What’s a Care Team?
There’s a little known team called the Care Team that few are familiar with. Why is this group so unknown? One big reason may be because of the purpose of their job. They provide care to a family after a casualty has occurred. Casualties, notifications, and other key words tend to make most people uncomfortable.
On the spouse side, we don’t like to talk about topics that make us uncomfortable, which means even bringing up the title “Care Team” can make people shut down.
For the soldier, unless they’ve been in a command position or have a spouse who has been involved with the Care Team, they usually aren’t briefed or trained on the team in any capacity.
When you have a team that is so important but there is a minimal understanding of its purpose, not only is there a challenge in volunteer support, but the family of the casualty often declines support because they don’t know what the Care Team is.
What exactly is a Care Team?
According to The Care Team Handbook :
Care Team volunteers provide assistance that complements the assistance provided by the Casualty Assistance Officer (CAO), Chaplain, and Rear Detachment Commander. The focus of Care Team volunteers’ efforts is on providing practical assistance and emotional support to the Family on a short-term basis so that the Family can continue to function while dealing with a traumatic event. The actual support provided depends on Family needs and command guidance, but can include; call support, home care assistance, childcare support, meal support, transportation, assistance to visiting family and other family support.
How does a Care Team work?
The Care Team assists with keeping the household running. I can only imagine being in the situation of having just lost my service member or found out that my service member is severely injured. I imagine my mind would be on all of the emotions and everything directly involving the death or injury—it wouldn’t be on getting laundry or dishes done.
Sometimes, the family opts to not have a Care Team in the home, but requests assistance outside the home. A member may find themselves running errands or organizing meals.
Why is a Care Team important?
Being able to offer a family a Care Team is an important element for those making notification, as it’s one more way that the unit can support the family of one of their fallen or a severely injured service member.
The Care Team is a simple way to reach out to someone who needs an extra hand or two during a very difficult time. With the basic outline of what a Care Team is, please take a few minutes to read a little more into it and see if it might be a fit for you. Training is offered on a regular basis. Attending training doesn’t commit you, it simply allows you to learn a little more about both the Care Team and the notification process.
