Army Family Team Building

Are you married to a Soldier and have questions about the Army? Perhaps you’ve had questions for a while but have been too afraid to ask. Finding your way in the Army community is not always easy. The Army has its own language, its own customs and traditions, and its own benefits and resources.Trying to learn everything can be confusing and intimidating. If this is your situation, Army 101 is for you.

Army 101 is a two-day course (9 a.m. - 1 p.m. on both days) where participants are introduced to basic terms, acronyms, and resources that are needed to successfully adapt to Army life. Course is also offered virtually via Microsoft Teams (10 - 11:30 a.m.)

Topics include:

• Military Life…What Does it Mean? – Understand the Army mission, commitment required, and challenges of military life in order to define realistic expectations to positively impact your military experience.
• Military Acronyms and Terms – Be able to communicate by employing military-specific language, terms, acronyms and time with Army personnel, DA Civilians, and contractors in a military environment.
• Chain of Command – Comprehend military structure including rank, chain of command, and basic unit organization to interact successfully with the military community.
• Benefits and Entitlements – Decipher the Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) and differentiate between available benefits and provided entitlements to select the most favorable to meet individual needs.
• Social Functions – Apply the skills needed to assist in feeling comfortable with social aspects of the military lifestyle.
• Customs, Courtesies, Ceremonies, and Traditions– Understand and exhibit appropriate behavior in accordance with proper military customs, courtesies and protocol in daily military life leading to personal satisfaction and a sense of belonging.
• Introduction to Soldier and Family Readiness Groups (SFRG) – Understand the mission, structure, and purpose of Family Readiness Groups and discuss the benefits that FRGs bring to the entire military community.
• Introduction to Military & Civilian Community Resources – Learn about select military and community resources appropriate to meet various life situations, especially resources available in the Fort Campbell community.

ARMY 101 and AIT are taught by volunteers in the Army Family Team Building (AFTB) program. AFTB instructors are military Spouses, Soldiers,or Veterans who have a passion for educating our military and their Families. In order to instruct with AFTB, you must take the Instructor Training Course.Additional training courses help round out your skills to facilitate and brief effectively.

• Instructor Training Course (ITC, two and a half days) – ITC prepares Family Members, Soldiers, and Civilians to become an effective instructor. No prior teaching experience is necessary. ITC topics include developing platform skills, teaching adult learners, managing the learning environment, methods of instruction, and the preparation process. Benefits include professional development, resume building experience, networking opportunities, and meeting new people.
• Facilitator Training Course (FTC, two days) – Have you been asked to facilitate a group? What does that mean exactly? Do you just lead a discussion? FTC is designed to introduce you to new skills to become a successful facilitator by understanding the role of the facilitator and how group dynamics affect facilitation strategies.
• Briefer Training Course (BTC, a day and a half) – BTC is designed to teach you skills to become a successful briefer. Briefers may be called upon to deliver briefings on a wide variety of information and programs to diverse audiences. You may be asked to give a desk side briefing to a commander or brief different sizes and types of audiences on various programs. With that in mind, we developed this course to specifically address how to prepare for and present effective briefings.

These classes will be offered periodically throughout the year for those who wish to further their professional and personal goals in the arenas of communication, teaching, and giving briefs.

Is your Soldier preparing to assume command or responsibility at the company level or higher? Please join us for our Command Team Spouse Course. This is a one-day course (9am - 3pm) specific to Fort Campbell and offered only twice a year. Topics include:

• Army Ceremonies and Functions
• Expectations of Commanders and 1SGs/CSMs
• Finding your place in the unit as a Command Team Spouse

The day ends with Commander and 1SG guest speakers and a Q&A session to a panel of Senior Spouses.

Concept blocks are one to four classes taught individually. If you are hosting an SFRG or Unit event, AFTB can provide the instructors and materials to make your gathering a success. We can teach any AFTB classes to fit your group’s specific needs – as individual classes or combined into packages that can be taught over the course of several meetings.

One of our most popular concept blocks is AFTB’s Ball Etiquette, where we go over the “do’s and don’ts” associated with military formal functions, including how to dress, how to walk through a receiving line, when to sit and stand during the formal portion, and how to follow protocol during the dinner portion of the event.

AFTB Concept Block Request Form (pdf)

As a student: Call our office at (270) 798-4800 to schedule your class and you will receive a reminder call 1 week prior to class starting. 

To schedule AFTB fora SFRG or Unit meeting: Call our office at (270) 798-4800 to schedule meeting date/time. We will put out a call to instructors to see who is available to teach that day and put you in contact with them. Please give us at least two weeks advanced notice to ensure instructor availability. 

Questions: Contact us via (270) 798-4800 to schedule an appointment to discuss your needs.