Agencies ease deployment pains

  • Published
  • By Capt. Gary Arasin
  • 347th Rescue Wing Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AFPN) --  With “my upcoming deployment” as the catch-phrase for most of Airmen, several organizations take extraordinary measures to ensure that not only the Airman is ready for deployment, but the families are as well.

Family support centers, chapel staffs and many other agencies manage day-to-day efforts of helping military people prepare for deployment. The Air Force learned as the number and length of deployments increased, care for the family and friends left behind topped people’s list of concerns.

The Integrated Delivery System program is designed to help agencies better coordinate the deployment process for Airmen. These agencies include base chapels, family advocacy, family member support flights, family support centers, health and wellness center and life skills support centers. The family support center here dedicates a single person for these efforts.

“Especially for a base like Moody with a high deployment rate, we simply try to take away one issue our people worry about as they deploy,” said Ann Lukens, family support center director.

People preparing for deployment should receive a family readiness and support information card and a readiness guide before departure. The family support center then does an individual assessment and tailors assistance to suit an individual or family’s needs.

The guide, which contains checklists for both single people and those with family members, explains challenges and issues associated with separations and deployments. The information and packaging of the guide was received so well here, it became the benchmark for other commands, Mrs. Lukens said.

When family support center officials collect the information cards from people, the information is added to a database used to help the agency care for those left behind. Besides an initial call to the family members once the Airman has left, the center uses the information in case of emergencies.

With the number of deployed and remotely assignment people at times topping more than 1,000 from here, taking care of families remains a challenge. The IDS organizations also have devised programs to help Airmen when they return.

The center also sponsors the Hearts Apart morale call program that allows family members to make a 15-minute phone call each week to the deployed Airman. Other programs include Give Parents a Break which allows for free childcare once a month during the deployment, and a program where family members can have work done on home heating and ventilation systems, electrical repair and minor automotive repair simply for the cost of supplies.

One of the biggest issues the agencies see are families without a completed family care plan to include wills, powers of attorney and guardian statements. The guardian statements become critical when single parents or both parents of military couples deploy.

“We had an instance where a child had to spend years in the care of the state because the parents didn’t have a statement prepared,” Mrs. Lukens said.

The chapel staff here has recently debuted seminars for singles and couples getting ready for upcoming deployments. The seminars are called a “common-sense theme approach to staying together while apart,” which is also the name of the new seminars designed to give people the opportunity to discuss challenges they will face before, during and after deployment and how others have endured separations.

“Programs helping people stay connected to loved ones have to start with keeping ones self together,” said Chaplain (Capt.) Daren Waters, a 347th Rescue Wing chaplain. “This means helping people stay connected to their personal, spiritual and Air Force core values.”

The staff also believes that preparation for Airmen deploying begins with other robust chapel programs. The chapel program serves as a proactive measure in preparing Airmen and their families for deployment including getting chaplains out to the duty sections so people recognize them outside normal mediums.

“Our Chapel Resource Institute at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., provided tools for us to share along with our staff’s personal deployment,” said Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Thomas Azar, a 347th RQW chaplain. “When we deploy we have experience from both sides of the front line, and together with other airmen, that greatly increase our awareness and preparation for war”.

Besides the stress from separation, deployments now raise issues because the environment Airmen see has changed from years past. As the military takes new approaches to combat and combat support, Airmen are assuming roles, such as convoy support, formerly reserved for ground forces. This makes the potential for participation in direct combat a reality for more people and with new roles come the challenges and stresses of the environment.

Life skills officials conduct mandatory annual pre-exposure briefings to raise awareness of the real-world Airmen may combat during a deployment. They also conduct briefings for leaders before deployment, said Capt. (Dr.) Philip Hatfield, officer-in-charge of the 347th Medical Operations Squadron’s life skills section and a clinical psychologist.

“We focus on common warning signs of combat stress and use historical case studies along with current research to help Airmen cope with the effects of combat,” Dr. Hatfield said. “It should enable the Airmen and their (leaders) to identify early warning signs.

A lesson learned and an issue Dr. Hatfield said people should understand is that they should not be afraid to seek help if things do not seem right when returning from a deployment. Many people believe there is a negative stigma that will follow them if they seek help from us, he said.

“Self-initiated visits are protected by patient confidentiality and typically can’t be released outside the patient and doctor,” he said.