Naval Station Everett, commanding officer invited spouses of Individual Augmentee (IA) Sailors to a luncheon in his office Nov. 14.

The luncheon is a part of NAVSTA Everett’s commitment to taking care of their Sailor’s families.

“We’re all still one family and no matter where they are, we’re going to be here and we are going to take care of their families whether they are deployed on a ship or they are on an individual augmentation,” said Capt. Thomas Mascolo, NAVSTA Everett commanding officer. “We want them to know while they’re out there that we are taking care of their families.”

Also there to show support to the spouses were NAVSTA Everett’s Cmdr. Donald Leingang, executive officer, and Command Master Chief (SW) Gregory Hixson.

Howard, wife of Master-at-Arms 1st Class (SW) Andrew Howard, NAVSTA Everett, who is currently deployed to Baghdad, expressed her appreciation for the care NAVSTA Everett has shown her during this difficult time.

“The captain, the master chief and the entire command has been helpful during this time,” said Howard. “Just coming here today, I feel like I know 10 times more than before about the entire process. This is the first time since we’ve been married that he has been deployed.”

During lunch, the spouses were able to have questions answered about child care, Navy community events as well as some of the other services offered by the Fleet and Family Support Center (FFSC).

“We recently had a Sailor’s wife who called us because she needed somebody to help fix her washer and dryer, said Hixon. So, we fixed the machine for her. We are here to help our Sailors and their families, especially during difficult times.”

Eckles, wife of Chief Master-at-Arms (SW) Richard Eckles, spoke of the increased stress of her husband being deployed in a war zone.

“My husband has been deployed on a ship before, so I’m kind of used to the separation,” said Eckles. Just being in a war zone on land has got me a little scared. It changes the dynamics of the separation. Overall, the command has been pretty supportive in all of this.”

FFSC makes sure that they keep track of who is on an IA, so they can make sure they reach out to IA Sailor’s families. FFSC can help families from feeling isolated and alone by providing social services, emotional, and financial support to the families of our heroes.