HomeNewsArticle Display

Pre-Deployment Retreat brings families together

  • Published
  • By Nicole Turner
  • Staff Writer
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Thirty families spent last weekend at the National Center for Employee Development Conference Center and Hotel in Norman to enjoy a time of rest, relaxation, activities and togetherness for the second annual Pre-Deployment Retreat.

The retreat, March 25-27, featured a "Road to Life" theme. It was designated for military members who have returned from deployment within the past six months or are about to deploy in the next six months, and their spouses and children.

"It is essentially preparing the families for deployment," said Staff Sgt. Jessica Corrales, chaplain assistant at the Tinker Chapel. "Mom or dad is going to go, and we want the kids, the wife, to have good, healthy communication skills; good, healthy cognitive thought in order to be able to process that."

Throughout the weekend, distinguished guests and speakers included 72nd Air Base Wing Commander Col. Bob LaBrutta; Col. John Rauch, commander of the 552nd Air Control Wing; Col. Scott Merrell, 72nd ABW vice commander; Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center Command Chief Master Sgt. Kevin Vegas and his wife, Lori Johnson-Vegas and Capt. Charles Baker, Strategic Communications Wing ONE deputy commander.

The retreat also offered different group activities and events for all ages. Each age-appropriate activity helped participants learn about the importance of family and their role in communicating with their families.

Smaller, school-aged children spent the weekend starting a journal, making a special pillow case they could send with their parents on deployment and they even had the opportunity to put on a full military uniform.

"The journal has prompts for the children," said Charlotte Lewis, interim chief, child and youth flight in the 72nd Force Support Squadron. "It allows the children to write their private thoughts and share special moments while mom/dad is away."

The teens focused on how to express themselves and their feelings toward their parents. They designed T-shirts they could wear while their mom or dad is deployed and they wrote a letter to themselves expressing how they felt as well, which will be mailed to them at a later date to see if they still feel the same way. Teens also went through a ropes course as a team-building and trust exercise.

Sergeant Corrales spent a lot of time with the teens. She said the idea of the ropes course was to allow them to step outside of their "comfort zone" in order to be a team.

"At the very end of everything, they really did step outside their comfort zone," Sergeant Corrales said. "I liked that the most, to watch these younger kids (grow)."

Husbands and wives were able to participate in activities that helped them communicate more effectively with each other by learning each other's type of communication.

Staff Sergeant Anthony Aranda from the 965th Airborne Air Control Squadron and his wife, Lorena, attended the retreat for the second year. Sergeant Aranda is on stand-by, which means he could be deployed at any given moment.

Mrs. Aranda said she particularly enjoyed the communication activities because she and her husband discovered new things about each other.

"You don't realize how much you have changed over the years, or what stuff you're lacking on," Mrs. Aranda said. "Especially because at the end you think you know your husband but not as well as you might have thought."

Some families simply enjoyed the down time and the opportunity to meet others in similar situations.

Staff Sergeant Donald Thompson from the 76th Aircraft Maintenance Group will be deployed in June. He and his wife, Lila, and their three children said they attended the retreat because they thought it would be a great opportunity to have a "stress-free" weekend.

"It's been a really cool weekend with the hotel stay and not having to cook or clean for three days," Sergeant Thompson said.

During the weekend, families also were able to attend Resource Alley to meet with base communication resources. Sergeant Thompson and his wife said they found this very accommodating.

"With the mission you're not always able to take time off and go to places like the JAG office to get your power of attorneys, wills and all that stuff," Sergeant Thompson said. "The resources have been very helpful."

The weekend concluded with a special time that allowed families to renew their marriage vows among one another. Each family member was provided a different color of sand and they each poured their sand into a container.

"Just as the sand cannot be separated the family cannot be separated. Also, just because they were together did not mean everyone did not still have their own identity," Ms. Lewis said.

Ms. Lewis said all of the families who attended enjoyed their time together and they responded very well to all of the activities and the retreat.

"The families seemed to have a wonderful time," Ms. Lewis said. "Many of the participants were genuinely touched by the show of support from senior leadership. The participants commented that having senior leadership come and talk proved they really care about them and their families."