Warriors in Peace Operations - Strategic Studies Institute - U.S. Army

usiness taking their husbands away for 12 months. I could
not argue their points—they did not want to listen anyway.
It was all very frustrating, especially when it was obvious so
many soldiers had failed to properly prepare their families
for any type of operational deployment, much less Bosnia for
12 months.
From the start, the Family Support Groups (FSG)
formed a strong and cohesive team to provide requisite care
for family members. Foremost was educating people on
where we were going, why we were going, and how long we
would be there. FSG events occurred on a weekly basis
starting prior to the deployment and included such
activities as monthly newsletters, videos, fund raisers, and
a series of social and educational events to interest families
and maintain morale.
My greatest frustration was the initial reluctance of
many families to join the FSG circle. Some opted to go home
to the United States rather than wait out the deployment in
Germany. I opposed such an approach in that it would
remove the family from the information loop. Additionally,
once the deployment was complete and the soldiers
returned home to Baumholder, the United States
Government was not going to transport family members
back to Germany. Most families understood; however, at
least six families ignored my pleas and left for the United
States and home. In time, most of the families softened and
entered into the FSG circle as they discovered in hard times
a renewed need for each other.
Much to my chagrin, the battalion provided the cover
story for the December 25, 1995, issue of Army Times,
focusing on the family aspect of the Bosnia mission. My
friends from the Army Times visited at the height of our
deployment and, to my surprise, told an accurate story. I
was initially concerned they would tell the wrong story and
make things worse than they actually were. However, they
published an accurate portrayal of a major operational
deployment and the impact on families. The writers
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