Thirty enlisted couples of US. Africa Command and their families gathered in Garmisch for a three-day family program focused on strengthening marriages and their families.

The first ever Command Family Resiliency Program was held at the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort January 25-27, 2013. The program was a joint initiative hosted by the offices of the Command Senior Enlisted Advisor and Command Chaplain.

Command Senior Enlisted Leader, Chief Master Sergeant Jack Johnson Jr., said he was excited about the Family Resiliency Program for a number of reasons.  Firstly, hosting the program is an indication that the command is taking steps to promote the Total Force Fitness concept of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. 

"So, I am very excited that we are tied in very closely with the broader perspective," Johnson said.  

"Our folks work extremely hard; no questions about it," he said. "This program, organized with the intent to allow for better communications and strengthen bonds,  allows our members to come together in a relaxed setting to take an opportunity through various lessons to reflect on themselves, and as a whole, to reflect on their marriage and families."

Johnson said despite the command's significant mission in Africa, AFRICOM's leadership also has a mission to take care of its team.  "We realized that the most important thing is taking care of yourself and the next thing is taking care of your family. And when those two are in complete accord and are both happy, we know the mission will always be successful and taken care of," Johnson said.

“The Command Chief and I, as we watch our headquarters personnel work hard in response to a variety of operational requirements, are indeed concerned about the care of our people," said Chaplain (Air Force Colonel) Jerry Lewis, command chaplain.  "This Command Family Resiliency Program enables us to focus on our warriors' marriages as well as their families, which provide the foundation of strength for our command.  I hope and pray that this program re-ignites their love and passion toward each other, as it is designed to provide ample time for our couples to dialogue, encourage one another, and simply have time for one another.  As we know having time for one another is one of the constant challenges for our military couples and families." 

Chaplain Lewis described the event as unique because it is the first in the history of the command. 

"This program is open to Air Force, Marines, Army and Navy," he said.  "It was wonderful to see our enlisted senior leaders from different ranks, from all directorates of our headquarters, and their spouses dialoguing, talking and sharing stories."

According to Chaplain Lewis the program is not designed to be a religious program.

"As the Command Chaplain and the Command Chief's office focus on the warriors, we can't look at a warrior without recognizing the importance of their marriage and family," said the chaplain.  "We are utilizing a program that is faith-neutral. There are no religious expectations; there is no worship requirement; there are no Bible studies designed for the weekend.  This is not an effort to look at who they are as spiritual and religious beings, but to look at who they are as human beings connected to the headquarters who are married, have families, and desire to focus on their relationship to strengthen their family. This weekend is about resiliency, it is about warrior care." 

The program's teachings focused on building and maintaining health, readiness, and resilience with a holistic approach towards mind, body, spirit, and family and social relationships.  The program’s simple format centers around the traditional marriage vows and provides ample time for couple and family interaction, with limited joint classroom attendance.

The US Africa Command Family Resiliency Program is designed for two events, one for the enlisted member’s families and the second one for our officer’s families, which will be held April 5-7, 2013.  This first opportunity was open to our enlisted personnel because, according to the chapel leadership, the enlisted force is the strength of our joint military community.

"As a sergeant major, I always think the enlisted is the backbone of the Army, so in order for our mission to be effective and successful, we have to build from the ground," said Sergeant Major Elbert Jackson, Command Chaplain Senior Enlisted Advisor. "The enlisted are the majority of the force; they are the ones with the bulk of the mission.  If they are happy with their home lives; if their families are well taken care of; if they have a good overall environment at home, they will be more mission focused."

U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant Eddie Barringer, an attendee and a counter intelligence analyst with AFRICOM J2, said, "If we know that things are going well at home, and we have that support from home, then we can absolutely perform better at work because we are not worrying about what is going on at home."

During the program, the couples focused on attending classroom sessions, while childcare was provided by the Edelweiss Child Development Center at no cost to the members.

Sergeant First Class Francis Pache, assigned with 52nd Signal Battalion but attached to US AFRICOM, and his wife, Heather, have been married for 20 years and have been on several relationships-building seminars, but they both agreed that this one was exceptionally organized with the members in mind. 

The event schedule accommodated a lot of time for the couples to focus simply on themselves.
Pache described the program as building "good camaraderie" between the couples.

"This type of event gives the Soldier (service member) definitive time," said Pache.  "These three days, we are able to associate with one another, have some free and family time."

According to his wife, it showed her that the military prioritizes family relationships.  "If they are willing to give us this weekend and put this much effort into it, it tells us (the spouses) this is a priority, and it tells the Soldiers that this is a priority," Heather said.

Throughout the week, the couples had the opportunity to discuss, in a non-attribution environment, such critical issues as forgiveness, the differences between male and female partners, the types of challenges confronting couples while trying to maintain healthy relationships, and how to work more on loving and cherishing one another.

Some of the couples that attended the program brought a wealth of experience to share, while some others, who are young couples, had the opportunity to learn from various topics discussed.

At the completion of the weekend program, the impact was so profound that many couples attending the seminar choose to renew their vows and commit themselves to a life-long, loving marriage.

Some of the participants said one of the take-aways was the understanding that there are no perfect marriages.  Others described it as a relationships enhancement program.  They all deemed the program as successful and said they would do it over gain and encourage other couples to sign up.

At the end of the third-day, Chief Johnson expressed his belief that the weekend was worth the investment and was very profitable for all who participated.    
 

"Every Airman, Soldier, Sailor, Marine and Coastguardsman is a leader and doesn’t matter what rank," said Chief Johnson.  "The better and stronger we can make that member, spouse and family, is the better educated they can be as leaders to help other families. The investment is profound when you think about it. What they have learned, they pass it on to someone else. You can't calculate that in cost, on how it affects families and how those families affect our force and make us stronger; it's incalculable. So, we are making stronger families and stronger leaders that will permeate our command, which will in fact permeate our services; that is the investment. "