Face of Defense: Student Makes Time for National Guard Service

By Oregon Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Patrick Caldwell

116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team

BAKER CITY, Ore., May 4, 2015 – Oregon Army National Guard Pfc. Chelsea Fudge is a busy young woman. The 19-year-old full-time student at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande, Oregon, also works four part-time jobs.

And Fudge -- who is working toward a degree in music education -- also volunteers her voice to various celebrations and events across the region and stages her own small concerts.

“I’ve been singing for big events since I was 13,” she said.

One of her part-time jobs is serving as a member of the Oregon Army National Guard’s Foxtrot Company, 145th Brigade Support Battalion, 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team.

Guard Service Helps With Academic Goals

Once a month, Fudge follows Interstate 84 south as it slices through a remote section of Oregon to attend drill in Baker City. She said her interest in the guard is helping her to achieve her academic goals.

Her enlistment bonus and the GI Bill kicker program have helped her solve some of the common financial challenges many college students face, she explained. And her experience in the Baker City Army National Guard unit has proven to be beneficial, she added.

“It has opened a lot of doors for me. It has been an amazing journey,” she said.

Fudge said she enjoys operating one of the heavy expanded mobility tactical trucks that her unit uses to keep the tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles of the 116th’s 3rd Battalion on the road.

“I really like it,” she said. “I have made so many connections with people. And I’m getting a lot of life experience. And a paycheck doesn’t hurt.”

Still, she said, her guard time isn’t all about the money.

Opportunity to Take Responsibility

“It is a self-sacrifice, and it has been an eye-opener,” she said. “This gave me the opportunity to take responsibility for my job.”

In August, Fudge and her guard unit will journey to the Mohave Desert to conduct training exercises at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California. The rotation already is shaping up to be the ultimate peacetime test for the Baker City guard unit, and Fudge said she is eager to go.

“I’m looking forward to it, because it will be another experience,” she said. “It will open up a lot of my learning processes.”

Army Lt. Col. Brian Dean, the commander of the 3rd Battalion, said Fudge epitomizes the kind of soldier his unit seeks out and mentors, calling her “a remarkable young woman.”

“She is focused, dedicated and embodies both the Army values and those of ‘Eastern Oregon’s Own,’” he said. “We are all proud of her.”

Dean added that soldiers like Fudge indicate his unit has a bright future. “We are looking forward to seeing and helping her as she grows,” he said. “She is a magnificent role model and exemplifies what makes eastern Oregonians successful locally, nationally and globally.”

The 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team consists of Army National Guard combat units from Idaho, Montana and eastern Oregon.

Operation Shower Champions Military Families, Moms-to-be

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla., May 4, 2015 – A nonprofit organization geared toward helping military families -- especially expectant mothers whose spouses are often away fulfilling their duties – got a boost from the senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at a special event here yesterday.

Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Bryan B. Battaglia lauded Operation Shower, which is sponsored by the PGA Tour, The Players Championship and fellow nonprofit initiative “Birdies for the Brave” and has helped more than 2,500 military families since 2010.

Leanne Morrissey, Operation Shower’s founder, said the group provides baby showers to military moms-to-be, and gives them items to help get started with the new baby. The organization also brings together military families in similar situations.

Giving to Military Moms

During a baby shower with the theme “Love is in Bloom,” 40 mothers were honored and treated to various gifts during festivities hosted by Morrissey and Tabitha Furyk, wife of PGA Tour golfer Jim Furyk. Battaglia thanked the couple and praised Jim Furyk for his acumen as a champion on the golf course.

“How we all enjoy being in the presence of champions -- those who make a significant sacrifice to make a positive difference,” the sergeant major said. “I think the room is filled with champions today.”

Morrissey, he added, is herself a champion.

“Leanne, we wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for you to bring such a vision and idea to a reality,” Battaglia said.

“Over the years, you’ve given so much to our military moms-to-be. [You] give, give and give more, never asking for anything in return. You’re really the reason that brings us here today to spend time with this other special group of champions: our military spouses and moms-to-be.”

Facing Hardships

The sergeant major praised military spouses for overcoming the hardships they face as their spouses are away defending the country.

“Ladies, you take on a magnificent responsibility,” Battaglia said, “and I just want you to know that while raising a family in the military has so many great experiences and memories, the hardships that you endure … while your spouse serves in uniform doesn’t go unnoticed.

“You are, at times, placed in some not-so-ideal conditions,” he continued, “[with] children moving from school to school, the family relocating to a new city, the separation month after month.”

Military Families' ‘Heart and Soul’

Calling military families “the heart and soul of our armed forces,” Battaglia told a brief story of a father who was a special operations service member and was often gone for long periods, missing out on time with his daughter.

The sergeant major said that while the story is an extreme example, it helps to illustrate some of the sacrifices that military families endure.

Battaglia told the expectant mothers that the nation is proud of them and their families, and he thanked the nonprofit organizations willing to serve the families in times of need.

Chaplains, RPs Enhance Skills in Suicide Prevention, Intervention, Postvention

By Christianne M. Witten, Chief of Navy Chaplains Public Affairs

NORFOLK (NNS) -- More than 80 Navy chaplains and religious program specialists (RP) gathered at Naval Station Norfolk for a professional development training course (PDTC), April 27-30.

The training focused on enhancing pastoral care skills and the role of spirituality for service members and families in suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention. The Norfolk PDTC is one of 13 total training sessions the Chaplain Corps is conducting worldwide from January to July 2015.

"It cuts right to the core of the command when suicide happens," said Capt. Robert Clark Jr., commanding officer of Naval Station Norfolk, in his opening remarks to the attendees. "Chaplains play a key role in suicide prevention and particularly in postvention as advisors to the commander on the best way to care for the impacted family and Sailors in the command," he added.

Subject matters experts in suicidology and suicide intervention from the 21st Century Sailor Office and LivingWorks Education facilitated the training alongside the Naval Chaplaincy School and Center staff.

"In this training, we will focus on the unique ways we can keep our warfighters in strength by providing courageous care where it matters, when it matters on the deck plate," said Deputy Chief of Navy Chaplains Rear Adm. Brent Scott during his opening remarks. "As chaplains, we usher in the divine presence into the conversation as we speak to the issues of hopelessness and one's purpose in life," he added.

In addition to pastoral care, the three-day training underscored the invaluable advisory role of chaplains to the command triad to address command climate issues, help reduce stigma, and encourage help-seeking behavior to prevent suicide in the command.

"The link to building resilience in our people is reducing barriers and reinforcing hope. It's not a one-size- fits-all approach but about building bridges with other partners in care with whom we work as professional Navy chaplains," said Capt. Frank Foley, a Navy chaplain in the chief of chaplains' office who helped facilitate the training.

Days one and two focused on effective prevention and intervention strategies. These strategies included the importance of purposeful engagement at various transition points in a service member's career, and purposeful listening to connect the dots indicating when someone might be at risk. These risk factors include: a disrupted social network, relationship challenges, occupational or academic setbacks, and fall from glory situations.

"Chaplains are vital resources to Sailors and families, particularly when it comes to navigating life's stressors and challenges," said Steve Holton, deputy director for the 21st Century Sailor Office Suicide Prevention Branch. "The evidence-based tools we're introducing to the Fleet through these trainings will enable any shipmate, leader or professional to effectively assess a Sailor's level of risk, promote positive coping strategies, and build trust. This collaboration is another way for us to provide tools to support Every Sailor, Every Day and encourage proactive engagement before crises occur," Holton added.

Participants learned how to use evidence-based intervention tools such as the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale, a screening tool for persons at risk, and the VA safety plan. Both tools are intended to equip chaplains with the right questions to ask to help keep service members and family members safe, without compromising an individual's confidentiality.

"As we care for our people, we provide a completely confidential and safe place for those who are experiencing suicidal thoughts to explore their pain. We are able to help them build personal and spiritual resilience so they can work through their challenges and successfully re-integrate into their work environment," said Cmdr. Glenda Harrison, command chaplain for USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and training participant.

"Training of this nature is paramount to a chaplain's professional development and keeps the chaplain leaning forward to provide viable solutions to the command to address this health of force issue," Harrison added.

The training also emphasized the importance of engaging family members who are often the ones most attuned to changes in their Sailor, Marine, or Coast Guardsmen. According to Joiner's Interpersonal Theory of Suicide, these changes include signs of isolation, "thwarted belongingness" or "perceived burdensomeness."

While many family members fear disclosing information that could impact their service members' career, they also have complete confidentiality with their chaplain. In these cases, chaplains can act as an advocate to intervene and get the service member the help he or she needs.

The final day of training focused on postvention, supporting a survivor's recovery and reintegration back into the command. Participants learned how to best advise commanders in the aftermath of a suicide to be sensitive to the needs of the crew and ways to foster an environment of healing in the command and for family members as they grieve.

"One of the best practices shared which I intend to take back to my command is the importance of rehearsing my command's suicide crisis response plan," said Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Prince, the command chaplain for the Coast Guard's 5th District. "My command recently had a person die by suicide. Since that time, I have been making unit visits to engage people on ways to be resilient by proactively setting physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual goals in their personal and professional relationships," Prince added. "This training was a great encouragement as it helped validate this approach to care for my people."