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The Army examines programs for military Families 091013
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PHOTO CAPTION: The 600-plus crowd of Soldiers, Family members and guests, along with about 500 Family Readiness Group leaders from across the Army filled one of the large meeting rooms at this year’s AUSA meeting and exposition at the Washington Convention Center. (Photo by Rob McIlvaine, FMWRC Public Affairs.)
The Army examines programs for military Families 091013
By Rob McIlvaine
FMWRC Public Affairs
WASHINGTON, DC – “Never before have we asked our Families to do so much,” Brig. Gen. Reuben Jones, FMWRC commanding general told more than 600 Family members, Soldiers and guests at the AUSA 2009 Meeting and Exposition.
The second and third days of the AUSA Family Forum series brought Army and civilian leaders together to examine the progress of its existing programs, such as Comprehensive Soldier Fitness, benefits through the Veterans Affairs, outreach to veterans of OIE and OEF, Franklin Covey’s Power pilot program and the Military Child and Adolescent Center of Excellence.
Community partners who embrace Soldiers and their Families presented briefings about their programs, as well. These included Project Home Front, Operation Give a Hug, Azalea Charities and INOVA
“Our Families are showing stress,” Jones said. “We know the strength of our Soldiers comes from the strength of our Families, as Gen. Wickham so eloquently said.”
Retired Gen. John A. Wickham Jr., former Army Chief of Staff and former Secretary of the Army John Marsh signed the white paper "The Army Family" on Aug. 15, 1983 because they wanted to increase funding and oversight of programs like child development centers, family counseling and suicide prevention.
“Yesterday, Secretary of the Army John McHugh, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., and Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth O. Preston reaffirmed the Army’s promise to Soldiers and Families by signing the Army Family Covenant – to build resilience in our Soldiers and Families,” Jones said. “Your Army is working to relieve your stress.”
Brig. Gen. Colleen McGuire, director of the Army’s suicide prevention task force, reported on what she called an unfortunate trend — the steady increase in the rate of Army suicides.
The Army has identified a long list of factors that increase the risk of suicide, including: infidelity, alcohol abuse, high-risk driving, multiple drug offenses, use of opiates, sleep deprivation, erratic behavior, compressed dwell times between deployments and undiagnosed PTSD.
“We have the programs, we have relationship counseling, we have drug testing, but we’ve been heavy on the treatment and not on how to deal with the stress,” McGuire said.
McGuire said the Army continues to examine its counseling, drug testing and medical treatment programs to see if they are effective at mitigating those risks and addressing the needs of today’s Soldiers.
Brig. Gen. Rhonda Cornum directs Comprehensive Soldier Fitness (CSF), the Army’s new effort to ensure its Soldiers, Families and DoD civilians are strong mentally, as well as physically. The motto is Strong Minds, Strong Bodies.
“We all know how to perform CPR, the method to revive someone after they suffer a heart attack,” Cornum said. “It’s better, though, if we can prevent that heart attack through exercise and diet and medication. In CSF, that’s what we are doing for behavioral health.
“People enter the service with a wide variety of mental strengths, but we can make them better through good training and good risk preventive maintenance,” Cornum said.
Cornum said this training is most needed by the Army’s recent influx of very young Soldiers who face the complex array of stressors inherent to warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan. These young Soldiers, who enter the Army with varying degrees of mental preparedness, are often asked to accomplish offensive, defensive, stability and civilian support tasks within a very short period of time.
CSF will be available for the entire force beginning this month, and will be available in January 2010 for Families and in March for DoD civilians. The comprehensive effort has four components: an online self-assessment tool, online self-development tools guided by the assessment, resilience training and master resilience training.
But the big issue, said Family Readiness Group (FRG) leaders, was the stigma involved with any behavioral health program.
“There will be no stigma associated with going through CSF training because everyone will have to enter the program which will accompany them throughout their career,” Cornum said.
The Army is also building many partnerships with civilian corporations to make sure services are available for Soldiers and their Families.
Mike Carr, management and program analyst from the Veterans Benefits Administration, explained its five groups of programs: compensation and pension, education and loan guaranty, insurance, vocational rehabilitation and employment.
Some of these benefits and services are available for Active duty Soldiers after they have served for 90 days or 180 days prior to separation and pre-discharge.
Jennifer Perez, acting chief consultant of the office of patient care services, outlined the nationwide VA network of hospitals, vet centers and outpatient clinics, as well as the special programs for OEF (Operation Enduring Freedom) and OIF (Operation Iraqi Freedom) vets, caregivers and Families and the liaison program aimed at coordinating healthcare between the military and the VA.
One unique private-public partnership that serves Family members is the Fisher House program, which serves over 100,000 Families annually for free so they can be in a home away from home and be close to a loved one during the hospitalization for an unexpected illness, disease or injury.
Alfonso R. Batres, chief officer of the readjustment counseling service at the Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Center program, described the confidential counseling services available for veterans and their Families at vet centers and provided contact info: www.vetcenter.va.gov or 866-644-5371.
“Vet Centers began in 1979 to serve Vietnam vets but now we’re at the forefront of research into PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder),” Batres said. “Usually, though, it’s not the vet who comes in by himself, he’s brought in by a Family member because they’re the first ones to see the changes.”
Vet Centers provide readjustment counseling and outreach services to all veterans who served in any combat zone. Services are also available for their Family members for military-related issues. Veterans have earned these benefits through their service and all are provided at no cost to the veteran or Family.
The 232 community-based Vet Centers are located in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
Preventing caregiver burnout was the subject discussed by Wayne Boswell and Shawn Moon of Franklin Covey. Providing Outreach While Enhancing Readiness (POWER) is a new program for chaplains, teachers, medical providers and others who support Soldiers experiencing compassion fatigue.
“The needs of caregivers are not addressed enough,” Boswell, who leads the Compassion fatigue program, said. “They are burned out and struggling with the new norm and they’re asking for helps. Who in here has scheduled time for themselves?”
About half of the more than 600-member audience raised their hands.
“You’re lying,” Boswell said. “But we’re here to help by training the trainers, assessing the baseline of individuals and implementing a method to build resilience.”
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