‘Here’s your new home’

F.A.R. packets prepare new officers’ kids for their first move.

By Stacie Brown

“What just happened? Where are we going?”

Each year the newly commissioned cadets with families walk across the stage, children in tow, to receive their inaugural appointment. After receiving a hearty salute and a nudge on the back, these kids are shuffled off the stage, bewildered, uncertain where they are going and how they feel about it.

These days, though, the First Appointment Resource (F.A.R.) packets help them prepare for the move.

Six years ago, out of a marked sense of compassion and understanding about what these new officers’ kids experience, plus a desire to help them develop a positive initial response to their first appointment, Julie Sutton and I developed the F.A.R. packets.

Months before commissioning, we contact parents for the specifics on each child so that the packets can be tailor-made to meet the needs, interests and tastes of the individual child. The F.A.R. packets contain a broad range of information detailing the appointment to which the children are moving: a description of the appointment city with pictures of key landmarks, a map displaying how long it will take to travel to their appointment from Crestmont, pictures of the quarters and the corps building plus a map of the commute between them, what the weather is like, locations of local parks and of the child’s favorite restaurants and stores, a custom made list of things to do in the city based on the child’s interests, and most importantly, specifics about their new schools.

Response to the F.A.R. packets has been absolutely positive. Parents say the information is as helpful to them as to the kids. They also say that their children accept the move readily and sometimes are more excited than they are about the new city.

With the growing number of families at Crestmont, we will have our work cut out for us in years to come, but the payoff—the children’s smiles at the foot of the commissioning stage—is worth every effort.