American Legion ready to support Fort Bliss families

A large deployment from Fort Bliss Army Base in Texas is headed to both Iraq and Afghanistan, which will result in hundreds of family members being left behind. This is the second deployment notice for Fort Bliss in the last month, bringing the total of deployed personnel from the base to 2,100 soldiers.

American Legion posts in the area are urged to provide assistance to those families through The American Legion Family Support Network.

American Legion posts in the El Paso, Texas, and Las Cruces, N.M., area may see an increase in requests for Temporary Financial Assistance, as well as requests for additional Family Support Network programs for these families of these newly deployed soldiers. The 1st Armored Division Headquarters and the Support Battalion will be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan for a period of nine months.

If American Legion posts in the region want to proactively reach out and offer assistance to those impacted and schedule a time to go to Fort Bliss and meet with the unit’s Family Support Group leaders to give them a briefing on the Family Support Network programs, the 1st Armored Division’s Community Outreach Liaison in their Public Affairs office can be reached at (915) 744-8434/8432. That office can assist Legionnaires in contacting the leaders for that unit, as well as their Family Support Group advisors in order to help Legion post and district commanders with scheduling a time to meet with them.

If Legion Family members wish to learn more about the Family Support Network program, they can access additional information at www.legion.org/family.