Warriors Return, Reflect with Family Members at Returning Warrior Workshop

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Maddelin Angebrand, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic Reserve Component Command Public Affairs

CHARLOTTE, N.C (NNS) -- More than 150 active and Reserve component Sailors and their families attended the Navy Region Mid-Atlantic Reserve Component Command (NRMA RCC) Returning Warrior Workshop (RWW) at the Hilton Charlotte Center City Hotel in Charlotte N.C, Jan. 28-30.

RWW is part of the Department of Defense Yellow Ribbon reintegration program and is designed to honor individual augmentee (IA) Sailors who have recently returned from mobilization in support of overseas contingency operations.

Patricia Driscoll, chief executive officer of the Armed Forces Foundation and co-author of the book "Hidden Battles on Unseen Fronts," was the featured speaker during the warrior reflection and transition session of the event. During the session she shared her personal experiences with the Sailors and their families.

"I wanted to tell you a little bit about my story. I have a 6-year old boy and I've been deployed myself many times to Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Bosnia, and I continue to go out today," said Driscoll. "I've been that wife who waits for her warrior at home, and he's been the guy at home waiting for his warrior-wife to come home. I've missed a lot of milestones with my son. It was really tough."

After hearing Driscoll's inspiring story, the Sailors were able to sit and talk with counselors and their families to discuss what they had been through on their deployments. This is a major part of the workshop that allows spouses and family members to learn more about what their loved one's are going through while deployed in a time of war.

Senior Chief Master-at-Arms Laurie Arden, a Reserve Sailor who recently returned from an IA deployment to Kuwait with Naval Expeditionary Combat Command Training Group, attended RWW with his wife Jody Arden.

"I think it's a valuable tool for me to see and learn about what my husband went through by sitting down with other couples who are going through the same thing," said Jody Arden. "I would recommend this especially to young spouses, so they can learn about the reintegration process, and be able to have the time away from other people in order to connect with each other."

RWW is made up of group presentations and smaller group break-out sessions which include topics such as family issues, debt management, wanting to re-deploy, along with a couples reconnecting workshop.

Hull Technician 2nd Class Ralph Chambers, who is on active duty and returned from an IA deployment in September 2010, attended RWW with his wife, Elise. They spoke about the importance of the couples reconnecting workshop.

"It's an excellent get-away weekend, and it will really help spouses who are not military to understand what's really going on," said Elise Chambers. "I've been getting a lot of information here. There's a lot of support that we can get from Fleet and Family and all these organizations. This will help [spouses] from breaking down while they're gone."

Rear Adm. Moira Flanders, director of Inter-American Defense College, spoke at the Banquet of Honors and thanked the Sailors and their families for serving in a time of war.

"You are the heroes; you all took the oath and that takes a hero. All of you deployed, some I heard had cell phones or even air conditioning, but some only had tents and even built the very bases they stayed on," said Flanders. "Thank you, all of you, for doing your jobs in incredibly arduous environments. Thank you to the families, this is about you."

During the banquet Sailors and their family members were presented with certificates of appreciation for their dedication to the Navy. They also witnessed one Sailor's rededication to the Navy. Senior Chief Quartermaster Patrice Frede a Reserve Sailor and RWW participant attached to Military Sealift Command Port Unit 107 who returned from an IA to Afghanistan in September of 2010 was reenlisted by Capt. Brian L. Quisenberry, a Reserve Sailor attached to Operational Support Unit, Norfolk Va.

"RWW is about reconnecting and renewing relationships. For me, being able to reenlist at RWW was significant, because it allowed me to renew my commitment to my family, my life that I returned to and my Navy all at the same time," said Frede. "The fact that captain Quisensberry drove from Virginia to reenlist me, was a reminder of how much it means to support and be there for one another."

NRMA RCC's RWW is held four times a year in various locations within the Mid-Atlantic region with a participation goal of 150 Sailors and family members for each event. The next RWW is being held at the Boston Harborside Hyatt in Boston April 8-11. For more information regarding attendance for this workshop contact your supporting Navy Operational Support Center.

For more news from Commander, Navy Reserve Force, visit www.navy.mil/local/nrf/.