The second Family Forum of the 2005 AUSA Annual Meeting and Exposition looked at the challenges military families face, particularly the struggle during transitional periods to maintain close marital bonds and to find good jobs for military spouses.
Efforts to Curb Divorce Rates
In the Oct 4 session in Washington, higher divorce rates among soldiers were cited as a strong concern and driver of more aggressive initiatives championed by Army chaplains to strengthen soldiers' marriages. Brig. Gen. (Chaplain) Doug Carver attributed the rise in divorce among soldiers to unusual stress currently placed on the military. It's “not infrequent that we're dealing with families who are on their second or third deployment,” said Carver.
Col. (Chaplain) Glen Bloomstrom, office of the Chief of Chaplains, talked about a pilot program that began in 1999 to help soldiers and their spouses deal with reconnecting after long periods apart. The program, known as Strong Bonds, has grown dramatically in recent years, holding 160 events with 3,000 couples in 2003 to 621 events for 23,000 couples in 2005.
The Strong Bonds events are largely structured as marriage retreats. They are delivered by Army chaplains and are regarded as educational programs, rather than therapy sessions, said Bloomstrom. They focus on providing practical skills and information to help soldiers and their spouses strengthen marriage ties.
The Building Strong and Ready Families (BSRF) initiative, under which the Strong Bonds Program is headed, recently expanded its scope in response to feedback from focus groups. Single soldiers are likely to marry not long after their enlistment so the BSRF launched the Premarital Interpersonal Choices and Knowledge (PICK) program. BSRF is also looking at ways to tailor their efforts to the needs of mature families with teenagers.
Job-hunting Resources for Spouses
Brig. Gen. John Macdonald, commanding general Army Community and Family Support Center, outlined efforts designed to help Army spouses overcome some of the obstacles associated with job hunting. The center has spearheaded an Army Spouse Employment Partnership (ASEP) that involves partnerships with 17 large corporations, including Bell South, Computer Sciences Corporation, Lockheed Martin, and Home Depot.
Some of the corporate partners, such as Home Depot, have developed systems to track the movements of employees with military spouses in an effort to secure employment for them within a division of the company in or near their next city of residence. Other companies, including Sprint, have recruitment Web sites for military spouses. In addition, Hospital Corporation of America has hired military spouses and transferred them to a job near their new residence with barely a break in service, said Macdonald.
To date the Spouse Employment Partnership has resulted in the hiring of 11,000 spouses, including 2,500 spouses in the last year alone, said Macdonald.
Two Army spouses, Carin Smith and Isabel Ferretti talked about how their job search was aided by the ASEP program. Both found jobs that were in-line with their qualifications and professional development goals. Smith said that because of ASEP, “company cultures are becoming more aware of who we are and the loyalty found in military spouses.” Partnerships with Manpower and Computer Sciences Corporation, respectively, aided the women in securing employment. Additional information about ASEP program can be found at www.myarmylifetoo.com
Updated Online Resource
Shaunya Murrill, manager, CFSC E-Learning and Web Operations, unveiled the newly designed web site, www.myarmylifetoo.com. The site provides resources for just about anyone involved in the military, including Reservists and Guardsmen, family members, staff members, and civilians. A plethora of information is available to assist these groups, from financial management tools and job opportunities with Army partners to community volunteer opportunities and moving tips.
The session also included a short video interview featuring Birgit Smith, widow of Medal of Honor Recipient Sgt. Paul R. Smith. In the video Birgit talked with Cathy Jackman about what the Army could do better to help those dealing with loss. Most importantly, she said, the Army needs to be there one, two, and three years after a loss to address any questions regarding benefits. Being there right after a loss to discuss such matters isn't always helpful, said Birgit, as a grieving spouse is still very consumed by his or her sudden loss. Birgit also suggested extending benefits to spouses of the Army's fallen until they remarry.