Cornell, through its land-grant mission, doesn't only help farmers, gardeners, families, consumers and other constituents in New York -- many people probably don't realize that it also partners with the U.S. Army around the world to help sustain families of the active Army, National Guard and the Army Reserve.

For 15 years, Marney Thomas, Cynthia Enroth and military project staff of the Family Life Development Center in Cornell's College of Human Ecology have been supplying the Army with research-based knowledge in the form of materials that military families and commanders can understand to help soldiers and families cope with the challenges of military life.

Recently, to help with the unprecedented stress and problems created when a family member is deployed to a combat zone and the extensive mobilization of guard and reserve soldiers, Thomas, Enroth and consultant Deborah Mancini recently revised two targeted Operation READY (OPREADY) resource guides.

These "train the trainer" materials assist rear detachment commanders -- the official conduits of information about the deployed unit to loved ones back home, identifying needs and referring family members to appropriate agencies, especially when their soldier has been killed or wounded -- and family readiness group leaders and family support staff, who see to the welfare of Army families when their soldiers are away.

The goal of the materials is to make certain these individuals know what their duties are and have all the information and materials they need to train others -- be they military unit personnel and community service providers or volunteers, both civilian and military.

"Individuals occupying these positions may never have done this before or had to do it for so many repeated deployments," says Thomas, project director for these military projects. "Rear detachment commanders assume their responsibilities when their own unit is deployed, and family readiness group leaders are volunteers who step up when the need arises."

In addition to materials for the command and family support professionals, new OPREADY materials (handbooks, tip cards and information brochures) are being created for family members.

Across the country, active Army, National Guard and Army Reserve family support programs contract with local Cooperative Extension offices to implement OPREADY. Last year, for example, Cooperative Extension staff in Jefferson County made 100,000 contacts with families of soldiers deployed through Fort Drum in New York's North Country.

Some of the kinds of issues that Operation READY trains Army personnel and volunteers to deal with when family's have a soldier deployed:

"My car broke down."

"My husband calls me every evening, but the call didn't come last night: what should I think?"

"My soldier's pay didn't come in, and I have no money to buy food."

"My son is being taunted in school: other kids say his father is killing people."

"I think I might be pregnant: where do I get prenatal care?"

"I'm lonely so far away from my family."

"CNN just reported casualties in Ramadi where my husband is: Is he OK?"

"My mom is dying in Puerto Rico and I have no money to fly home: where can I get an interest-free loan?"

"I'm the spouse of a National Guard member who was suddenly called up. What benefits am I entitled to while he's away?"

"How do I tell my kids their mom's been wounded?"

Meanwhile, at Cornell's Family Life Development Center, OPREADY materials -- handbooks, facilitator's guides, handouts, templates for quick reference guides, PDF files of brochures, PowerPoint slides and other informational and teaching materials -- are being created or revised so they can be customized for each army component.

One of the latest OPREADY publications is a new handbook that provides current research-based information on children and trauma. It includes a review of the research literature on children's responses and coping strategies to a parent's deployment, combat injury, serious illness, trauma or grief.

The big concern now is that children are fearful for the deployed mother or father, because constant danger is very real. To address this concern, Enroth has added a lot of to-the-point information to guide military personnel, family members and others, including schoolteachers and counselors, on how to comfort and sustain children.

"The Operation READY materials emphasize the importance of providing extended support to children and their parents," Enroth says. "Military families who have been successful for 16 years can start to have serious problems when deployments are extended or repeated."

This story is abridged from Human Ecology Magazine. Metta Winter is a writer with the Office of Publications and Marketing.