Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Amy Elker | 1st Lt. Gia Vu and his wife, Thi Tran create a vision board with their family mission...... read more read more
Deployments, annual trainings, military education, and even drill weekends result in a significant amount of time a Soldier spends away from their spouse and children, and an increased amount of time spent with the members of their unit. The sacrifices military members and their families make to serve may put these relationships to the test.
As a result of this potential strain, the Oregon Army National Guard (ORARNG) offers an event to strengthen these relational bonds. Formerly known as Strong Bonds, the program’s name was changed to Building Strong and Ready Teams (BSRT), effective Oct. 1, 2022. The name change is significant, as it is now team centric – with a dual focus on strengthening the relationships not only between Soldiers and their families, but the working relationships between Soldiers, Commanders, and Community Partners as well.
Maj. Chris Shull, 82nd Tactical Support Detachment, ORARNG, attended a BSRT event held at Skamania Lodge, Stevenson, Washington on Nov. 18-20, 2022 with his wife of 14 years, M’Chelene. Chris has served in the military for 18 years.
Chris said the best thing about this event is, “It directs couples to sit down and have constructive conversations about how to handle the challenges of family life. It can be too easy to try to avoid those hard discussions. BSRT provides a structured, constructive format for that.”
Another thing he greatly appreciates is, “It is really the only place where the Army gives something to my family versus taking away from my family,” he said. “My family gets to be the priority for a change, rather than the Army taking priority over them.”
BSRT is a command-directed, chaplain-led, community-partnered effort for building and maintaining a healthy Soldier and family structure. It is one of many Unit Ministry Team activities that support the local Commander’s Religious Support Plan through training that strengthens spiritual readiness and holistic wellness. Though the program is led by the chaplain’s office and facilitated by Chaplain Corps personnel, the curriculum is not explicitly faith-based in order to make it approachable to people of all faith backgrounds.
Oregon State Chaplain Col. Jacob Scott, who coordinates and often leads the BSRT events, explained the significance of the program. “When we talk about the resiliency of the people serving in the military and the common features of what makes any human being resilient, one of the primary factors is the quality of your relationships,” he said. “Strong and healthy family relationships are vitally important to us as human beings, not just because it makes us better Soldiers and leaders, though that is 100 percent true, but because it’s part of making whole and healthy human beings.”
Scott said he has has overwhelmingly positive feedback regarding the BSRT events. He can’t count the number of times Soldiers and leaders have approached him and asked when he is going to do another one.
One of the couples who had a positive experience at the November BSRT event is Master Sgt. Jeff Timshel, 821 Troop Command, ORANG, and Sgt. Misti Timshel, 1249th Engineer Battalion, ORANG. Misti served for eight years but got out in 2014 to spend more time at home with their son, while Jeff is in his 35th year of service. Jeff said he believed this event is “one of the best things the Guard could sponsor.”
The Timshel’s have been married 27 years and were recognized as the longest-married couple at the event. “I felt proud,” Jeff said, “because I am completely dedicated to family first.” The couple credits their longevity to the following things: putting family first, being flexible, attentive to each other’s needs, and spending time together doing things they enjoy.
“There have been times in our marriage where the Guard felt like an extension of family,” Misti said. “That kind of support is like no other, and that is true whether we’ve been on the giving end or the receiving end of support.”
Though the couple had attended a Strong Bonds event about 10 years ago, they decided to attend the BSRT event last November because “I’d been feeling like our connection had been slowly slipping away for a while,” Misti said. “It was already on my mind that we needed to work on our relationship with intention.”
This type of event is important for married couples in the Guard to attend because “It’s not about rank or responsibility,” Jeff said. “You are there to better the family. The backbone of the Guard is the family. When Soldiers have strong family relationships, they’re better Soldiers.”
Misti also said attending events like this holds great value. “This event provides information that can be easily applied to all relationships in your life, including the one with yourself,” she said. “You absolutely cannot go wrong by attending this event; although, it’s important to show up with an open mind and a willingness to be vulnerable.”
Just a month after attending the BSRT event, Misti was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. She said she saw the diagnosis as a “wake-up call” to make meaningful changes in her life, the very types of changes she learned about during BSRT. Some of those changes, she said, include better and intentional prioritization of spouse and family, effective self-care, and authentic connection, among others.
“The timing of the BSRT event was kismet for me,” Misti said. “It was just what I needed to be reminded of these things, and just when I needed it.”
In addition to the retreats for married couples, Scott has also held BSRT events in the workplace. Last September, he conducted a four-hour BSRT Appreciation in the Workplace Seminar for full-time Joint Force Headquarters staff, utilizing the book “Five Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace” by Dr. Paul White and Gary Chapman. Last December, Scott conducted a half-day seminar with CERF-P full-time staff and spent three hours discussing the Steven Covey book, “The Speech of Trust.”
“Covey calls trust the one thing that changes everything,” Scott said. “Trust is essential to marriages, but also fundamental to the Army profession: trust between peers and colleagues, and trust up and down the chain.”
The next BSRT married couple’s event will be August 18-20 at Mount Hood in Welches, Oregon. The ultimate goal of this event is for Soldiers and their spouses to benefit from relationship education and skills training in a setting that inspires hope, fosters fellowship, and rekindles intimacy.
Registration opens online June 26 at https://bsrt.army.mil. Soldiers (sponsors) must create a profile in order to register. All participants must be authorized family members enrolled in DEERS.
Commanders are authorized to approve SUTA for IDT or AT; or, Retirement Points orders. There is no funding for Pay and Allowances for participants for this event. Transportation is not provided. Meals and lodging (2 nights) are provided. Childcare is also provided. In addition, the Soldier and his/her spouse will each receive a copy of the curriculum that will be used during the event titled “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Marriage” by Jane, Sandra and Stephen Covey.
For more information regarding the event, contact SGT John Nowacki, 971-355-3091, john.a.nowacki4.mil@army.mil or Chaplain Col. Jacob Scott, 971-355-3090 (Office) or 503-932-2186 (Cell), jacob.a.scott.mil@army.mil.
| Date Taken: | 06.05.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 06.05.2023 22:51 |
| Story ID: | 446286 |
| Location: | SALEM, OREGON, US |
| Web Views: | 187 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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