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Marrying a Marine and adapting to the military way of life can be a daunting step for many, especially those from a different culture and upbringing.
Fortunately, there is a local program in place to ensure Japanese spouses get the resources and connections they need to successfully communicate while adjusting to the Marine Corps way of life.
The Japanese Spouses Orientation is an educational workshop geared toward local national Japanese fiancés and spouses of Marines. The class provides information on installation support services and tenant support organizations. It is designed to support Japanese spouse’s well-being in the military community.
Throughout the year, Marine Corps Family Team Building hosts 24 classes, which provide information about different resources and facilities on base which the spouses will encounter while making their transition into the military culture.
“This workshop is designed to help spouses and fiancés transition smoothly into the military lifestyle as well as provide information and tips on Marine Corps resources,” said Maki Takahashi, a community relations specialist with MCFTB. “They will be able to use these resources to help themselves on a daily basis.”
This class is beneficial to Marines with Japanese spouses or fiancées as well because they will be able to focus on their Marine Corps mission knowing their spouse has the necessary tools to use the programs provided to them, she added.
“The class was great,” said Miyuki Davis, who is engaged to a Marine. “This was my first time attending the orientation. I went for additional information to see what the orientation provided. I learned a lot and could tell they did their best to explain the topics because they accommodated our needs by delivering the speech in English and Japanese. We truly appreciated that.”
Program representatives come to each class to discuss and answer questions about available resources at locations such as the Personal Services Center, Community Bank, the Commissary and Exchange and many others.
“Going to this class benefitted me because I gained important information about the military lifestyle,” said Davis. “This information will give other spouses an idea of what they can do especially if their husband is deployed. As a military spouse, they can’t always depend on their husband and need to learn how to do things by themselves.”
Gaining this information gives military spouses the confidence to manage everything on their own and if they are unable to, they know who to contact in a time of need, she added.
MCFTB has been informing spouses for 10 years. The class originally started in 2001, targeting non- U.S. citizen fiancés and spouses, however, due to the increased number of Marines married to local nationals, the class was renamed to Japanese Spouse Orientation.
“I highly recommend Japanese spouses attend the orientation,” said Davis.
For more information contact MCFTB at www.mccsokinawa.com or call 645-3689 or 645-3204.
| Date Taken: | 02.04.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 02.03.2011 23:29 |
| Story ID: | 64770 |
| Location: | CAMP FOSTER, AICHI, JP |
| Web Views: | 55 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, JSO provides guidance to Japanese spouses, by Heather Johnson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
