THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 14, 1996 TAG: 9602130260
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALVA CHOPP, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
When the aircraft carrier America and the ships in her battle group return home later this month, the long-awaited reunion of family members and friends may present as many problems as it does pleasures.
Homecomings can be difficult, according to Margie Russell, education specialist in the deployment unit of Norfolk's Navy Family Services Center. ``Very often we develop a homecoming fantasy about what it will be like,'' she said. ``We forget about the normal daily routines and duties that must be met back home.''
To help sailors and Marines make the transition back to their families easier, the Navy's Family Services Centers have developed a special program to identify problems and offer suggestions to prevent them.
But instead of sending pamphlets and videotapes to the ships, this Return and Reunion team will join the crew for their home voyage across the Atlantic. The face-to-face programs are much more effective, according to Russell, and they give the men a chance to ask questions about their personal concerns.
The five-member team is composed of three Navy Family Services Center staff members from Hampton Roads, one representative of the Earle, N.J., center and a Virginia state trooper. The team flew out on Tuesday to meet the ship in Rota, Spain. The member from New Jersey will lead programs for ships homeported in that state. The state trooper will give advice on Virginia state laws and highway safety.
From Spain the team will be flown onboard the carrier. Two team members will stay on the America while other members travel to smaller ships in the battle group.
The Return and Reunion program, first introduced in 1980, offers a variety of topics for discussion, from intimate relationship issues, coping with children's feelings, money-management skills and car-buying techniques. But Russell is quick to note that programs can be designed around the needs of the crew and command.
``Our motto is `Making a Good Thing Better,' '' said Russell, ``and that's our main objective.''
Homecomings are a great time to develop a fresh start in relationships, she said, adding that they don't do individual counseling but encourage open discussions in the groups. ``Sometimes the best advice comes from their fellow crewmen,'' she said. ``It's hard for someone to admit they may be anxious about holding their newborn baby, but once they hear concerns from other men, they're more able to talk about their own feelings.''
The best advice, according to Pat Louis, another team member making her second trip to a returning ship, is to ``take it easy and take it slow.''
That advice might well be meant for the team members as well.
Each training and education specialist at the Navy Family Services Centers is expected to participate in one at-sea program each year. Most admit that each experience is unique.
``The biggest challenge is to take as little as you can but enough to do your programs,'' said Louis. ``The ship will often copy handouts for us, but we take along four program props, newspapers and other items we need.''
That can become a challenge, because all team members are expected to be responsible for their own luggage.
``I've been told that it's physically challenging carrying our personal items and program materials everywhere we go,'' said Sandy Meadow, a team member from Oceana Naval Air Station's Navy Family Services Center.
``This is my first time going, and although I'm excited, I'm also anxious,'' she said. A two-day training session prepares team members to present their programs and learn about life onboard a ship at sea.
Russell said they schedule programs wherever they can get several men together. ``A lot of time is spent talking to them while we're eating or moving from one compartment to another,'' she said.
The Return and Reunion program afloat tries to mirror the topics discussed in the programs with family members back home. ``That way we know that both the husband and wife are hearing the same advice,'' said Russell. ILLUSTRATION: B\W photo by Gary C. Knapp
[The Return and Reunion team prepares to leave Norfolk...]
by CNB