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Camps offered to families of deployed troops

Service members and their families who have experienced deployments within the last 15 months are eligible to attend a free four-day camp at one of four national park locations, sponsored by the National Military Family Association.

In addition, families who attend these Operation Purple Family Retreats will receive a $200 stipend per family when they arrive at the retreat site to cover the cost of travel.

Families will be paired with specialized field science educators who will guide them through activities like nature hikes, canoeing, beach exploration, and arts and crafts. In addition, FOCUS (Families OverComing Under Stress), a program designed to help military families build resiliency to face the challenges of multiple deployments, will provide activities to help the families strengthen their relationships, according to the NMFA.

Eligible are service members from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard — active duty, National Guard or reserve — as well as families of the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The camps are provided free to families through donations from the Sierra Club and the Sierra Club Foundation. The camps are an expansion of NMFA’s Operation Purple camps for military children, which began in 2004 to help children deal with the stress of a parent’s deployment.

NMFA advises those who apply through its Web site to watch for a confirmation e-mail. If you don’t receive one, contact operationpurple@militaryfamily.org immediately. NMFA will notify applicants by e-mail whether or not they have been accepted for the camps.

LOCATIONS

Olympic Park Institute, Port Angeles, Wash. — Oct. 9-11 (Deployment return dates: July 2008 — July 2009)

Poconos Environmental Education Center, Dingman’s Ferry, Pa. — Oct. 23-26 (Deployment return dates: July 2008 — July 2009)

Silver Bay YMCA of the Adirondacks, Silver Bay, N.Y. — Nov. 6-9 (Deployment return dates: August 2008 — August 2009)

YMCA of Honolulu Camp H. R. Erdman, Honolulu, Hawaii — Dec. 18-21 (Deployment return dates: September 2008 — September 2009)