MEU to test new family communication program - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times

MEU to test new family communication program

OCEANSIDE, Calif. — For the families of deploying Marines, one of the greatest stresses can be “the unknown.” Where are deployed spouses, parents and children, how are they doing, and what are they doing?

In an effort to keep families informed, the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit will test a program during the lead up to its next deployment that will keep families in the loop. If proven successful, it could serve as a model for units across the Corps.

The MEU will pilot the program under the direction of Marine Forces Pacific, building a “virtual family readiness community” that will allow unit commanders to communicate with Marines’ families and friends. In August, the Hawaii-based command signed a contract with DefenseWeb Technologies Inc. to develop the project.

DefenseWeb already has developed the Virtual Family Readiness Group for the Army’s Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command. The Army’s program allows commands to post online and easily share information such as announcements, news, blogs and streaming videos.

Like the Army, MARFORPAC officials saw a need for units to provide such information, but through a more controlled and more secure process than exists on social networking sites such as Facebook, said Lt. Col. Curtis Hill, a spokesman at Camp H.M. Smith in Hawaii. The pilot will begin in November, he said.

MARFORPAC officials have not determined what services the platform will offer, but that the capabilities will likely reach “all the way down to the battalion and squadron level,” Hill said.

While officials decide which other units will participate in the test, Hill said the 13th MEU will definitely be a part of it. The Camp Pendleton, Calif.-based unit this month kicked off the start of its six-month workup, leading to an early 2011 deployment.

Col. David Coffman, the unit commander, has made clear that he wants Marines and sailors to have their personal lives and families ready for the deployment.

Coffman already leans on a staff that includes the unit’s family readiness officer, Bryan T. Vaughn, who oversees a small but growing team of volunteers who help with family related issues.

But the MEU takes it a step further, requiring Marines to complete a checklist of tasks monitored through a “family readiness jacket,” set up much like a Marine’s service record book. The tool maintains and logs required forms, checklists and other steps, such as completing powers of attorney or family care plans. If the checklist is not complete, the Marine will not be cleared to deploy. Through the system, Marines with pending readiness tasks will be denoted in red, similar to highlighting aircraft that are down for maintenance.

“I send a weekly report to the CO, just like the dental [readiness] report, on who is deployable and who isn’t deployable,” Vaughn said.

A Marine’s name stays red “until he’s OK’d and ready and deployable,” he said, adding, “no Marine wants to be in the red.”

Each jacket includes detailed, updated information about family members or close friends the Marine designates as authorized contacts, Vaughn said. Beyond standard emergency contacts, it also includes numbers for a Marine’s child care provider, his spouse’s employer, extended family members who need to be kept in the information loop — and even the family dog’s name and veterinarian.

Such information will be handy in emergencies, Vaughn said. For example, if a Marine’s wife gets hurt and is hospitalized, there may be no one to immediately care for their children, but the family readiness information could help the unit step in and help in the short term.