and Do... VIEW ORIGINAL
Orlando, Florida--"If the Army wanted you to have a family, they would have issued you one" is an old cliche. Today's Army leaders know when the soldier have strong family support, that soldier is a better soldier.
That cliche is not the sentiment of the 412th Theater Engineer Command (TEC) leadership. Recently, they held a Chain of Command Training (COCT) program for the 412th TEC's Army Reserve Family Programs in Orlando August 2 - 5.
More than 100 soldiers and family members attended the inaugural COCT. "Which consisted of 29 command teams," said Belinda Parker, 412th Theater Engineer (TEC) Family Program coordinator. She said the COCT was designed to help units, under the command of the 412th TEC, build a better and stronger family support system for the soldiers and their family members.
"Our goals are to better operate Family Programs (FP) at the company level." Said Maj. Gen. William Buckler, Jr., commander of the 412th TEC. "The company (level) is the bedrock of the (FP) program."
Parker said planning for the COCT started in January 2012. The three day training program offered workshops topics such as the Roles and Responsibility of the Command Team, Family Readiness Group (FRG), the Family's responsibility during Operation Security (OPSEC), Outreach and Communications of the Family Outreach Program, Reset/Train during the Deployment Phases, and Financing Your Family Readiness Programs.
"This training was not just for the soldiers," said Debra Looney, a United States Army Reserve (USAR) training specialist with the Army Reserve Family Program Directorate. She was one of the trainers for the COCT.
Staff Sgt. Cristian Contreras and wife, Tiffany, said the training was good. "We are excited about taking this back (to the unit) and putting it in place." Contreras is the Operations Sergeant with the 357th Engineering Company located in Asheville, N.C.
"The training was good. It had first class instructors that had a lot of insight information and knowledge. That was invaluable." Said Command Sgt. Maj. Ronald Flubacher, Command Sgt. Maj. of the 412th TEC. "Our goal is to monitor the programs in six months to see how they are going."
"If you do not take anything else from this training, take away that the Family Readiness Programs is the unit commander's responsibility and tool according to USAR Regulations 608-1," said Charlotte Douglas, USAR Family Program Training Manager.
Buckler said this training was just the beginning. He has plans to conduct COCT in March 2013 and in August or September 2013. The 412th TEC supervises all the Army Reserve Engineering units plus several Direct Reporting Units (DRUs), over 12,000 soldiers, east of the Mississippi River.
Social Sharing