94th AAMDC Soldiers Establish ‘Strong Bonds’
by PV2 Ashley M. Armstrong

Spc. Margarita Jacobo, automotive logistic specialist, 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, and Spc. Justin Scales, human resource specialist, 94th AAMDC, look over each others’ “have you ever” bingo sheets to see what they have done that they can sign-off on the sheet. The bingo sheets were part of an interaction activity at the single Soldier retreat March 27 at the Turtle Bay Resort. (U.S. Army photo by PV2 Ashley M. Armstrong.)

 FORT SHAFTER FLATS — “Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, but bears it out even to the

 edge of doom,” wrote William Shakespeare in Sonnet 116, a poetic description of his interpretation of love.
     Unfortunately, the reality of love isn’t always like Shakespeare writes it to be, filled with romance and everlasting perfection. For most people, strong relationships require effort, which is why the 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command (AAMDC) supports the Strong Bonds program by organizing relationship enrichment retreats.
     Soldiers from the 94th AAMDC participated in a single Soldier retreat March 27-28, and a couples’ retreat April 3-4, the first retreats of the year. Both took place at the Turtle Bay Resort where participating Soldiers learned skills relevant to their relationship status. They took the opportunity to mingle with fellow Soldiers and enjoy the resort.
     “The Strong Bonds program was created as an empowerment tool for the total Army family,” said Capt. Michelle Toyofuku, battery commander, 94th AAMDC. “To help Army families, single Soldiers and couples endure the stress and fatigue that often comes with not only wartime deployments, but even the everyday challenges that life presents us — changes we all go through.”
     “I think the purpose of the program is to lessen the stress on Soldiers,” said Spc. Roshia Everett, automotive logistic specialist, 94th AAMDC, about the Strong Bonds program.
     Everett has attended two of the couples’ retreats, including the most recent one, and believes the retreats help shift Soldiers’ focus away from work and educate them on skills to strengthen their relationships. She said the retreats she has attended have helped her marriage by teaching her communication skills and ways to avoid arguments during conflicts.
      The Strong Bonds program is designed to assist Soldiers at the unit level in building stronger bonds with loved ones through relationship enrichment training and activities. The program is coordinated by chaplains and funded by the Department of the Army. The Army Chief of Chaplains manages the grant program that assists commanders in implementing the program at available dates on the unit’s training schedule.
     “I think if you take the information given from the retreats to heart, and you apply those lessons learned in your life, it will help you with your significant other or your future significant other,” said Spc. Justin Scales, human resources specialist, 94th AAMDC, who attended the single Soldier retreat.
     The program was introduced in 1997 and initially targeted married couples but later expanded in 2005 to include programs for single Soldiers, families with children, and the special needs associated with deployed and redeployed families.
     Col. Vance Theodore, 94th AAMDC chaplain, coordinates his command’s events, which include Soldiers from other units in the area.
     Theodore said chaplains attend training sessions in order to be properly educated on the curriculum that they plan to teach at the retreats. The Department of the Army chooses the curriculum based on what the service believes would be most useful to Soldiers.
     “When life-changing events happen in the lives of our Soldiers, their spouses, and children, these events have an impact — sometimes positive, sometimes negative, and this program helps the family grow,” said Toyofuku. “We want them all to know that they have an entire command here to help them thrive and weather any storm.”