Deployment Support

Marine Corps Family Team Building 

Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni’s Marine Corps Family Team Building reinforces and sustains a state of personal and family readiness to provide service members and their families with tools and resources needed to successfully meet the challenges of the military lifestyle. It enhances mission readiness by providing preventative education that is offered across the lifecycle of a Marine.

Services

• Marine Corps Family Team Building provides skills-building tools and readiness for individual and family development.
• The program is designed to meet the needs of Marines, sailors and their families, based on stresses of daily living and the mobile military lifestyle.
• The training programs focus on topics and concerns related to overall family functioning, relocation, deployment, military separation, life skills and establishing appropriate connections within the military and civilian community.
• It provides an opportunity for service members and families to use their skills and talents through volunteering.

Training is provided at the unit level. Workshops are provided at the unit and installation level, through partnership with the unit readiness coordinators and other supporting resources of the unit and installation. Standardized readiness training is provided to unit commanders, family readiness command teams and servicemembers and their families.

Readiness and Deployment Support

Readiness and Deployment Support is a collection of training workshops and briefs designed to educate and prepare military personnel and their families to cope with the changes and challenges of all types of deployments and family separations. Designed specifically for service members, families and extended family members, these programs increase awareness of relevant readiness issues, while offering individual creative solutions to build a healthier family and ensure all are aware of the vast resources available to them as military families. Additionally, briefs provide an opportunity for service members and their families to meet command team members and unit readiness coordinators, who all provide support to service members and families throughout any type of deployment.

Services

• Pre-deployment briefs are required for all deploying units. The briefs are coordinated and provided to all Marines and their families attached to units 30-60 days prior to a unit deployment, or as required by the unit.
• Mid-deployment briefs are a series of practical application workshops that allow military family members to:
  • Meet other military families
  • Engage in fun activities
  • Understand the support of the military community
  • Learn new skills that will empower their ability to thrive in the military lifestyle
  • Outline how to set goals that are realistic and obtainable and assess progress
• Return and reunion briefs are a series of interactive workshops that discuss expectations and positive reintegration ideas through real-life scenarios. Families learn how to celebrate homecoming, communicate with the service member, and recognize warning signs of stress. Families also learn about available resources, as well as the behavioral, emotional and educational challenges children may face during a reunion.
• Strong Military Couples is an educational workshop designed to address the effects of reintegration on a relationship. The workshop allows couples to assess the level of relationship satisfaction and provides communication tools and resources for couples to use to strengthen their relationship.

Training is offered by the Marine Corps Family Team Building. Readiness and deployment support training will prepare military families for the unique challenges of a deployment while maintaining a constant state of readiness independent of deployment. To schedule individual unit classes, contact the Family Readiness office at 011-81-827-79-3542 or 
DSN 315-253-3542.

Unit, Personal and Family Readiness Program Training

The Unit, Personal and Family Readiness Program is a unit-centric program, guided by the UPFRP command team that reinforces the relationship between the unit and the services relevant to the unit, the unit members and their families. The primary goal of UPFRP is to empower service members and family members, providing them the opportunities to not just survive but to thrive while taking on the challenges of the military lifestyle. The program is supported by deployment readiness coordinators or uniformed readiness coordinators, who implement the commander's family readiness vision, manage the tenets of the UPFRP and assist unit Marines, sailors and families to maintain a constant state of family readiness.

UPFRP is guided by the unit's command team, consisting of the commanding officer and/or the commanding general, the executive officer and/or the chief of staff, the sergeant major and/or senior enlisted adviser, the chaplain, the deployment readiness coordinator or uniformed readiness coordinator, the single Marine representative, and a family readiness adviser. Every unit has either a full-time civilian Deployment Readiness Coordinator or a Uniformed Readiness Coordinator supporting the UPFRP.

The local Family Readiness Program office provides standardized training to all command team members and UPFRP volunteers to ensure consistency and continuity across all Marine Corps UPFRPs. Marines and sailors are required to check-in with the DRC or URC when they arrive at a new unit. Once a new unit member has provided accurate contact information and authorization to communicate, family members will begin receiving communication from the command. Family members are encouraged to meet the DRC/URC to learn more about the unit and the services available. To schedule unit classes, contact the FRG office at 011-81-827-79-3542 or DSN 315-253-3542.

L.I.N.K.S.

L.I.N.K.S. stands for Lifestyle Insights, Networking, Knowledge and Skills. It is an interactive program to help service members assimilate into a different culture -- to Marine Corps life and the local installation. Participants learn about corps history and rank, local installation resources, services and benefits, military pay, separation and deployment, crossroad options, communication styles, investing in the community and Marine Corps traditions. Partnerships are made with several services and personnel to include career planners, chaplains and L.I.N.K.S. mentors.

L.I.N.K.S. is offered through the MCFTB office for basic military acculturation, local installation resources and community involvement. L.I.N.K.S. is offered as both an installation and unit training to Marines, sailors and families. Additional family readiness training opportunities are available through LifeSkills and Readiness and Deployment Support training. To learn more about available classes, contact the Family Readiness office at 
011-81-827-79-3542/ DSN 315-253-3542.

LifeSkills

LifeSkills training and education promotes positive adjustment and improved individual and family functioning. It is a comprehensive collection of personal and professional skills-building classes that promotes positive adjustments and improved individual and family functioning. It provides service members and their families with practical skills for successful interactions and positive outcomes at work, at home and in life.

Participants finish the LifeSkills program better equipped to tackle challenges with increased self-awareness and confidence. Through increased insight, participants are more likely to lend a hand to others in need, creating a mentorship atmosphere and stronger relationships. When participants gain life skills, it creates a positive and productive environment that promotes community.

Services

• LifeSkills offers service members and their families referrals to enhance community capacity.
• LifeSkills includes four training series: communication, impact, relationship and wellness.
• Participants gain skills to effectively handle personal, professional or relationship-focused situations.
• It provides collaborative curriculum and partnerships throughout installation services.
• LifeSkills training and education partners with several services to promote healthy well-being of the individual. Partnerships include Behavioral Health, Family Advocacy Program, New Parent Support Program and Semper Fit to most effectively meet the needs of our community.

LifeSkills is provided at the unit and installation level to assigned personnel, through community partnerships. Experts collaborate to provide additional information related to various programs and resources available to Marines, sailors and their families. Additional programs are available through Readiness and Deployment Support training. To learn more about what classes are available, contact the Family Readiness office at 011-81-827-79-3542 or DSN 315-253-3542.