RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
A seminar designed to help couples prepare for the issues they will face and the emotions they will feel when one of them is deployed is planned for Thursday at the Randolph Chapel Center.
The Randolph Chaplain Corps developed the program, which is called the pre-deployment marriage seminar, at the request of Col. Jacqueline Van Ovost, former 12th Flying Training Wing commander, to help couples better cope during the separation experienced as a result of deployment. Previous seminars were conducted in March and June 2009.
Chaplain (Capt.) Cameron Gunnin, one of the presenters, said the purpose of the seminar is three-fold. First it helps couples prepare for what's ahead.
"They are introduced to a variety of common experiences and issues couples face during deployment," he said. "Then each couple has the opportunity to talk about how they want to handle these issues when they arise."
Chaplain Gunnin said the seminar also "seeks to provide a network of support each couple can rely on during the deployment since having support from others is the key component for making it through any stressful time."
"The seminar does this by helping to form relationships between the couples attending and by educating the couples on the host of resources they can lean on when they're in need of support or assistance," he said.
Finally, Chaplain Gunnin said, the seminar "seeks to help strengthen each couple's commitment to the relationship since the stress and strain of being apart can erode the commitment and closeness between partners."
Topics, which address the emotional stages of deployment, include pre-deployment planning, communication skills for deployment, resources for staying in communication during deployment, the impact of deployment on children and family members, reunion dynamics, resources for responding to the potential effects of deployment and preventing affairs and performing meaningful rituals to reinforce a couple's commitment.
Chaplain Gunnin said he will present models that "give a big-picture view of the entire experience emotionally and relationally" and lead discussions on how couples can best prepare for deployment.
His wife, Michelle Gunnin, a licensed professional counselor, will also address communication skills and together they'll share resources available to help couples stay in contact during deployment and help couples express their feelings about the deployment and come up with solutions to any problems they may face.
Mitzi Wood, Randolph Family Advocacy Program intervention specialist, will discuss the impact of deployment on children and how to prepare them for their parent's deployment.
Chaplain Gunnin, a reservist who also serves as chaplain and a counselor at Saint Mary's Hall, a private school in northeast San Antonio, said the seminar is important to the Air Force mission because healthy relationships and marriages and mission effectiveness "go hand-in-hand."
"We all know that when our personal lives are unhealthy or are in a state of crisis, our professional lives are profoundly affected," he said. "So Airmen whose marriages are healthy and growing are naturally able to better focus on the mission."
To register for the seminar, which will be held Thursday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., call 652-6121. Refreshments, lunch and child care will be provided.