The Army Leaders’ Desk
Reference

for Soldier/Family
Readiness

 

Family Deployment
Readiness for the Active Army,

the Army National
Guard, and the Army Reserve

 

This
desk reference is a new publication of the Operation READY (Resources for Educating
about Deployment and You) materials developed under a contract with
Headquarters, Department of the Army, Community and Family Support Center, and
the United States Department of Agriculture, Cooperative State Research,
Education and Extension Service, and the Texas Cooperative Extension, of the
Texas A&M University System.

 

 

 

Grant Administrator and Project
Director

for Texas Cooperative Extension

Nancy Granovsky

 

Project
Manager

Granville E. (Gene) Tyson

 

Editor and Design

Susan Lee

 

Production Coordinator

Diane Wisneski

 

Cover Illustrator

Emma Stark

 

Student Assistant

Luis Gomez

 

 

Operation READY: A Resource Link for Army Families

 

 

Texas Cooperative Extension

The Texas A&M University
System

in cooperation with

The United States Army

Community and Family Support
Center

 

 

March 2002

The
Army Leaders’ Desk Reference

for
Soldier/Family Readiness

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

The
Army Leaders’ Desk Reference for Soldier/Family Readiness is designed for
commanders and leaders to give them a handle on family readiness. In a clear
and forthright manner, it presents the key elements in a unit’s family
readiness responsibilities.

 

An
excerpt from AR 600-20 on the Soldier/Family Readiness System is provided,
along with figures depicting the FRG organization (Figure 1) and the family
support structure (Figure 2).

 

An
“Open Letter to Commanders” is worth reading. The author deals with the
commander and his leadership of his soldiers and families. His ideas deserve
serious consideration.

 

 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

 

We
wish to thank LTC (Ret.) James C. Peters for his ideas that initially brought
this guide into reality. His understanding of the Soldier/Family Readiness
System is deep and far-reaching. We appreciate his contributions that gave it
foundation.

 

 

OPERATION READY
MATERIALS

 

The Operation READY (Resources
for Educating About Deployment and You) curriculum is a series of training
modules, videotapes, and resource books published for the Army as a resource
for Army Community Service, State Family Program Coordinators (SFPC), and Army
Reserve Family Readiness Program (FRP) staff in training Army families who are
faced with deployments.

 

This
curriculum includes the following training modules and reference materials:

#       Predeployment
and Ongoing Readiness

#       Family
Assistance Center

#       Homecoming
and Reunion

#       Army
FRG Leaders’ Handbook

#       The
New Army Family Readiness Handbook

#       The
Army Leaders’ Desk Reference for Soldier/Family Readiness (new)

#       Children’s
Workbooks

#      
The Soldier/Family Deployment Survival Handbook (new)

 

Videos to
supplement the above materials are:

#      
Practical Readiness—Smart Ways to Minimize
Deployment Hassles

#       Making
Your Reunion Work

#      
Family Assistance
Center

#      
Family Readiness
Groups—A Place to Belong

#      
Introduction to Operation READY (new)

#       To
Get the Most Out of Army Life, Think ACS (new)

 

These materials have been
distributed to all U.S. Army installations throughout the world, as well as to
U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard commands. The materials are distributed in
hard copy form as well as stored on CD-ROM disks. They are also available
through the virtual Army Community Service web site,
http://trol.redstone.army.mil/acs. For copies of the above materials, check
with your local Army Community Service, Mobilization and Deployment office,
SFPC and FRP offices

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

An Open Letter to Commanders…………………………………………………………………… 1

About the Army Leaders’ Desk Reference for
Soldier/Family Readiness…………. 3

     Purpose…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3

     Scope……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3

     Primary References……………………………………………………………………………………. 3

     Assumptions…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4

     Concepts and
Definitions…………………………………………………………………………….. 4

Soldier/Family Readiness Initiatives for Commanders…………………………………… 5

Soldier/Family Readiness System………………………………………………………………… 6

Soldier/Family
Readiness Roles, Structures, and Responsibilities………………….. 8

Roles………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 8

Structures………………………………………………………………………………………………… 9

Responsibilities…………………………………………………………………………………………. 11

Sample
Family Readiness Plan—Battalion Level………………………………………….. 18

     Purpose…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 18

     References……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 18

     Key Tasks……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 18

Sample
Family Readiness Plan—Unit Level…………………………………………………. 20

     Purpose…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 20

     References……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 20

     Key Tasks……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 20

Predeployment Briefings……………………………………………………………………………… 22

     Predeployment
Training………………………………………………………………………………. 24

Successful FRGs in the Army Today…………………………………………………………….. 25

     Family Readiness Group Organization and
Operations……………………………………… 25

     Family Problems……………………………………………………………………………………….. 25

     Family Readiness Group Leadership……………………………………………………………… 26

     Family Readiness Group Tasks Before,
During, and After Deployment………………… 27

     Training Family Readiness Group Leaders……………………………………………………… 28

     Other Considerations…………………………………………………………………………………. 29