Parenting program helps Bragg soldiers and families after deployments

Jul. 13--Fort Bragg soldiers say a parenting program intended to help families readjust after deployments has provided valuable assistance.

About 165 more families are needed to enroll in the After Deployment: Adaptive Parenting Tools, or ADAPT, study, said Cheryle Dangell, the Fort Bragg site coordinator. Families of soldiers from units in the conventional forces and special operations are needed, she said.

The study involves surveys, in-home interviews and a series of courses. Families that participate can receive up to $520 in gift cards.

To take part in the study, a family member must have deployed once in the past five years with a conventional Army unit or twice in the past three years with a special operations unit, and must have a child from the ages of 5 to 12 years.

The program was developed by researchers at the University of Minnesota. It was originally aimed at Reserve and National Guard families, but the Department of Defense is funding a study to determine how best to adapt the program for the families of active-duty troops. Fort Bragg and Fort Campbell are participating.

Staff Sgt. Jovan Torres and his family have been taking part in the study. He said he thinks the information will help him and his wife, Carla, be better parents.

"We're basically the role models for our children," he said.

Torres has been deployed once in the last five years and five times in his 15-year career. He said he thinks the information he has learned will be helpful the next time he returns from a deployment.

"If I was in charge of the whole Army, I would make it a requirement for everyone who comes back from deployment," he said.

Torres, who is in the 18th Airborne Corps and is currently serving as an instructor in the Noncommissioned Officers Academy, said the courses were informative.

"It wasn't, per se, new information," he said. "It was like an eye opener, like a refresher course."

Sgt. 1st Class Art Munoz, who is in Company A, 1st Psychological Operations Battalion, has been deployed three times in the past five years and six times during the nearly 18 years he's been in the Army. He said lessons learned from the ADAPT courses will help with readjustments after deployments.

Munoz said his wife, Monica, usually has their daughters into a routine while he is away. When he returns, he often disrupts that routine, he said.

"I feel like I have to come back and catch up for a lot of stuff I missed," he said.

Munoz said the program has helped him and his wife pick up on cues from each other, which helps them avoid having an argument in front of their children.

The ADAPT program also has helped Munoz and his wife develop a point system as an incentive for their daughter to perform tasks. Instead of nagging, they can remind their daughter of the reward she'll get by earning enough points.

"That alone would make the difference," he said.

Munoz said he has recommended the program to fellow soldiers.

Interviews conducted as part of the study also helped Munoz learn about his daughter, who is 7. He said the discussion showed why her behavior changed while he is deployed.

"It turned out that she was really concerned about me, for my safety," he said. "We knocked down some communication walls for my daughter and me."

Anyone interested in participating is asked to call 612-352-7974 or email cheineck@umn.edu.

Staff writer Steve DeVane can be reached at sdevane@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3572.

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