Retreat provides time for families to reconnect

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Marelise Wood
  • 352nd Special Operations Group Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  Thirteen families came together to learn more about their personalities and how to develop a better working relationship during a family retreat July 7. For these families, learning more about each other was a precursor to a two-day retreat, sponsored by their unit, the 352nd Special Operations Group.

As the sole Air Force special operations unit providing support to the entire European Command, the 352nd SOG maintains a high operations tempo, which sometimes results in members spending extended periods away from their families. In an effort to assist these members as they reintegrate with their families, the group enlisted the assistance of the 100th Force Support Squadron Airman and Family Readiness staff to organize a retreat.

"The 352nd Special Operations Group contacted me about having a family retreat," said Kelly White, A&FRC. "With a high tempo of operations, long work hours and deployments, some families aren't getting to spend a lot of time together, so they wanted to offer these families the opportunity to do that. As a first step, before the retreat even begins, we're conducting a personality assessment aimed at seeing how their personalities mesh or cause problems at certain times, what the needs of their children are, and how, as parents, they can relate to their children so they get what they need at home."

During the retreat itself, families built on what they learned about each other through the assessment. They participated in a scavenger hunt, as well as a two-hour workshop on family goal planning, and learned a variety of communication tools that can be used with children of all ages.

Staff Sgt. Jessica Leiker, 352nd Special Operations Support Squadron, and her husband of six years Johnathan, felt fortunate to be selected for the retreat and looked forward to spending time with their 2-year-old daughter Kaiya.

"We found the training very useful and interesting," said Leiker. "I liked the various exercises they had us do, from setting goals as a family, to the talk cards they handed out. The program was very well structured, and they scheduled it in such a way that it made everything feel relaxed and not rushed."

Staff at the A&FRC feel it's important to hold events like this, to bring people together as a family.

"We simply highlighted things that in day-to-day life we all sometimes forget to do," said White. "It just brings them back to why their relationships, their families, and their kids are important, and reconnects them."

The families returned well-rested and feeling a little more connected after spending that dedicated time away.

"This was recommended to us, and we would highly recommend it to anyone else," said Leiker. "Words cannot express what a wonderful time we all had. I just can't say enough good things about the retreat, training, or the staff that put it together."

Following the success of the Family Retreat, and a Couples Retreat held earlier in the year, the 352nd SOG is currently planning a Singles Retreat for late August.

"Any unit can plan a retreat," White said. "The staff at the Airman and Family Readiness Center is here to help. Come by and we can help you no matter how big or small your function!"