European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 22, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Is Steve Morrison senior army officers wives Are now Given special training. Here a drug awareness briefing is Given to brigade and commanders wives in Vilseck West Germany. Military training especially for wives by Rosemary Sawyer staff writer k Aye Fry s pre command training gave Herthe know How she needed when tragedy struck her husband s  wives of two soldiers killed in a tank fire had to be informed of their husbands deaths and helped with arrangements. Fry s husband was in the Field so she had to pick up the Ball in Gellhausen West Germany. Although the battalion commander s wife said she Learned through a lot of mistakes she also used information she had gained from pre command courses classes designed specifically for brigade and battalion commanders wives. Courses she took at fort Leavenworth kan., and in Vilseck West Germany both included sessions on How to Deal with a death in the unit. The army schools have realized How vital it is to have the women involved. They re really training women because a lot of this had been lost Over the last 10 years said Fry referring to the years when women rebelled against their army wife roles. All of this pre command stuff has been a team Effort that makes our role More important and we feel this battalion command is really a team Job. Even 10 years ago it was not considered a team Job said Ann Christopher battalion commander s wife in Aschaffenbur West Germany. That makes us feel More important and our Knees shake  Fry said her Mother and Mother in Law both officers wives Are envious of her training because they went through All the same things and fumbled and  they were not told anything Fry said. They were Given orders to do something they went somewhere they had to stand in lines. They were stopped at the social graces. They never got to learn anything  bibs Reynard wife of a brigadier general in Frankfurt West Germany and one of the courses Early proponents said women have Long asked for such training. For years we simply passed this information on by  however one brigade commander s wife said although she does t oppose training the army still tends to feed the women pablum. Give us the meat something substantial said the woman who asked that her name not be printed. These women Are intelligent women they re not just some strange pieces of fluff that this Guy picked up along the Way. " the army appears to be leading the other services in training its senior officers spouses. Neither the air Force nor the Navy offer formal pre command training. The Only Safe training resembling the army s is occasional briefings for women who accompany their husbands to commanders conferences. Some army divisions also hold sessions for spouses in conjunction with commanders conferences. Air Force commanders conference meetings teach things such As How to handle a death in the unit and what benefits Are available to spouses so that you can get the word out to All the ladies that Are in your group so that you can help them should the need arise said Margie Stolte a senior officer s wife at Zaragoza a Spain. The Navy component of the Atlantic come offers wives a Short companion briefing to the Normal indoctrination Given to their commanding officer and executive officer husbands. The training lasts Only a couple of hours and covers topics such As the Navy ombudsman program in which the spouse of the commander or executive officer acts As a Point of Contact for wives whose husbands Are deployed on ships. They re also briefed on How to guard against revealing to the Media any sensitive information they might be privy to because of their husbands jobs. The briefings Aren t really that extensive or in depth said Pentagon spokesman it. Bruce Cole. It s just a Way for the Navy to familiarize the spouses of cos and los with some subjects that the spouses of Junior officers probably would not have to Deal  at the Usa eur course in Vilseck representatives from Community agencies such As army Community service red Cross the Community Bank cafes and the Legal office Brief the women on How they operate and How the women can Best utilize their services. Fort Leavenworth training includes classes on How to recruit volunteers and on the basics of protocol. One Navy wife takes a dim View of such training saying she is glad her husband s Branch of the service does t patronize wives with such courses. Navy wives would be insulted by such a course said Alex Mulkern a senior officer s wife. I know i would be. After All these years to have somebody Tell me i really did t know what i was doing i would resent the hell out of  Fry however said she s found the networking information she gleaned from the army courses invaluable for the needs that have Arisen since her husband assumed his command especially with soldiers spending so much time in the Field. They re teaching us these things so we can at least direct these Young people to where they can get help Fry said. The army also offers a four Day orientation course in Washington for spouses of general officers sometimes continued on Page 14 wednesday february 22, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 13