Pre-Deployment Brief

Soldiers, Family Members, & Friends of the 303rd Military Intelligence Battalion,

Greetings from Fort Hood, also affectionately known as “The Great Place.” On behalf of Command Sergeant Major Tracey Bellotte and myself, let me first say what a great privilege it is serve in the “Longhorn Battalion.” We have great Soldiers – professional, capable, enthusiastic – who I know are supported by an extensive network of great families and friends. If you are reading this message, then you are somehow connected to us – let me take this opportunity to thank you and tell you how much we appreciate your support!

As many of you know, our Battalion is preparing to deploy to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom; we also have Soldiers who will soon deploy to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom. In advance of these deployments, we will be hosting a “Pre-Deployment Information Briefing” to disseminate information critical to Soldiers and family members alike.

Monday, 8 September, Fort Hood Catering and Conference Center - We have two briefing times, and our agendas are tailored to these specific groups, but certainly please feel free to attend whichever session is most convenient for you and your family:
4:00-5:30 pm – Single Soldiers
6:00-7:30 pm – Soldiers with families - we welcome and encourage family members to attend, and will have free on site childcare available.

We have a lot of important information to get out to you! At Monday’s meetings, you’ll hear from …
- Battalion, Rear Detachment, and Company Leaders
- Representatives from Fort Hood – Transportation, Family Housing, Children Youth Services, Family Advocacy, Military Family Life Consultants, Tri-Care, Education Center
- Representatives from the Brigade - Financial Specialist (Deployment Benefits), Brigade Legal Team (Power of Attorney, Will, etc.)
- Family Readiness Group (FRG) Leaders – Contact lists, unit and FRG websites, e-mail distribution lists, video tele-conference & podcast information, and other means of staying in touch while we’re deployed (and one program we’re particularly excited about, the USO’s virtual reading program, sign up to record videos reading books for your children)
If you have any additional topics you would like to hear more about, please let us know, and we will do our best to include it in the meeting.

If you cannot attend either of these briefings on 8 September, we will host another one in late October. Of course our hope is to get this information out to you as soon as possible, so you have plenty of time to prepare yourselves and your families.

For family members & friends supporting from afar who cannot attend the briefings (like my own parents, from Chicago), I encourage you to stay “virtually” connected through our website, where we will post critical information about the Battalion and Family Readiness.

Ms. Annie Cox is our Family Readiness Support Assistant. Annie brings a wealth of talent and energy to the Battalion; as the spouse of a deployed Soldier & a mom, she also knows firsthand the challenges faced by families during a deployment. She is here to support in any way; she may be contacted at 254-288-4159 and her email address is annette.cox1@conus.army.mil.

Again, thanks so much for your support. As we approach deployment, and as things become more hectic, I appreciate your patience, flexibility, and cooperation. We all look forward to seeing you at an upcoming pre-deployment briefing, or hearing from you via e-mail.

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