Fleet and Family Support Center offers programs and servcies to heighten the awareness of service members and their families to the roller coaster of emotions. Deployment readiness is a priority for commands, service members and their families. Major changes in one's life, such as deployment, can cause an individual to feel that events are out of his/her control. The more information one has and the more planning that is done before deployment occurs, the more in control one is likely to feel.
Return and Reunion:
All forces afloat such as, battle groups (BG), amphibious ready groups (ARG) expeditionary strike groups (ESG) or solo operational ships that are attached to San Diego and are deployed for six months or more may request a Return and Reunion Program onboard training. The Return and Reunion Program (R&R) began in the spring of 1980 in response to the carrier Nimitz requesting assistance for sailors after an exceptionally long deployment. A team of educators, chaplains and clinical counselors from Norfolk, Virginia, boarded the ship at its last liberty port to prepare the crew for return to the states. In the late 1980's, the program was adopted in San Diego, CA as part of the WESTPAC experience, and earned its credibility in 1991 with service members returning from Desert Storm. The purpose of R&R training is to help service members returning from deployment, garner the skills necessary to ease their "returning home adjustment" after extended absences from family and friends.
Deployed Spouse Support Group
If you are the wife or husband of a deployed Sailor or Marine, join this group for support and to learn coping skills.