What Is A
Family Readiness Group (FRG)?
How Can I
Benefit From It?
What is a
Family Readiness Group?
The
official definition of a family readiness group is, "An
organization of family
members, volunteers, and soldiers belonging to a unit that together provide an
avenue of mutual support, assistance, and a network of communication among the
family members, the chain of command, and community resources."
Commanders
of deploying units discovered that while their units were highly trained to
fight, little if anything was done to train and prepare families to better cope
with the stresses and unique problems that often arise during extended and
oftentimes unexpected deployment of their spouses. Some type of organization
was needed within units to address this serious shortcoming in peacetime so
families would be better able to take care of themselves in a time of crisis.
Therefore, the concept of the Family Readiness
Group was born.
How Does
the FRG Work?
Family
Readiness Groups are managed differently in every unit. How they are managed
depends upon many things: the personality of the leaders, the number of
families’ involved, available resources, etc. The core of the FRG is the unit,
for this is where the rubber meets the road. All FRGs throughout the Army share
the same purpose—to support Army families.
No Rank in the FRG
There
is no rank in the FRG. The active role of our enlisted and officer wives in the
support group has been the key to our success. The FRG is not a club. All soldiers and family members are
members of the FRG.
Your Place in the FRG
The
role you play in your FRG is your choice. You are welcome to participate as
much as you would like to, or are able to. There are many projects to become
involved in, each of them important in their purpose, such as communications,
newsletters, hospitality, social functions, and fundraising to support the FRG.
Your Invitation
Your
FRG extends a sincere invitation for you to join in and participate. You can
never have too much information, too much support, or too many friends. The FRG
is your opportunity for all this and more. It is an incredible feeling to be
able to make a contribution to another person, to touch their lives in such a
positive way, and to have the added benefit of helping your own family at the
same time.
Family Readiness Groups:
Empower families to become more knowledgeable and
self-reliant
Promote
more efficient use of community resources
Reduce
soldier and family member stress
Increase the soldier's
ability to devote his full attention to the mission by offering reassurance
that the family members have close, reliable, and friendly support
Care
for each other
Provide
a helping hand when needed
Provide
answers to questions
Give
moral support
Establish
a sense of family within the unit
Access
information and resources to help you solve problems
Provide
an effective way of gaining information, support, and control during deployment
and other times
Help
family members develop a more positive attitude toward themselves, the unit,
the deployment, and the Army
Increase
morale
Foster
increased levels of cohesion and confidence for family members and deployed
soldiers
Utilize
other family programs designed to improve the quality of life
How to
Use the FRG Telephone Roster (Chain of Concern)
You
will be notified through the Family Readiness Group telephone roster (chain of
concern) of important information pertaining to the unit and the FRG. The FRG
chain of concern is your
primary link with the Army in the event of a deployment, and it is a
means to communicate very important information. Reasons for the chain of
concern can range anywhere from planning unit social functions, passing on
general information, passing on information on deployment, homecoming, or emergency information. It is one of the most
efficient ways of getting the correct information to you in a timely
manner. Sending information home
through the soldier seldom works effectively.
Participation
is not mandatory. The chain of concern, however, functions to keep you in-the-loop and
armed with the most up-to-date information concerning the unit. More
importantly, it is a means of emergency notification. All spouses, therefore,
are strongly encouraged to participate by completing a FRG questionnaire.
Ensure that the FRG leader has your current mailing address and telephone
number. If you want to keep your phone number confidential or unlisted, just
let the FRG leader know of your decision, in writing, on your questionnaire.
This way your number will not be printed on the roster; it will only be given
to the FRG leader and your unit POC (Point of Contact).
If
you plan to leave the area during a deployment, please contact the unit FRG
leader with a telephone number where you can be reached in the event of an
emergency. Please do not put us in a situation where we have to search for you
or where we are unable to contact you in an emergency situation. Time is
precious during the emergency notification process.
In
the event of a deployment, as soon as the
information becomes available, the rear detachment commander (RDC) will
contact the battalion's FRG Advisor, and they will initiate the FRG
communications network to get the information to you. In many of our Family
Readiness Groups, the FRG leader will contact the unit POCs, and they will
personally call each of the families in their chain of concern. If your telephone number or mailing
address changes, contact us!
If you have not received a copy of the current FRG
phone roster, have your spouse pick one up from the unit commander's office to
keep near your telephone. Remember, this
roster is strictly confidential. It should not be used for solicitations or
mailing lists of any kind. It is only to be used for FRG purposes. Public
access to the telephone numbers on this list could pose a safety risk to FRG
members during a deployment, so be careful to thoroughly destroy outdated copies of the roster whenever you
receive an updated copy, and keep your
current copy secure and near your telephone.
Call the FRG to
Stay Informed
If
you are a spouse and have not been contacted by Family Readiness, then be
proactive in letting them know you are interested in being informed. Often,
service members make the decision for their spouse not to be contacted by the
FRG. Make your own informed decision, and learn what the FRG can offer you.
Remember,
each FRG is different. If you have been involved with a FRG in the past and it
left a negative impact on you, try the FRG again when you move to a new duty
station. If you don't like the way the
FRG is going, then you can make a difference by voicing your opinion and
becoming an active participant and volunteer.