Readying Families

Between now and October,thousands of Marines and sailors will deploy to Afghanistan. Among them will be the Camp Pendleton-based 1st Marine Division headquarters element; 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment; 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment; 1st Combat Engineer Battalion; and the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion.


At Camp Pendleton, just north of Oceanside, California, Karen Gough is the family readiness officer for the 47,000-strong Marine Expeditionary Force, which oversees the Marine units coming home and heading out. Married to a former Marine officer who recently retired, Gough works with 130 other family readiness officers to assist the troops, their spouses and children before, during and after a combat assignment.


"We help with everything, from making sure they have their wills and their shots to making sure single Marines are keeping their parents in the loop," Gough explains. They also work closely with the children of deployed troops, conducting information sessions and gatherings. The focus includes helping younger children understand what the departure of their deployed parent means. "We let them know what Afghanistan is like, what's involved in a deployment and answer their questions so they have a good understanding," Gough said.


About halfway through a deployment, the family readiness officers also help prepare children for a parent's return from war. "We explain to them that Mom or Dad may have changed a little bit and seen some tough things over there," Gough said. "We also tell them that their parent might need some time by themselves." For younger kids, a final session is conducted after their parent returns.


Gough said the work with families today has changed from what she remembers as a military wife."We used to worry more about the spouse," she said. "The spouse is still much of the focus, but we had found that many of the issues were with children, so we've also concentrated on working with them. It's made a big difference."
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