On the final day of the weekend retreat near Royal Air Force Mildenhall in England, the Watts family — Laura, her master sergeant husband and their three children who range from ages 2 to 15 — brainstormed the values and priorities they hold dearest and wrote them down.
They wouldn't have considered the exercise on their own, Laura Watts said. At the end of it, she felt she had a better understanding of her teenage sons, who aren't always eager to open up.
The chaplain-facilitated session sought to tap into the family's spirituality — one of four pillars of the Comprehensive Airman Fitness program that focuses on airmen's overall well-being.
There were also exercises targeting the three other pillars that May weekend – mental health, physical health and social resiliency.
The Air Force has long offered retreats for couples and singles, said Maj. Randy Croft, deputy chaplain for Mildenhall's 100th Air Refueling Wing.
But the idea of retreats for the whole family was born in 2013 during a meeting on base of "helping agencies," such as health promotions and the airman and family readiness center.
"The Air Force is investing in family," Croft said. "Families take care of the military member. If the family is strong ... they can do the jobs and their mission."
Eighty-four people attended the May retreat; 110 participated in the second family weekend in October.
Croft said organizers try to give priority to single parents and to families who were recently separated by deployments or soon will be.
"We always have a wait list," the chaplain said.
The retreats are held at a resort called Center Parcs Elveden Forest, located about 20 miles from base. Families stay in small villas that are "pretty much your house away from home," said chaplain assistant Staff Sgt. Joshua Hartvigsen.
There's an indoor water park and, outdoors, swimming, boating, biking, hiking, zip-lining and more, he said.
Classes are held in the mornings and make use of base experts who come out to lead activities focused on the pillars of health. During one lesson, families learned physical fitness exercises they could do together at home.
In another, families brainstormed their values and principles and used what they came up with to create family crests.
Afternoons are free for families to take part in resort activities and offerings.
Croft hopes to be able to offer one family retreat each quarter.
Laura Watts' husband, Richard, production superintendent for Mildenhall's KC-135 squadron, had returned home in April from a four-month deployment. When she read about the upcoming May retreat in the chaplain bulletin, "it seemed like a great family weekend to have and spend some time together," she said.
Her husband was on board, Laura Watts said. When she told her teen sons, Joshua and Jakob,where they were going, they were on board, too.
"The venue was key," she said. "When I looked into it, I knew it would cater to my older children and my youngest one, also."
She and her husband checked in early on Friday, giving them the chance to visit the resort spa and have lunch together while their kids were still in school. That afternoon, they picked up their children and settled into their villa.
During a class focused on physical fitness the following morning, Joshua and Jakob had a push-up competition with their dad. Afterward, the three did archery together while mother and daughter, Katie, took a painting class geared toward toddlers.
Later on, the whole family went to the indoor water park that had facilities for all ages, Laura Watts said.
"We had a late dinner and just rested. Sunday morning, we got up and went to the next class" — the one where they wrote down their family values and learned a little more about each other.
"It made us think about our family dynamic," she said. "It was very useful for us."
