1st Brigade set to return home, families focus on resiliency

Spouses and children of the 1st Brigade’s deployed soldiers recently enjoyed Family Resiliency Day together.

The hands-on activity was a chance for families to come together to support one another while running through an obstacle course, taking part in resiliency training and observing weapons and equipment demonstrations.

“Overall, we are really trying to focus on resiliency,” Lt. Caleb Cline said. “The kids will be running into challenge in the school year and with the fathers coming back from Afghanistan,” he said. “There may be some potential issues and concerns while the spouse re-integrate with the family, and we want to lean forward on that and help the families as much as possible, so everyone has a smooth transition.”

Families eager for the return of their loved ones say it’s been a challenging deployment. “We have hard times right now with deployments,” Jennifer Strong, spouse of a deployed soldier said. “Some of the parents are deployed right now and it’s been a while, so we are looking forward to them getting home soon.”

Resiliency Day is a time for families to realize that they are not alone in what they are going through. “You get a group together, so if there is a problem they can come together and help out,” a soldier said.

“I think it gives them a sense of peace that she isn’t going though it herself,” Lazarus Rivera, another soldier, said. “There are other spouses here she can interact with.”

The 1st Brigade has been deployed for about seven months, and they are expected to return mid September or October.