SCHWEINFURT, Germany - The U.S. Army Garrison Schweinfurt Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers program is alive and well.
Even though deployments traditionally tend to cut into the number of Soldiers who participate, said Silvia Joiner, BOSS program coordinator, the program does not stop.
"[Y]ou will also have people back here who are in need of the same kind of services that BOSS offers," said Joiner, who has run the Schweinfurt program through several deployments, from Bosnia and Kosovo to Iraq and Afghanistan.
"It's very important to keep the program alive and keep it going while the guys are downrange," she said.
Installation leadership agrees.
"It's more important now, because we've got to target those Soldiers who are not deploying," said USAG Schweinfurt Command Sgt. Maj. Ernest Lee, who promotes the program each week at the community newcomers' briefings.
"BOSS is a great program for single Soldiers," Lee said, adding that the program and trips are open to married Soldiers as well when space permits.
Over the next several months, BOSS has a number of trips planned, in addition to regularly scheduled meetings, according to Joiner, with an eye on increasing participation to ensure the program thrives.
"We have a lot more people left on this post than we've had before," when a unit deploys, Joiner said, pointing to the 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, the 15th
Engineer Battalion, and units scheduled to activate or relocate in Schweinfurt over the next several months.
Still, she and Lee keep their eyes on the Soldiers from the 172nd Infantry Brigade
(Separate) who recently deployed to Iraq.
"We've got to work double-hard to keep it alive and going in order to take care of everyone when they come back, as well as the people who are here," Joiner said.
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