Editor's Note: The following story begins an Alaska Post series on predeployment preparations. While many units on post are preparing for upcoming deployments, this story takes readers inside one battalion's detailed plan to ensure strong and ready families meet the deployment challenge with confidence. Next week's issue will feature Fort Wainwright's predeployment resources available to Soldiers and families.
FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska - November is Military Family Appreciation Month throughout the Army, Defense Department and nation and this year's theme - "Army families - We honor your faithful commitment, strength and resilience" - has struck a chord with many leaders throughout the Army.
"Never before in the history of our Army have we asked so much of our families," said Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., Chief of Staff of the Army. "They are serving side-by-side with our Soldiers, enduring their hardships, providing the unconditional love and support that truly makes our Army strong."
Deployments have become a standard part of life for many Soldiers and in addition to celebrating families this month, Wainwright leaders are embracing family readiness and predeployment training and resources as one of the best ways to show appreciation for military families, giving them the tools they need to not just survive a deployment, but to thrive.
"For me, families are the most important thing," said Lt. Col. Brian Payne, commander, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division. "This is not just a unit, it's a family. I've been deployed for a large portion of my career. We've seen a lot of stuff. We've seen when (the family readiness group) is working really well and we've seen when it doesn't work so well. Our desire is to make things as smooth as possible so that when things go well they go really well and if for some reason they go bad we've set the conditions to be able to at least mitigate or help that person who has gotten bad news or had something bad happen to them."
Preparing for a possible 1-25th SBCT deployment sometime next spring, Payne said that staying true to what an FRG is designed to do is crucial to ensuring success for Soldiers and families.
"If we maintain our focus on what it is we're supposed to do - that is to provide accurate, timely information and access to resources when the family needs them - then we're not going to go wrong and people aren't going to feel their experience in an FRG was negative," he explained. "If we stick to these priorities then many of the negative things you've heard about happening in an FRG are less likely to happen."
Planning and approaching family readiness as an integral part of the battalion's mission and training cycle this quarter are also part of his plan. "It is my number one priority," he said. "The FRG and family readiness is the overarching theme for the entire quarter."
Soldiers and families from 1-5th gathered for a battalion-level FRG meeting last month. Payne provided key information about important dates, leave, training schedules and sought to connect with his Soldiers families.
"A deployment involves all of us and can be stressful on families," he said. "We've got to be sure our families are ready for that."
Shelly Hansen, 1-5th family readiness support assistant, said that it is important for Soldiers and families in the battalion to know who their commander is and what his priorities are for preparing both Soldiers and families for a deployment.
"I want families to know the commander and the passion that he has for all families, single Soldiers and the battalion itself," she said. "To hear him speak to the Soldiers and mean what he says is very moving. It's important because all the families of deployed Soldiers are in the same boat as far as sending their Soldiers away for a year. We want the family units back home to be safe and sound just as we want the Soldiers who are away from us to be the same."
During the initial battalion meeting, Soldiers and families received "legacy books" which allowed them to work through difficult issues surrounding serious injury or death. Details like next-of-kin data and Soldiers' personal requests in planning funeral, burial or other details are difficult to talk about, but an important piece of insurance for Soldiers and families, Payne said.
Comparing the booklets to automobile insurance, he said that most Soldiers and families do not think a catastrophic event will happen to them, but they should be prepared anyway. "If you're going to deploy to a combat zone, have insurance," he said. "Prepare yourself for it. You might not need it, but at least have the confidence to know that you have worked through the issues and have not left it for others to have to make those decisions at the worst possible time."
Legacy books, FRGs and family readiness are not just for married Soldiers either, said Katie Payne, the commander's wife and senior battalion FRG advisor. "We encourage (single Soldiers) to talk with their parents or primary next of kin," she said. "Our goal is to have each company have a key point of contact for single Soldier families. The key there is to get single Soldiers to give us the information for their parents and who they want us to contact because if someone calls us and asks us unless the Soldier has said he would like us to give them the information then we can't do that."
Although it can often seem that everyone in today's Army has experienced deployment, the Payne's said that the reality in 1-5th suggests a different story.
"I think that there is a misconception that there is a majority who have gone through many deployments at this point, but we have a huge number of families and single Soldiers who are coming into the battalion and this will be there first deployment," Katie Payne said. "We can't overlook these families who don't have a lot of experience going through this. It's important that we help them by building strong and ready families and that takes time. You can't rush it and do (all this) the two weeks prior to leaving and expect families to be ready for what's coming. So it takes time to prepare them and get them the resources so they can be strong and ready."
The battalion has planned several events to work toward their readiness goals and equip families.
Key leaders and FRG volunteers and their families participated in a resiliency training offsite last week. "One of the things we need to do is to prepare ourselves for the deployment as leaders with the idea that just like they tell you on the plane, you have to put the oxygen mask on yourself first before you can help anyone else," Brian Payne said. "We need to get ourselves prepared for what we know is going to be a turbulent period of time - those last 90 days before deployment and first 90 days of deployment - so we're going to work through what are the issues we anticipate happening and what's our response so when it happens we're prepared for it versus trying to react. We're trying to be proactive in anticipating the needs of our Soldiers and their families versus being surprised."
The battalion's Soldier and family readiness schedule between now and December block leave includes a Soldier readiness program event and full-scale predeployment briefing featuring on-post agencies and representatives from legal, Army Community Service, finance and many others who can help Soldiers and families before and during a deployment. Soldiers will also be required to turn in their legacy books - signed by their spouses, too, if they are married - prior to signing out on block leave in December.
"They'll have everything they need to be ready to deploy before they go on block leave at Christmas," Brian Payne said. "The goal is for them to be able to enjoy their block leave knowing everything is taken care of."
They will also have at least two more battalion-level FRG meetings in the spring, he said.
In addition, Katie Payne said they are making other resources available to their families like a customizable family deployment book designed to aid families in providing key information on everything from childcare issues to pet care, car maintenance and important documents.
"This is designed to be as detailed as they want it to be," she said. "It's just a resource to help them should a need arise."
It is all about preparation, she said.
"As military spouses we all joke that once our Soldier leaves everything falls apart," she said.
"The washing machine breaks and the car has a flat tire and all of these things happen as soon as the Soldier leaves. So if we know that's the case, then before they leave if we can at least be prepared with information and resources then if those things do happen it won't rattle us as much and we can be strong and ready versus being blindsided."
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