What is the Unit, Personal and Family Readiness Program (UPFRP)?
The United State Marine Corps recognizes the most valuable asset a Marine has is his or her family, whether “family” is defined as a relative, loved one, or a brother or sister in arms. In order to keep the faith with our Marines and families, to empower them in achieving and sustaining readiness, the Unit, Personal and Family Readiness Program focuses on communication, information and resources, readiness and deployment support, and volunteer management, the four tenets
Each Marine is responsible to be prepared at all times for the next mission and ensuring family members are ready. Readiness means the knowledge and skills a Marine – a professional warrior - must have to be mission capable. Readiness also means personal and family members’ knowledge and skills needed to be successful within the military lifestyle. This is why UPFRP is important – Marines and families need information and access to resources to be prepared and the link at each unit is the deployment readiness coordinator (DRC).
The desired outcome of UPFRP is a ready and resilient Marine. This is defined as a Marine whose unit, family, significant other, or any other individuals identified by the Marine, are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully meet the challenges of military life.
What do you need to do to be ready?
Talk with your Marine. Let him/her know you want to be involved and take action to assist, improve and maintain readiness—both theirs and yours.
1. Ask your Marine for contact information on the unit’s deployment readiness coordinator (DRC). The DRC is the communication hub for readiness, especially for family members.
2. Investigate opportunities to become involved in UPFRP as a volunteer. While communication and resources can be shared using technology, there is no substitute for personally sharing experiences with others who, like you, are “living the dream” of being a military member or family member! Getting involved opens doors to assist others and share your talents.
3. Step up and ask questions. If you don’t understand what your Marine shares about his/her day at the unit, ask! L.I.N.K.S. offers “Marine Corps 101” information to translate and the DRC can give you the background on what all the work-ups and training are leading up to for your Marine. DRCs can be contacted by an email, a phone call, a text, or a visit at their office. There’s no such thing as a dumb question!
4. Use the resources. Take a class with Marine Corps Family Teambuilding (MCFTB), attend a L.I.N.K.S. (Lifestyle Insights, Networking, Knowledge & Skills) session and find unique and interesting facts about the Marine Corps and how to thrive in a military-centric environment, attend a play date or support group. All you learn improves your Marine’s readiness!