YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea - To view and treat marriage as a sacred art was the main message taught to the couples who participated in the Strong Bond Marriage Retreat held at the scenic Dragon Hill Lodge on Yongsan Garrison May 12 - 14.
"Just like any art, the art of marriage requires patience and hard work to master," said Chaplain Capt. Joshua Ade, chief instructor of the retreat, to the couples sitting in the classroom.
The couples, all senior leaders and their spouses from the 6th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Battalion, 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade gained a new appreciation for their significant others as they went through counseling workshops focusing on positive communication and even ways to "argue" meaningfully and constructively.
"The intent behind the seminar is to give couples time off from work, spend quality time with each other, reexamine their relationship and hopefully learn something about their marriage," said Chaplain Maj. Daniel Husak, the Family Life Chaplain of Yongsan Garrison, and the guest speaker during the retreat.
The 3-day retreat retraces the common phases of love with topics such as "love happens," "love fades," "love interrupts," and finally "love always."
Husak said, "I really want to utilize this seminar as a way to open the eyes of the couples so they can refocus their attention on their significant others."
Under the topic of "love interrupts," couples learned tips on how to argue meaningfully without hurting their loved ones by avoiding unnecessarily harsh words.
"As opposed to asking the question why he or she [your spouse] does not make me happy anymore, you ought to be asking yourself what you have done lately to make him or her happy," said Husak.
Ade shared a similar sentiment, "You must learn to speak your spouse's language ... language not in its literal sense but an interpretation of his or her feelings that one can only learn through conscious efforts and time spent in togetherness."
Master Sgt. Kenneth Martin, the battalion S-2 noncommissioned officer in charge, and his spouse of over 25 years, said that one lesson they have learned during the retreat is that they "must start paying attention to the small gestures that they have taken for granted after spending so many years together."
The Iron Horse Battalion conducts bi-monthly marriage retreats for Soldiers and spouses stationed here in Korea but what separated this month's retreat from others was the intended audience.
"Through this retreat, we want to reiterate the importance of building the spiritual wellness for not only our Soldiers and their families but even more significantly, our senior leaders and their families, who bore the majority of the stress of our current operation tempo," said Lt. Col. William E. Darne, commander of 6-52nd Air Defense Artillery Battalion, who attended the retreat with his wife Christina.
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