Separations from family, especially during the holiday season, is another sacrifice that our military members make on our behalf. Chief Master Sergeant Kelvin Hatcher joins us to highlight some of the challenges and discuss ideas on how to mitigate them.
Chief Hatcher is the Command Chief Master Sergeant for the 355th Wing at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. In that role he serves as Senior advisor for one of the largest installations in our US Air Force with more than 46,000 personnel, 152 aircraft and 51 BILLION dollars in assets. Chief Hatcher is in his 25th year of service to our nation and has had deployments to no fewer than SIX operations.
I specifically invited Chief Hatcher to address the topic of military holiday separations because, given the nature of the missions at Davis-Monthan, the pace of deployments remains high even when we are not in a “shooting” war.
Preparing families for a holiday separation is a collective approach. Many military installations have on-base departments like family readiness centers that can help. Very often other, more experienced squadron families also function as a resource.
Being separated during the holidays can lead to depression, feelings of isolation and stress. Chief Hatcher recommends staying connected with your family however possible while deployed. Families should also strive to improve connections with their fellow families and neighbors. He also emphasizes the importance of giving oneself grace during these challenging times.
We also discuss some of the challenges of reintegration when a deployed family member returns. Often the family has developed a “new normal” during the separation and adjustments must be made. It is important for the military members to share topics they are not comfortable discussing. Sometimes large gatherings may not be the best idea.
TAKEAWAY: “Connections are only built through trust, through someone caring about someone deeply and someone that is willing to help no matter what.”