of and welcomed into

our organ i zat i on ,

through our Family

Readiness Groups

(FRGs). We must en-

sure that FRG participa-

tion is not just limited

to our military mem-

bers, but is open to

every member of the

organization. Finally,

we as an organization

must demonstrate how

loyal we are to our

families, and how we

view them to be an in-

tegral part of what we

do. Mario Puzo once

wrote, "The strength of

a family, like the

strength of an army, is

in its loyalty to each

other." It is through our

FRGs that we are able

to demonstrate that

loyalty.

To Bavaria MEDDAC

Family,

As many of you

might know, I became

the commander of HHC

in February of this

year. In this short time,

I have been provided

with a better insight

into what makes Bava-

ria MEDDAC great.

Many may attribute the

success of our organi-

zation to our hardwork-

ing Soldiers and Civil-

ians, or to the long

dedicated hours that

we put in, or to our

leadership that pushes

us to achieve more

than what we believe

capable. On the sur-

face, those things are

true; however, this only

provides a small frac-

tion of what really

drives us as an organi-

zation.

While there is no

doubt that BMEDDAC

has hardworking, dedi-

cated, and driven indi-

viduals, it is our fami-

lies who are the ones

who provide the envi-

ronment in which we

thrive. Through our

spouses and significant

others, we find the

means to refocus our

efforts and become

better at what we do.

Our families frame our

lives, and work, giving

us drive to ensure that

our organization re-

mains successful.

An often-overlooked

aspect of family is the

relationships that we

have with our co-

workers. It is through

everyday encounters,

with our colleagues, we

build enduring and

close relationships

rooted in a genuine

concern for one an-

other. For those that

are far away from im-

mediate family, our as-

sociation with the peo-

ple we work with serves

as an extended family.

They provide us sup-

port in both good times

and bad.

Because of this sup-

port, it can be said that

family (both immediate

and extended) is the

cornerstone in which

the success of Bavaria

MEDDAC is built. For

this reason, we must

guarantee that our

families are taken care

HHC COMMANDER: CPT DONALD INGRIM

E U R O P E R E G I O N A L M E D I C A L C O M M A N D

1ST QUARTER

April 2013

Volume 2, Issue 1

BMEDDAC FRG NEWS

WELCOME BMEDDAC

NEW COMMANDER:

COL E. Darrin Cox

Inside this issue:

Bamberg

Grafenwoehr

2

Vilseck 3

Illesheim 4

Katterbach 5

Hohenfels 6

Coloring contest 7

HHCF 8 CPT Donald Ingrim

COMMANDER HHC

Welcome home

SPC Michael Schmolt and

LTC Nino Vidic Thank you for your sacrifice, love and

dedication to our great nation.

Because of your diligence, honor and

unwavering commitment to our

country, we are without a doubt, the land of the free and the home of

the brave. It is all because of you

and we are forever grateful to you and

your families! God Bless

GHC BMEDDAC FRG

Page 2

BMEDDAC FRG NEWS

The Bamberg Clinic

FRG continues with our

regular monthly meet-

ings and we recently

started French Classes

taught by our very own

FRG member Ashlea

Rob i n son . A sh l ea

earned her degree

teaching French for high

school students while

stationed in the United

States. Our FRG mem-

bers and clinic soldiers

have started practice

for our new softball

team. We have been

planning day trips to

Strasbourg France and

Regensburg Germany.

Our favorite weekly ex-

cursion is searching the

Franconian footprint for

culinary delicacies in

small-town villages.

We have several mem-

bers due to PCS and we

are planning a final

farewell and apprecia-

tion day.

BAMBERG

From the left: Denise Bai-

ley, Lauren LeBroke, Sabina

Bosompem and Myung Hee

Melton practicing their

French speaking skills.

GRAFENWOEHR

GHC FRG started our year on the

right foot. Wanting to work off the

holiday pounds, we had some fun

doing Zumba with Pam. After work-

ing up a sweat, we had elections for

the new leadership. Jennifer Carder

handed the leadership reigns over to

co-leader LaShonda Barnett and

Rosalynn Mitchell. New faces and a

renewed energy are two benefits to

new leadership! Richard Russell will

be staying on and remains treasure

for our group.

Valentine’s Day was a perfect

time to have a candy gram sale. On

Wednesday, 13 February, the FRG

sold “telegrams” with candy at-

tached to clinic staff. Funds raised

during this event were used to help

finance cart tokens/key chains with

the BMEDDAC logo.

In March, the FRG started work

planning and collecting donations for

welcome baskets for two Soldiers

that came back from deployment.

Local business gave generously and

we were able to offer our returning

Soldiers and nice treat. We welcome

back SPC Michael Schmolt and LTC

Nino Vidic!

BMEDDAC Cart Tokens

with key chain.

Easter is not complete without an

egg hunt. We teamed up with the Vil-

seck FRG for the Easter egg hunt the

day before Easter. Adults and children

alike enjoyed the family friendly event

and overall it was very successful

event.

For our April FRG meeting, we

treated our membership to an old

fashion ice cream social. Many people

showed up for the ice cream and

stayed for the meeting. We discussed

our next course of action for April,

which will be the bake sale on the 19th

held at the APO. Donations for this

day, monetary and baked goods, are

acceptable!

Page 3

Volume 2, Issue 1

VILSECK

We had the opportu-

nity this past Valen-

tine's Day to support

the FRG in a fundraiser

for upcoming events.

In February, Mrs. Wil-

liams arranged a flower

sale for Valentine’s day.

Pre-orders and same

day sales saw over 300

Roses and rice krispy

treats sold as gifts for

our loved ones. The les-

son learned from this

was - order more roses

next year!

We had two new ba-

bies join the family.

Congratulations to the

Williams and Parks

families!

We capped off this

quarter with an Easter

Egg Hunt with the

Grafenwoehr clinic.

Over 600 eggs were

hunted and found in a

matter of seconds.

Three Grand prize bas-

kets were handed out a

well as 10 prize goody

bags. Mrs. Valenzuela

donated her face paint-

ing talents and MAJ

Platt entertained the

kids with his balloon

making skills. Thanks to

SPC Davenport for tak-

ing on the all important

role of the Easter

Bunny!

We look forward to

welcoming LTC Konopa,

his wife Maggie and

their daughter Sophie to

the clinic team next

month!

The last few months

have been busy at the

Vilseck Health Clinic.

The Clinic FRG kicked

off the New Year in sup-

port of our families. In

January, we had our

first FRG Family Fun

Day/Chili Cook Off

when we partnered with

HHC. Thanks to SSG

Smith and his wife

Vanessa for coordinat-

ing the entertainment

of a bounce house,

seated volleyball music,

and the magician Magic

Maxx. Mrs. Williams did

a great job coordinating

for the loads of Chili

brought to compete.

SFC Juarez went home

with the grand prize

$50 gift card; we look

forward to sampling

more of his cooking!

The Easter Bunny

entertained the children

during the

Easter egg hunt

behind the

Vilseck Health Clinic.

“Over 600 eggs

were hunted and

found in a matter

of seconds.”

Vilseck Health Clinic FRG

Page 4

BMEDDAC FRG NEWS

The Illesheim Army

Health Clinic FRG

opened the first quarter

of 2013 with their first

official FRG meeting.

Major Ball offered his

gratitude to families for

their understanding

during the NCQA proc-

ess that had our Sol-

diers/Staff members

working long hours dur-

ing the holidays. The

pizza party was an op-

portunity to not only

offer families apprecia-

tion but also celebrate

the Clinic's NCQA Level

3 rating resulting from

the dedication of every-

one. Continuing with

the theme of family

support results in team

success, Major Ball ac-

knowledged David Rios

and Citlali Rios with the

first ever Commander's

"Caught Being Good"

Award. The certificates

of good behavior shine

the spotlight on our

youngest FRG members

while reinforcing posi-

tive attributes are the

foundations of success.

The attendance of

our first FRG meeting

exceeded the number of

Soldiers/Staff members

in the clinic. The out-

standing family mem-

bers continue to sup-

port our clinic events

like the Community

Health Nurse's "Go Red"

Brunch held at the

Storck Barracks Com-

munity Activity Center

raising awareness of

the importance of heart

health. The command

staff is excited about

the growing FRG and its

wonderful volunteers!

ILLESHEIM

MAJ Roger Ball presenting the Commander’s “Caught Being Good” award to David and Citlali Rios.

“The attendance of

our first FRG

meeting exceed the

number of Soldiers/

Staff in the clinic.”

Bobbie Ball

FRG Leader-Illesheim

Page 5

Volume 2, Issue 1

Dr. Edward Piepmeier,

Heidi Piepmeier, Bobbie

Ball, CPT Jess Miller, Jill

Miller, SSG Terrence

Elliott, Megume Elliott,

SSG Scott Graham, Sarah

Graham, SPC Isaac Bren-

nan, Diane Brennan, SFC

Andrew Colburn, Desma

Colburn

details of the Easter

photo shoot with slots

available for one full

day, and within 2-3

hours, all available slots

had been reserved, fa-

cilitating the arrange-

ment of a second day of

photo shooting. When

the film was in the can,

Mrs. Gariepy had shot

58 sessions, and $10 to

$20 per session and

had netted the FRG a

healthy profit for both

days setting a record

for the Katterbach FRG.

Mrs. Gariepy is no

stranger to military life;

she grew up in a mili-

tary family, and is very

familiar with and sup-

portive of the military

family lifestyle. Prior to

coming to Katterbach,

she has supported mili-

tary organizational fund

USAHC Katterbach

FRG planned and con-

ducted an Easter photo

shoot on 29 and 30

March 2013, utilizing

the professional pho-

tography skills of Mrs.

Amanda Gariepy, wife

of SPC David Gariepy,

Radiology technician. In

the relaxed and quaint

setting of the Von Steu-

ben Community Center,

utilized at no cost to the

FRG as allowed by

USAG Ansbach, Mrs.

Gariepy designed and

planned the background

and setting, and with

the help of Katterbach

clinic FRG volunteers,

conducted the photo

shoot, which included

models - live rabbits!

The FRG published an

announcement on Face-

book advertising the

raising with her unique

abilities on many occa-

sions. In their previous

duty station at FT

Lewis, Mrs. Gariepy vol-

unteered and assisted

the 1-14 CAV, the 5-20

Infantry, and the 2-3

Infantry raise funds

during multiple events

to support their military

family activities. The

Katterbach clinic is truly

blessed to have an ac-

complished professional

like Mrs. Gariepy sup-

porting the FRG and the

Soldiers and families of

the Ansbach commu-

nity!

KATTERBACH

Page 6

BMEDDAC FRG NEWS

HOHENFELS

The Hohenfels health care

community has welcomed a very

exciting and busy beginning to

2013. We have sadly bid farewell

to some of our members, but also

welcomed new personnel. Our

Hail and Farewell dinner was held

at Zum Schwan where we said

farewell to SGT Gonzalez and SGT

Wilson and welcomed SGT Jusino-

vargas, SPC Crooks, PFC Kibler,

Mr. Brito, Mr. Colgan, Mr. Bojicic,

Mrs. Tostado, and Dr. Steinberg

along with their families.

The Hohenfels Clinic FGR held

an Easter celebration. Our eve-

ning began with sugar

cookie and blown egg

decorating, displaying the

artistic talents of many,

followed by a delicious

potluck dinner and ending

with an adventurous

Easter Egg Hunt. We had

an amazing turnout and

it’s always exciting to see

our clinic family working

together.

Also, our laboratory

team coordinated a very

successful community

blood drive on April 2nd

and 3rd. Our community dis-

played enormous support by tak-

ing the time to roll up their

sleeves and give the gift of life

through donating blood.

We would like to give a sin-

cere and appreciative thank you

to everyone that supported and

participated in the blood drive.

Overall, the beginning of

2013 has been very successful

and we look forward to the

amazing opportunities the rest of

the year has to offer.

“…2013 has

been very

successful and

we look forward

to the amazing

opportunities…” Our Clinic family enjoying sugar cookie decorating and blown egg decorating.

LTC Christopher David instructing the children before the

Easter Egg hunt.

KIDS CORNER Celebrate Spring Coloring Contest

Page 7

Volume 2, Issue 1

6. Winner announced May 23.

Prize: a special treat from the

states!

HHC is sponsoring the 1Q coloring

contest for the children of BMED-

DAC FRGs. This coloring contest is

for all children ages 12 and under.

All entries will be posted on Is-

suu.com/frsabmeddac and every-

one will have the opportunity to

vote.

1. Color your entry.

2. Turn in your entry to

your FRG Leader.

3. Vote @ Issuu.com.

4. Entry due by May 8.

5. Voting May 9-22.

Madison Gariepy, 6 years old, winner

4 quarter Coloring Contest from Katterbach

with her winning picture,

prize and certificate.

PAGE 6

HHC

Day was to be an op-

portunity for people

with skills like knitting,

jewelry making, scrap

booking and other

crafts to show off some

of their talents, seek

advice on a project

from a more skilled

crafter, and possibly

teach someone how to

make something. Never

fear, crafting will pre-

vail; the Craft Day has

been rescheduled for

Saturday, April 20th.

At the end of March,

the HHC FRG organized

an Easter Egg Hunt for

its youngsters. Brightly

colored eggs and

brightly colored Easter

dresses filled the hall-

ways of building 700 as

children piled their bas-

kets with as many eggs

as they could find. The

Easter Bunny himself

made an appearance in

the afternoon and we

were very glad he could

fit in a visit despite his

schedule being jam-

packed at this time of

year.

We are looking for-

ward to a great Sum-

mer and hoping to plan

some fun events for

everyone to attend. We

would love for anyone

interested to join us in

our planning. As al-

ways, our meetings are

held the first Tuesday of

each month, so if you’d

like to help us make

this summer great, stop

by!

The HHC FRG is

having a very fun

Spring! We ended win-

ter with a Family Fun

Day in January that fea-

tured movies, a magic

show, balloon animals,

cookie and cupcake

decorating, a bouncy

house and a chili cook-

off which featured some

of the best chili we

have tasted. The Family

Fun Day was co-

sponsored by the Vil-

seck Health Clinic and

we were glad to see so

many of our friends and

family having a good

time.

We had scheduled a

Craft Day for the end of

February that was post-

poned because of a late

winter storm. The Craft

The kids had a wonderful time

in building 700 for the Easter

egg hunt!

LTC Gayla Wilson and her

daughter Emily.

PAGE 7

What can your FRSA do for you? Part 2

Generates and maintains binders that contain Appointment letters,

Op Ready FRG Guidelines, Banking/Account information, Point of Contacts, FRG

leaders, Volunteer job descriptions, etc.

Assists Family Members in contacting their respective FRG leaders.

Schedules and coordinates guest speakers for FRG meetings.

Creates, updates and maintains phone rosters.

Creates, publishes and distributes a quarterly BMEDDAC FRG newsletter.

Provide administrative assistance to FRG Leader as needed.

Helps develop, publish and distribute any announcements and flyers.

Identifies POCs and obtains information on community resources.

Provides referral to community agencies such as ACS, Chaplain, and social work

services.

Assists Commander with establishment and maintenance of the virtual FRG

(vFRG).

Directions:

CRUST

1. Preheat oven to 218 C (425F).

2. Coat pan with nonstick cooking

spray.

3. Mix potatoes and onion.

4. Press potato mixture evenly

over the bottom and sides of

the pie pan.

5. Bake for 30 minutes.

FILLING

1. Spread cooked sausage evenly

over the crust.

2. Sprinkle cheese evenly over the

sausage.

3. In a separate bowl, beat eggs,

egg whites and spices.

4. Pour egg mixture evenly over

the cheeses.

Ingredients:

Nonstick cooking spray

2 cups grated potatoes or use

Ore Ida Hash Browns, Country

style shredded potatoes

1/2 cup onion, chopped

6 oz Shady Brook Farms Lean

Turkey Breakfast sausage,

cooked

1/3 cup Kraft 2% milk Finely

Shredded Cheddar

1/3 cup Kraft part-skim finely

shredded Mozzarella

4 eggs

6 egg whites OR All Whites

100% liquid egg whites

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

5. Lower oven to 176C (350F).

Baked for 40-45 minutes or

until the center is set and

knife inserted comes out

clean.

Serve with hugs and kisses.

Mother’s Day Breakfast Casserole

Kid friendly recipe to prepare for Mom on her special day and it’s Gluten Free.

YOUR FAMILY READINESS SUPPORT ASSISTANT

Cheryl K. Hintz

FRSA BAVARIA MEDDAC

CMR 411, UNIT 28308

APO. AE 09112

DSN 476-4788

CIV 09662-83-4788

usarmy.grafenwoehr.medcom-brmc.other.meddac-b-frsa@mail.mil

This recipe is easy enough for the kids to

make with minimal help and

yummy for the Mummy!