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(left to right) Master Sgt. Duane Johnson, operations noncommissioned officer, Joint Task Force 781st CERFP, and his wife Constance, along with Sgt. Ellis Williams, mechanic, 110th Corps Support Battalion, and his wife Belinda, cut the wedding cake during a vow renewal ceremony at Strong Bonds in Atlanta, Nov. 11, 2007. The Johnsons, married 21 years and the Williams', married one year, represented the longest married couple and the most recently wed couple. (Photo by Pfc. Amanda Luksic)Colonel Lee Durham accepts the colors from MG William T. Nesbitt
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Georgia Army National Guard
November 2007 – With the 878th Engineer Battalion leaving and Company H of the 121st Infantry Battalion returning, another Strong Bonds weekend was held at Atlanta's Ritz-Carlton Hotel, November 9-11, 2007 to help reunite and strengthen marriage before and after deployment.
More than 50 couples attended the retreat aimed at helping couples learn new techniques to help keep their marriages going. Classes included issues such as listener-speaker techniques, problem solving and just "having fun" in your relationship.
"We are all about strong bonds," said Col. John Owings, the state chaplain. "Unlike Las Vegas, what happens here doesn’t stay here."
Many of the Soldiers had positive things to say about the weekend, including several who made new friends who can help both Soldiers and spouses get through the upcoming deployment.
Major Josie Hobbs, commander 221st MI, whose husband was deployed to Egypt,benefited from the weekend. "I could ask any of my Soldiers what it takes to get promoted," she said, "and any one of them could tell him how many points they need, but I can guarantee none of them could tell me what it takes to keep a marriage together or take it to the next level."
The weekend concluded with a vow renewal ceremony, where couples could reaffirm thier marriage.
before, after deployments