WASHINGTON (BP)–Wednesday, April 8 has been proclaimed as a day of prayer and fasting for the U.S. Army’s 200,000 deployed soldiers and their families by the Army’s chief of chaplains.

Chaplain (Maj. Gen.) Douglas L. Carver, a Southern Baptist, said the prayer and fasting proclamation coincides with a 120-day “stand down” and unit training period to address the Army’s top-priority emphasis on suicide prevention and awareness.

“April 8 is a Wednesday and prayer meeting night for Southern Baptists, so we really encourage not only Baptists but all local churches to pray for the military,” Carver told Baptist Press in a phone interview.

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WASHINGTON – As one spouse tried to navigate the other across a room and through a minefield of foam toys, the games had begun at the Army’s “Strong Bonds” marriage retreat near Baltimore.

“What these workshops do is it helps us to understand that communication is an ongoing process,” Army Cpl. Paul Garzon, a retreat participant, said. “It never ends.”

And that’s precisely what the game at last month’s retreat was about — spouses learning to communicate with and listen to each other despite outside distractions. In this case, the distraction was an immense hoopla created by the other retreat participants.

Founded in 1997 as the “Building Strong and Ready Families,” the Armywide program was renamed Strong Bonds in 2005 and expanded to include programs for families and single soldiers. The unit-based, chaplain-led program helps soldiers and their families build strong relationships.

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HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – With the sounds of the nearby Atlantic Ocean waves crashing the sandy beaches, more than 50 couples renewed their wedding vows during the finale of a three-day marriage retreat weekend.

Sponsored by the 81st Regional Support Command, the Strong Bonds’ Marriage Enrichment Workshop brought 72 Army Reserve Soldiers and their spouses to the island resort recently.

The weekend kicked off with a welcome from Maj. Gen. Charles E. Gorton, the 81st RSC commanding general, who stressed the importance of family in today’s Army Reserve.

“First and foremost, I want to thank you for making the choice to be here,” Gorton told the attentive participants. “By being here, you are showing your spouse and family that you are dedicated to a more enriched family life.”

With couples in attendance ranging from newlyweds of less than four months to more than 20 years together, Gorton said, like them, he owes most of his military success to his wife.

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America’s war on terrorism, which has been ongoing since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has seen many citizens from all walks of life and all professions take up arms as either active-duty military personnel or reservists.

The demand for increasing numbers of troops to fight in both Iraq and Afghanistan has meant more and more involvement by reservists and even National Guard personnel, normally limited to duty within the borders of America. And it has also meant a greater need for those special individuals who help care for the needs of those on the front lines – including their spiritual and emotional needs.

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Col. Stanford Polonsky arrived at Fort Monroe in Hampton in 1967 for what would be his final tour of duty in the Army Corps of Engineers. He had served across the United States and Europe and in the Far East, building military camps, doing repair and maintenance on military installations, even constructing missile launching silos in Roswell, N.M.

This time his help was sought by Fort Monroe’s chaplain, Harry G. Campbell Jr. He led Polonsky to a wooden building.

” ‘Stan,’ he says, ‘we’ve got some kind of problem with this wall,’ ” Polonsky said, remembering that long-ago meeting at the Chapel of the Centurion. “I realized there’s some settlement going on, the foundation is giving way and the wood will snap eventually.”

The chapel is a beloved landmark on the historic military installation and holds the distinction of being the Army’s oldest wooden structure continually used for religious services.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon will begin allowing media coverage of the return of American war dead to U.S. shores beginning next month, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday, as long as families of the fallen agree.

As the Obama administration lifts the 18-year ban on news coverage, the Pentagon also announced that it will arrange and pay for families of deceased soldiers, seamen, airmen and Marines to travel to the Delaware military base where remains arrive from overseas.

President Barack Obama had asked for a review of the ban, and Gates has said that the blanket restriction made him uncomfortable. Last month, he said he would let families decide for themselves whether to allow photographs, and Wednesday’s announcement filled in many of the details.

“The overriding principle is the decisions about media coverage should be made by those most affected — the families,” Gates said Wednesday. He choked up when relating a recent trip to Dover.

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