The injury or death of a Soldier is a tragedy and when it occurs volunteers at Fort Riley will have a network of support and assistance available to the family members impacted. Several official organizations are designated to assist families including the Chaplains Office.
The Soldier's family is also given the option to receive support from the unit's care team. Care team support is not mandatory; however, if the family accepts this help, the commander or rear detachment commander during deployments, will assemble a team of three to six individuals who the family most likely would be comfortable with. These teams consist of pre-trained volunteers who provide specific support based on the family's needs and desires.
"The team provides short-term, usually no more than 48 to 72 hours of support," said Sonya Brown, outreach program coordinator for Army Community Service at Fort Riley. "The assistance is only intended to be until the arrival of the extended family."
Brown said although care team members are usually family members in the unit, they are not the Family Readiness Group. Leaders and volunteers of a unit's FRG should not be on the care team but will absolutely be asked to provide support to the family in other ways. Proactively speaking, and especially before a deployment, it would be ideal if commanders would have at least one roster of trained team members.
Army Community Service staff members provide official training on the roles, responsibilities and expectations of a care team member. Once an individual completes the training they still must be appointed by the commander to become an official care team member.
The purpose of the training is to prepare volunteers for the roles, responsibilities and expectations of a care team member," Brown said. "During the ACS training, the attendees receive specific guidance on the roles and tasks performed by a care team including, the roles of each support person. ACS provides support to them to ensure that they can perform their service to their maximum potential."
These roles typically include answering phone calls and taking messages, screening calls per the family's guidance, a meal support person to coordinate with the FRG and others. There may also be a need for childcare, transportation coordination and house sitting.
The care team may also provide assistance to visiting extended family members. A chaplain or other military person will usually be the lead at the house to interact with the family, but care team members are also trained to deal with events at the family's house and to have an awareness of the emotional, physical and behavioral reactions that may be displayed by a family member.
Brown said all functions of the care team training are important but one vital part of the training is the specific guidance regarding the casualty notification process. Care team members are not involved in the notification process and are only contacted after the extensive primary next of kin notification process has taken place and only if the family requests support.
Megan Krogman, wife of Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Krogman, 82nd Engineer Battalion, 1st Infantry Division, attended the most recent care team training class Nov. 5 at Army Community Service. She said the desire to help others was what solidified her decision to become certified as a care team member.
"I'm an Army brat and a military spouse," Krogman said. "I've been in the military for so long, it felt like I could really make a difference because of that."
She said what inspires her to continue volunteering within her husband's unit is "the satisfaction of knowing that you did something to help."
Brown said being a care team volunteer can be very demanding and stressful. Care team members must take care of themselves to ensure they can perform the requirements of assisting a family.
Brown said she advises all volunteers to consider how their schedule may affect their ability to step into the role quickly if notified. Because these events can expose an individual to many stressors, including being in a chaotic environment, long hours, compassion fatigue and their personal reaction to the incident, attendees are informed of self-care strategies to use to manage stress while performing their duties and after the incident.
Like all volunteers, care teams are a valuable asset to their units and the community, Brown said. The staff at ACS is here to provide support for them to ensure they can perform their service to their maximum potential.
To view the schedule and register for care team and other related training, visit www.riley.army.mil/Services/FamilyServices/ArmyCommunityService.aspx or call the ACS Outreach Program at 785-239-9435.
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