Family Readiness Groups
Definition
An FRG is a battery/company affiliated organization of military members and family members
who utilize volunteers to provide social and emotional support, outreach services, and
information to families before, during, and between family separations, deployments, extended
tours of temporary duty and field training exercises.
Purpose
the main purpose of an FRG, is to educate families on the resources available to them as military
families. This is an on-going education and mentoring process.
Goals
The goal of all FRGs is to produce families who are sustaining and self-sufficient
An FRG is NOT responsible for:
 Acting as surrogate parents
 Acting as social workers
 Lending money, cars, or other expensive items
 Supporting a divided "club" atmosphere (i.e. enlisted/officer, single/married
spouses/parents etc…)
 Providing a babysitting service
Duplicating Department of the Army, post, or community activities and resources (i.e. providing
food, money, legal advice, etc.)
Structure
The FRG is based on volunteerism. By military regulations the battery/company commander is
ultimately responsible for the establishment and support of the FRG, but the operation and
functionality of the group depends on the level of involvement of its volunteers A volunteer
chairperson or leader is officially appointed by the commander to help organize and lead the
FRG.
The volunteer FRG leader is responsible for organizing meetings, creating and sending
newsletters, maintaining a phone tree, and/or assisting with activities, events, and fundraisers.
The FRG volunteers are made up of any Soldiers, spouses, or family members associated with
the unit who hold key positions within the FRG i.e. Asst. Leader, Sec/Tres, Historian, Committee
Members etc… Some volunteers will be "Key Callers" or "Points of Contact." The POCs'
names appear at the top of a FRG Phone Tree and they are responsible for calling the people
listed below their name to relay messages from the commander and/or FRG leader. Although all
positions within the FRG structure are voluntary, commanders should recognize them as part of
his/her special staff a treated accordingly.
Adapted in part from information obtained from http://FRG.army.mil, article entitled What is a Family
Readiness Group, by Traci Cook.
page 1 of 3
Family Readiness Group Framework
It may be helpful to view Family Readiness in this way. Starting with families at the center of all
family readiness events, there are three main goals of the FRG. Preparing families for
separation from the military member, educating families on the mission and responsibilities of
military families, and communicating regularly with all families are all an integral part of
maintaining healthy family relationships. If the FRG is structured so that one or more of these
goals is being met with any planned event, both planning and execution of the event will be more
successful.
PREPARATION
The primary goal of any Family Readiness Group should be to maintain readiness for any type of
separation - field exercise, deployment, schools, etc. Through regularly scheduled FRG
meetings, newsletters, phone tree messages, classes, and deployment readiness briefings, all
families should be better equipped to deal with the stresses associated with separation.
EDUCATION
Educating families on the military way of life, responsibilities of the military member, and unit
mission can help alleviate frustration and confusion when separations occur. Organizations such
as Guard Family Team Building (GFTB), Guard Family Action Plan (GFAP), Operation
READY, and Army Family Action Plan (AFAP) programs are great ways to educate families on
how to better handle the issues that arise in the military.
COMMUNICATION
Communicating regularly with all military families helps create unit cohesion and can eliminate
many problems that arise due to gossip, misinformation, and/or rumors that may circulate within
your unit.
Preparation
Preparing for
separation
Communication
Sharing accurate
information
Soldiers
&
Families
Education
Learning about
Army life
Families
are the center
of every FRG.
Adapted in part from information obtained from http://FRG.army.mil, article entitled What is a Family
Readiness Group, by Traci Cook.
page 2 of 3
SAMPLE GOALS FOR A BATTERY/COMPANY LEVEL FRG
1. Support single Soldiers
a. Welcome new Soldiers in the monthly newsletter
b. Provide Christmas stockings with goodies
c. Provide Easter goody baskets/bags
d. Recognize birthdays with cupcakes, quarterly; in newsletter, monthly
e. Provide each Soldier with monthly newsletter
2. Support married Soldiers, spouses, and children
a. Welcome new comers
1. Welcome Committee
2. Welcome packets
b. Holiday parties
c. Family events
3. Maintain effective communication with all Soldiers and families
b. Maintaining and distributing current phone tree rosters
c. Mailing monthly newsletters to each family
d. Providing copies of monthly newsletters for Soldiers to read
e. Utilizing email messages to send information to families
d. Educate Soldiers and family members on the mission of our unit
a. a. Newsletters
b FRG meetings, classes/workshops
c. Soldier formations
d. FRG activities
e. Prepare Soldiers and family members for deployment/redeployment
a. Sponsor briefings throughout any deployment /mobilization process
b. Provide referral and resource information for pre-deployment, deployment and post
deployment periods.
Obviously, these types of goals are better met when all leaders in the unit actively support them.
The commander, MPOC, FRG leader, and volunteers must work together to create an
environment where military members and families feel comfortable and welcome. Once the
environment is set, families are more likely to attend meetings and events. This sets the stage
for preparing military members and families for separations, educating them on military and unit
issues, and maintaining open communication, and that will pave the way for a successful,
effective Family Readiness Group.
Adapted in part from information obtained from http://FRG.army.mil, article entitled What is a Family
Readiness Group, by Traci Cook.
page 3 of 3