Army Family Team Building and some Army culture.

So I went to my first AFTB (because everything is an acronym here) meeting last night.  I was actually really excited for it, besides the fact that it went from 5:00-8:30pm. I found out about it at the almost FRG meeting we had with Hubby's company commanders the other night. Here you can learn all you need to know to be an Army wife. Ok, so I doubt that is their moto, but it's how I see it, since I know next to nothing. There are three different levels and they teach each level in a group of classes. For example the level II class that I'm taking is June 6, 7, 9 and 13 all from 5:00-8:30pm.  From what I have learned at Ft. Rucker, you can take the classes out of order and if you go through them all, including the instructor training, you can teach. That sounds interesting to me, I think I'd like to make that a goal.

I've listed all the levels and classes you can take at the bottom of the page.

So, funny story about Army Culture. I learned, with some embarrassment, that when the flag is raised or retreated each day there is a song played and all those outside stop and face the flag-if you know where it is- and put your hand over your heart or show respect or whatever. How did I learn this? By watching everyone around me.

I had gotten lost on my way to the class that night, and arrived at building 5700 right at 5:00. I was running through the parking lot, until I realized that EVERYONE around me was standing still. I mean people had gotten out of their cars on the road. It seemed to be a big deal. I felt so stupid. lol. Oh, dear. It felt like one of those moments when you didn't realize someone was giving a prayer and you're still talking at full volume. So I looked around a copied what everyone else did. Oops. Later I found out there was another wife who was watching ME to see what to do. HAHA! Little did she know. What surprised me was that her husband had been in the army for 23 years. I guess there's a first time for everything.

The classes I took last night were, 2.8 Personal Conflict Management, 2.7 Team Dynamics, and 2.2 Personal Time Management, in that order. I thought it was really interesting that they didn't teach them in order. I don't know if they just assign the classes out to different wives and then it's just who can teach what when. I don't understand their method. However, like everything else in the Army, it's a very structured and organized class. They give you this big fat binder with all the worksheets and handouts for the entire "level II" course. The teachers have a very scripted text they are supposed to teach from. Although, both of the teachers that taught last night added in their own personalities to add to the content. It was great.


My Review of the classes so far: Excellent.  The class was very small, 8 woman. Most of us were new to the Army life. The discussions were intelligent and helpful. I had taken some organizational behavior classes in college and found the material a lot the same, so I felt I knew a lot of the information presented, but it was interesting none-the-less. It did seem as if some girl drama could happen very easily, so I guess just keep that in mind if you like to avoid it or get in the middle of it.


List of classes available to take:

Level I:
1.1 Expectations & Impact of the Mission on Family Life
1.2 Military Acronyms and Terms (I feel like I need to take this class 5 times)
1.3 The Chain of Command
1.4 Introduction to Military Customs and Courtesies
1.5 Basic Military Benefits and Entitlements
1.6 Introduction to Military and Civilian Community Resources
1.7 Introduction to Family Readiness Groups (FRG)
1.8 Supporting Your Child's Education
1.9 Introduction to Family Financial Readiness
1.10 Basic Problem Solving

Level II
2.1 Communication
2.2 Personal Time Management
2.3 Stress Management
2.4 Acknowledging Change
2.5 Exploring Personality Traits
2.6 Enhancing Personal Relationships
2.7 Team Dynamics
2.8 Personal Conflict Management
2.9 Creative Problem Solving
2.10 Traditions, Customs, Courtesies & Protocol
2.11 Crisis and Coping
2.12 The Volunteer Experience
2.13 FRG's & The Deployment Cycle
2.14 Intro to Leadership

Level III
3.1 Communication Skills For Leaders
3.2 Understanding Needs
3.3 Leadership Styles
3.4 Building Cohesive Teams
3.5 Managing Group Conflict
3.6 Leader Assisted Problem Solving
3.7 Delegation For Leaders
3.8 Meeting Management
3.9 Coaching and Mentoring
3.10 Family Readiness Group Leadership

And then they also have a bunch of additional training that you can take if you'd like to go further with it:

Instructor Training

Master Training

Core Training

FRG Power Training