U.S.

Marine Corps Forces EUROPE & AFRICA

UNIT, PERSONAL AND FAMILY READINESS QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER
AUGUST 2011

Inside this edition:

Commanders Corner Education Resources Volunteer Recruiting Baby Boom Mango Languages Upcoming Events

Independence Day Celebration, July 4, 2011

LtGen Dennis J. Hejlik Commander Marine Corps Forces, Europe

LtGen John M. Paxton JR Commander Marine Corps Forces, Africa

COMMANDERS CORNER
We hope that you all have had an enjoyable and safe summer! We would also like to welcome the many new families that joined us this summer. Among our new additions to MARFOREUR and MARFORAF include the new Deputy Commander, BGen Chuck Chiarotti and his wife Joan, and the MARFORAF Chief of Staff, Col Doug Fairfield and his wife Nancy. They both bring years of experience working with Marines and their families. They both share our commitment to supporting you and the Family Readiness Program. This summer we have made great progress with our Unit, Personal and Family Readiness Program (UPFRP). Our Family Readiness Officer (FRO), Ms. Katherine Nelson, is committed to providing support for all MARFOREUR and MARFORAF families. She brings years of invaluable Marine Corps and Navy experience, is your local information and referral specialist and is always prepared to assist. Her duties include conducting official communication to service and family members on behalf of the unit's Commander; providing information and referrals; assisting with readiness and deployment support; and managing the family readiness volunteers. The FRO is also our volunteer coordinator. At this time, we are recruiting new volunteers. If you are interested in becoming involved with the program, have L.I.N.K.S. experience, or would just like to assist with planning an event, please give Katherine a call. I encourage all of you to participate in these efforts and to sustain the high level of readiness at the MARFOREUR and MARFORAF Headquarters. As the summer winds down, we have been encouraged with your efforts towards keeping safety at the forefront in your day to day lives. Whether it be motorcycle safely, our battle buddy system of checking each other's backs, or the safety briefs and PME we do, it all contributes to a safe and responsible work environment, and in turn keeps our readiness where it needs to be. However, we need to remember that emergencies and crises can happen anywhere and anytime. With that in mind, we encourage you to think about your emergency plan. Family Care Plans are a requirement for Marine families with children. They hold a significant role, especially when stationed in a foreign country. Another key component of emergency preparedness is to ensure that your contact information is up to date in our Marine Online Family Readiness System. This will assist the FRO when distributing important information to Marines and families, especially in the event of a crisis. The contact information Marines provide will be kept secure, will not be shared, and will be used only for official Family Readiness purposes. As we look forward, the Family Readiness Officer has some great events planned for the end of summer and through the fall. The Marine Corps Ball is coming, as well as Thanksgiving, Veterans Day, and Winterfest. Most importantly, back-to-school season is nearly upon us, so lets ensure we are best prepared for the new school year and ensure our families are ready as well. In closing, we would like to thank all of the Marines who have worked diligently towards our varied and critical missions over the past few months. Your hard work and professionalism getting the tough jobs done is commendable. I would especially like to thank our Marine Corps and Navy spouses who support our Marines and Sailors daily. Your dedication allows the MARFOREUR and MARFORAF team to focus on and accomplish every task. You are a vital part of the commands success. We truly appreciate each and every one of you!

As we head into the Fall, the Family Readiness Office will be recruiting new volunteers for the Family Readiness Program. It is important to understand the command structure and the positions of every member of the Command Team. We have a unique command team because we have two commands combined as one. Everyone comes with an abundance of experience and best practices that we can adapt to our way of living in Germany to help improve the quality of life for our Marines, Sailors, and their families. If you would like to become a part of the MARFOREUR & MARFORAF Family Readiness Team, please contact the Family Readiness Officer at Katherine.nelson@mfe.usmc.mil or 0160-588-9499.

CONGRATULATIONS !!
Sgt Estrella was the lucky winner of Bon Jovi concert tickets, backstage passes and a Richie Sambora autographed acoustic guitar.

We will keep the faith with our Marines, our Sailors and our families We will ensure that Marines, Sailors and their families will have availability and access to quality facilities and support programs, as well as resources and benefits that provide a quality standard of living. This same effort will be applied to our single Marines. General James F. Amos 35th Commandant of the Marine Corps

What can Military OneSource Do for you?

To Reach Military OneSource from Germany: To reach the Sprint Access platform dial 0800-888-0013 The caller will receive a prompt which says, "Welcome to Sprint, a service provider to Global One. Please enter your Foncard number now, or press "05"to make a toll-free call to the USA ". There will be no need for a Foncard number for these toll-free users. Users must either press "05" on their phone or time-out to an operator. The caller will then dial 800-342-9647 to reach our service Callers may also choose to call collect: 484-530-5908 Or go to the website: Militaryonesource.com

Real help, Anytime, Anywhere 24 Hours a Day, 7 Days a Week

CONSULATION, RESEARCH, and REFERRALS: Relocation information, looking for quality childcare, spouse employment assistance, help with home repairs, special needs issues, need to talk about family issues, sharpen your communication skills, manage stress INTERPRETATION and TRANSLATION: More than 140 languages, written documents can be translated and interpreters can facilitate three-way phone calls to ensure communication between you and a third party. COUNSELING: You have access to 12 in-person non-medical counseling sessions right in your own com-munity at no cost to you. Licensed counselors can help with any type of issue. EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS: OneSource has booklets, CDs, MP3s, books, audio-books and more...all free! INTERACTIVE WEB SITE: Find locators for education, child care, and elder care; useful newsletters; informative articles; referrals to military and community resources; financial calculators; Webinars; relocation tools; audio pod casts; access to consultants; and much more!

Unit Volunteer Opportunities

Looking to volunteer? Help your unit, Put your talents to use, Develop job skills, Gain valuable job experience We are looking for a few good volunteers
Hospitality Morale Support Information and Referral Administration Event Planning L.I.N.K.S. Mentors LES Coordinators Family Readiness Assistant
The Unit Family Readiness Assistants support the Family Readiness Officer in carrying out the Commanders vision and needs of the unit family readiness program. If you are interested in or have particular talents in a certain area that would be helpful to the unit this may be the position for you. Some duties of a FRA could be welcoming families to a unit, newsletter editing, social media updates and information and referral. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact the FRO at Katherine.nelson@mfe.usmc.mil

The REAL Unit, Personal and Family Readiness Program

Family Readiness Officer, Katherine Nelson The Unit, Personal and Family Readiness Program prepares every Marine and their family to ensure resiliency when faced with life events. When every Marine and family in a unit reaches this level of resiliency, a high state of personal and family readiness will result, thereby ensuring the unit's high state of readiness. Many Marines seem to think the program is just for married Marines, hence the name Family Readiness. However, this is not the case. Family is defined as ALL members of a Marine's family, including the Marine. Marines have three families: the family they are born into, the family they are sworn into, and the family they are married into. Therefore, family support will be accessible to Marines (regardless of marital status), spouses, children, and the designated parents/extended family members of Marines. At MARFOREUR & MARFORAF, Marines and families have a unique set of circumstances in which to adapt; an overseas move, meeting new people, making new friends, leaving family in the states, learning a new language and culture, and living in an Army community. All of these circumstances makes for a greater challenge, but the Marines and family members of MARFOREUR & MARFORAF tackle the challenge and find great rewards in being stationed in Germany. Many have enjoyed the opportunity to travel, shop, dine, wine tasting, visit amusement parks, historical places, festivals, more shopping, and outdoor recreational activities. I would like to hear from you. If you would like to share your favorite places to visit, what has helped you to be successful while in Germany, what you have enjoyed so far, or offer tips on travel, please email me, Katherine.nelson@mfe.usmc.mil and Ill post your favorites on the new MARFOREUR & MARFORAF Family Readiness Facebook web page.

Find us on Marine Forces Europe & Africa Family Readiness

Congratulations to our new parents!

Student Online Achievement Resources

No cost on-line program for military families funded through DOD Assessments and tutorials identify and target students individual strengths and weaknesses On-line video tutorials for parents Available anytime, anywhere with Internet access

GySgt & Mrs. Ross, proud parents of Brian, 7 lbs, 21 in, born 4/14/11 MSgt & Mrs. Fischer, proud parents of Jackson Xavier, born 5/19/11 Sgt & Mrs. Hilleger, proud parents of Logan Scott, born 5/23/11 Sgt & Mrs. Rodriguez, proud parents of Elena Loralynn, 7lbs, 20.4 in, born 6/12/11 GySgt & Mrs. Dare, proud parents of Gabriel Quin David, born 8/5/11 Sgt & Mrs. Harrison, proud parents of Bijou, 6lbs 5oz, 20 in, born 8/12/11 Sgt & Mrs. Parr, proud parents of Caleb Beckett, 7lbs 3 oz, 20 in, born 8/13/11

www.SoarAtHome.org

Experience the world and its people through detailed cultural information on more than 200 countries. This resource is divided into four editions World, Kids, States, and Provinces. Learn more about where we live. http://online.culturegrams.com/world

IMPORTANT LOCAL SCHOOL DATES

Robinson Barracks School Open House Friday, 26 August, 1500 1700 Elementary Class assignment posting on Friday, 26 August at the following locations: School, Kelley Commissary, Patch Commissary Patch Barracks New Student Orientation Friday, 19 August, 10001500; Monday, 22 August, 10001500 Class lists Posting on school glass panels on Friday, 26 August, 1700 Back-To-School Open House on Thursday, 08 September, 1730 Patch High School New Student Orientation Thursday, 25 August, 1100 1400 Open House Wednesday, 14 September Boeblingen Middle School New Student OrientationFriday, 26 August, 1000-1215 Open House Middle School (6-8)Friday, 26 August, 1600-1800 Open House Elementary School (K-5) Friday, 26 August, 1700-1900

BEFORE YOU GO, MANGO.

Mango is a language learning program teaching practical conversation and cultural awareness for the worlds most popular languages. Its so fast and easy, youll be able to have a real conversation in your new language in just minutes MANGO IS PRACTICAL FOR A VARIETY OF GOVERNMENT PERSONNEL AND THEIR FAMILIES.
Using a variety of real-life everyday conversations, integrated cultural lessons, and content

customized for common military interactions, our online system delivers communication skills that users can implement right away. Its an ideal way for them to learn the language pre-deployment, or to acclimate to the culture they are stationed in.

Contact the Information and Referral Program Manager, Lucinda Lorei to set up your FREE account today. lucinda.lorei@usmc.mil

Mango is an online language-learning system that can help you learn languages like Spanish, French, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, German, Mandarin Chinese, Greek, Italian, Russian and more

FREE ONLINE TUTORS

Live Homework Help Online Tutoring is a free, live online tutoring service for K-12 students, college students, and adult learners available 24/7. Students work with certified tutors on homework, essay writing and test prep in 20 subjects. Student and tutor use chat, interactive whiteboards and file-sharing in a secure online classroom. Sessions can be replayed, emailed and printed. ProofPoint Real-Time Writing Center: Help with reports, essays, and writing projects, including resume help for the adult student. SkillsCenter Resource Library: Worksheets, videos and links to standardized exams in all 50 states. Includes GED prep, resume writing, citizenship test prep, and financial literacy resources for adult learners. How it Works: All users are required to obtain an individual password from their librarian, either in person, by phone, email or through their local library website. One password will be assigned per family. Students and tutors work together in an online classroom using controlled chat and an interactive white board. Students can send computer files, such as essays, to the tutor for review and assistance. They can also share educational websites.

Contact the Information and Referral Program Manager, Lucinda Lorei to set up your FREE account today. lucinda.lorei@usmc.mil