"Taking Care of Our Most Important Resource"
VISION
To provide a program where 9th Engineer Support Battalion Marines, Sailors, and associated family members are actively involved in improving their personal and family readiness. This improved personal and family readiness will help to mitigate the difficulties often associated with the military lifestyle, particularly in a unique location like Okinawa.
The Unit, Personal, and Family Readiness Program has been developed over the last few years into an extremely useful and beneficial tool for members of the Marine Corps, Navy personnel assigned to a Marine unit, and their families. The program relies on the participation of the active duty members and their families. This is not a program only for families; it is a program for all personnel who are a part of 9th Engineer Support Battalion. Most important, this program belongs to this battalion.....we make it what we want. We have a professional and extremely helpful Family Readiness Officer, Sean Haynes, who helps make this program a success.
How can the Program help you? Think of program as if it were a tool like the popular and useful Swiss Army knife. It can help you in many situations.
- If you are in trouble or need help, use one of the many resources available to find a solution, or develop a way to reduce the issue to a manageable problem. A simple phone call or email to the FRO will open the door to resources you probably didn’t know existed.
- On the more positive side, if you are looking for some fun and exciting activities, the Family Readiness Officer coordinates and hosts many activities throughout the year, for both Single Marines and Families. From family pool parties to Jane Wayne days (spouses get to play 'Marine' for a day of military events) to Single Marine beach or barracks bashes, there is an activity planned for nearly every month of the year. These activities promote interaction among 9th Engineer Support battalion family members and often develop into lifelong friendships.
We are all in this fast-paced unit together. The Unit, Personal, and Family Readiness Program is a way to ensure we maintain our personal readiness which in turn improves our operational readiness. Make no mistake - the two types of readiness are interrelated. A Marine or Sailor who has all of their personal affairs in order can better focus on the mission at hand, and the family members of that Marine or Sailor can confidently go about their business knowing they are adequately cared for and have help in the event they want or need it. Use the program to your advantage. I highly encourage you to participate in unit functions; several years down the road you will be thankful you did as you look back on the good times here in Okinawa as part of 9th Engineer Support Battalion.