| What is Strong Bonds?
|
|
[12/16/2010] |
Source: Army News
Service
|
 By
CH (LTC) Birch
Carleton
What
is the Strong Bonds
program?
Strong
Bonds is a chaplain-led program
for commanders which builds
relationship resiliency. The
Strong Bonds mission is to
increase Soldier and Family
readiness through relationship
education and skills training.
Four Strong Bonds
programs applied to the Army
Force Generation cycle help
Single-Soldiers, Couples and
Families to thrive in the
turbulence of the military
environment.
Attendees
voluntarily participate in a
Strong Bonds offsite retreat
format designed to maximize
relationship training impact.
The retreat or “get away”
provides an emotionally safe and
secure training environment in
which to address the effect of
military lifestyle
stressors.
What has
the Army
done?
Beginning
in 1999, with four events and 90
couples in the 25th Infantry
Division, Hawaii, Strong Bonds
has spread throughout the Active
and Reserve Components of the
Army.
In 2004, the US
Code was amended to allow
command funding for
“chaplain-led programs to assist
members of the armed forces … in
building and maintaining a
strong family structure,” (Title
10, ~1789).
In FY 2010,
the Army completed the third
year of a five-year longitudinal
study evaluating the outcomes of
the Strong Bonds training
program. Preliminary outcomes
show a fifty percent lower rate
in divorce with an increase in
marital satisfaction for
participants.
What
continued efforts does the
Army have planned for the
future?
The Army
continues to provide
relationship training tools and
make them available to Soldiers
and their Families. For Fiscal
Year 2011, commanders from the
Active Army, the National Guard
and the Army Reserve have
planned more than 5,000 Strong
Bonds events including units and
Soldiers geographically
dispersed from military
installations.
Why is
this important to the
Army?
Healthy
relationships contribute to the
maintenance of a healthy Army
and a secure future force. With
increasing demands placed on
Soldiers and Families, to
include both frequent
deployments and duty
relocations, intimate
relationships are fully tested.
Research shows that
training in communication
skills, intimacy, and conflict
management increases marital
satisfaction and reduces rates
of Family
violence.
Building Army
Family resiliency is part of a
strategic approach to cope with
the high operational demand
placed on today’s
Army.
For More
Information:
For
more information about the
Strong Bonds program, visit the
Strong Bonds Web site at www.strongbonds.org,
see your unit chaplain, or
contact the local installation
chaplain's
office.
|
|