Supporting Soldiers and families

Lynn Heirakuji, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for personnel oversight, toured Bamberg facilities and met with 16th Sustainment Brigade leaders and Soldiers March 13.

Heirakuji met with sustainment leaders and Soldiers to hear issues and concerns from units deploying from Europe to Iraq or Afghanistan. The 16th SB has already begun deploying its units to northern Iraq for a 15-month tour.

***image1***“The purpose of this visit here to USAREUR (U.S. Army, Europe and 7th Army) is to give Dr. Heirakuji an overall picture of how USAREUR Soldiers deploy and how we best can support their families,” said Maj. Dina S. Wandler, assistant deputy for education policy. “Dr. Heirakuji is here for the long haul, and she’s here to support families and improve the quality of life for Soldiers and their families, whether they’re deployed or not.”

Maj. Gen. Yves J. Fontaine, commander, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, and his wife Kathy, attended the event with Dr. Heirakuji. The 21st TSC is the higher headquarters for the 16th SB.

During a conference with brigade leadership, senior spouses, family readiness groups and others, Dr. Heirakuji and General Fontaine heard concerns from the families.
The biggest concern was the lack of available child care.

James McElwain, family readiness group leader, 106th Financial Management Company, 16th Special Troops Battalion, 16th SB, said the lack of available child care – he and his wife both served in the Army in Germany – was one of the reasons he got out of the Army.

His wife, Rebecca McElwain, commander, 106th Financial Management Company, 16th Special Troops Battalion, 16th SB, is currently deployed.
“The strain was too much,” Mr. McElwain said. “It was flip-the-coin, who’s going to get out.”

Mr. McElwain met his wife during a deployment to Kosovo. In 2003 they had a son, Andrew, and in 2005 he got out of the Army as a captain.

Terry Roscoe, wife of Lt. Col. Christopher Roscoe, commander, 18th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 16th SB, Grafenwöhr, brought up concerns about the staffing of Morale, Welfare and Recreation positions, the availability of same-day health care for dependents and support for special-needs children.

“I think it’s great to hear these kinds of comments because it keeps us engaged,” General Fontaine told Colonel Roscoe, who was participating from Grafenwöhr via videoconference, and others in the brigade conference room. “And if we have to change the whole system, we change the whole system.”

Dr. Heirakuji addressed the sometimes-inconsistent level of services at different facilities around Europe.

“There should be similar, reasonable expectations from post to post,” she said.
Kathy Fontaine appreciated getting to hear the concerns of Soldiers and leaders at the 16th SB.

“I was on a note-taking mission today as the new kid on the block,” she said.
The mother of four from Philadelphia, who has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, said families are very important to her.

“My love and passion has always been children,” she said.

The visit from 21st TSC leadership, as well as Army leadership, underscored the importance of concerns of Soldiers in the brigade and in the military communities of Bamberg and Grafenwöhr, Mrs. Fontaine said.

“We’re here to support the folks in Bamberg and Grafenwöhr and to be another set of eyes and ears,” she said.