FORT CAMPBELL, Ky- Soldiers from, 4th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, attended first Apache Newcomers Luncheon, May 23, 2012 at Fort Campbell, Ky.
The luncheon was organized as part of an effort to welcome new families to the unit.
"We wanted to have an opportunity to welcome the Families," said Lt. Col. Larry F. Dillard. "We do a newcomers brief once a month with the Soldiers-I do [physical training] with them….and talk about command philosophy and are training schedule. Sometimes the Spouses get left out of the reception, we thought it would be good to make sure that they felt like part of the team from the very beginning."
The battalion Family Readiness Advisor, Penny Henderson and Lt. Col. Dillard, greeted all new Apache Families who attended. The Families learned about resources available to them through their Family Readiness Group leaders and what to expect to be on their Soldier's training schedule. The event concluded with a potluck style luncheon.
"They had a lot of [pamphlets], books with numbers for things on post for things like doctors appointments, which is really helpful when you are new to here," said Samantha Hendrickson, the spouse of Pvt. Matthew Hendrickson, an imagery analyst from Company B, 4th Bde. Spt. Bn., 4th Bde., 101st Abn. Div.
"Really our desired out come was to meet new people and to feel like we are all part of a team," said Dillard.
With the venue filled nearly to its capacity, Soldiers and their Families enjoyed the opportunity to meet other Soldiers in their unit.
"It was really nice to meet the other Soldiers and to meet the people who are going to be helping my family when I am away during the deployment," said Pvt. Matthew Hendrickson, an imagery analyst from Co. B, 4th Bde. Spt. Bn., 4th Bde., 101st Abn. Div. , who attended the luncheon with his wife, Samantha and his son. "I think it is important for Soldiers and their Families to be comfortable with their units and to also understand what resources are available to them if needed."
"I would recommend attending to other new Families," said Samantha. "People were pretty friendly and it is always good to get to know the people around you and to get more info about the area."
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