providing some snack food and
a shower curtain, is better than NOTHING. These Soldiers will
appreciate the effort you put into THEM, and in return, will support
your FRG in ways you thought were not possible.
In
this high deployment stage of military life, let us not forget our
Single Soldiers. They make up 47 percent of the Army, and deserve our
respect and gratitude as well. It should be our responsibility, and
our PLEASURE, to do something for these Soldiers, who have sacrificed
just as much as our Married Soldiers.
Katherine
Tiberghien
SGT,
USA
RELATED ARTICLES: To Join or Not To Join the FRG Find out about what to expect with your unit's FRG or Family Readiness Group.
Family Readiness Group Myths (originally appeared on my blog) Heard horror stories about the FRG? The bad rap may not be deserved. Read about some of the most common misconceptions.
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