18th MP Bde. FRG leaders sharpen skills

Establishing esprit de corps, providing support to military families and promoting a positive outlook are just a few reasons why family readiness groups are critical to Soldiers, families and military organizations.

Members of family readiness groups from around the 18th Military Police Brigade held a forum May 22 and 23 in several locations in the KMC to talk about day-to-day issues they face as FRG leaders.

“The forum was held to bring all the FRG leaders together to share experiences and give a wider range of ideas,” said Katrina Sieber, 709th MP Battalion’s family readiness support assistant.

 The forum was also an introduction to new leaders, who discussed topics such as command sponsorship, fundraising and recruiting new volunteers.

“FRG leaders brought examples of the different packets to help out new spouses and website addresses to send incoming Soldiers before permanent change of station,” Sieber said.

Additionally, during the forum the FRG members had the opportunity to take a tour of Landstuhl Regional Medical Center and the Ramstein Passenger Terminal and even tackled obstacles at a local high ropes course.

“The ropes course was amazing,” said Sandy Gurney, the 615th MP Company FRG leader.

“Everybody got out there and had a great time. Everyone came together and encouraged each other,” said Janine Smith, the 95th MP Bn., FRSA.
But Gurney said the tours were also great.

“I learned a great deal at the passenger terminal,” she said. “Learning how things work and each process will help tremendously when giving information to new spouses.”

FRGs foster resilient families while providing accurate command information and continuously discovers ways to effectively use community resources.

Promoting confidence, helping families cope with deployments and a great support network for families is an imperative feature of a great FRG program.

“The FRG is a critical asset in a unit, as they keep Soldiers and family members informed during peacetime and crisis situations,” said Jonathan Doyle, the deputy commander of the 18th MP Bde. “Having a strong FRG with a dynamic leader
who ties in to the company commander and senior enlisted adviser is critical to a fully functioning organization.”