The Marine Corps has a system in place to communicate with families of Marines who are deployed. In 2003, the system was limited to communication for spouses and dependents of deployed Marines. However, the system now includes ways to communicate with all family members.

The FRO (Family Readiness Officer) is responsible for passing official unit information to the KVN (Key Volunteer Network) as well as providing information to parents and family members of deployed Marines. If you are the spouse or dependent of a Marine, you should use the KVN. If you are any other member of the Marines immediate family, the FRO will be your source for communication.

Here are some abbreviations you may want to be familiar with:

• MCFTBD: Marine Corps Family Team Building Director
• KVN: Key Volunteer Network
• KVT/SP: Key Volunteer Trainer/Support Personnel
• KV: Key Volunteer (generally spouses, but reserve units often have parent KVs)
• FRO: Family Readiness Officer
• AFRO: Assistant Family Readiness Officer
• RFRO: Rear Party Family Readiness Officer
• ARFRO: Assistant Rear Party Family Readiness Officer
• CO: Commanding Officer

Unit Information Page (UIP™)
The UIP™ will give you all the public information on your Marine's unit, including the FRO name and phone number as well as the unit hotline number. This is your BEST resource for information and how to contact the Marine Corps if necessary. The UIP™ is a 1-2 page all-inclusive resource of information for your Marine's specific unit. The page includes unit history and locaton, USMC contact information and web sites for each unit well as MarineParents.com message board links, giving you "a Place to Connect & Share™" with other families in your Marine's unit. The UIP™ database is a free service exclusively from MarineParents.com.
Click here to search for your Marine's UIP™

FRO: Family Readiness Officer
You can contact an FRO if you have specific questions related to your Marine's deployment. There is also a unit hotline number that you can call to get recorded information. The UIP™ for your Marine's unit will give you the hotline number and name and number of the unit FRO during deployments.

FRO for Parents and Family: your primary source for information is the FRO and Unit Hotline. Please help preserve the limited resources of the KVN by only contacting the Unit FRO for information.

KVN: Key Volunteer Network The Key Volunteer Network, KVN, was established to provide assistance to Marine Spouses during deployments. A KV is a Key Volunteer; most KV's are Marine Spouses, however some reserve units include parents as KVs. For spouses, your primary source for information is your Key Volunteer. As a spouse, you will also qualify for KVN support, services and activities on or near Marine Corps Bases and/or Stations, and possibly other military installations.

Contacting a Marine Corps Chaplain by Phone 1-877-418-6824 ext. 2 The Department of the Navy Marine Corps Chaplain network is an excellent resource for getting in touch with someone that can help you make a decision about whether or not to contact the Marine Corps.

As the parent of a Marine, you may contact a chaplain regarding your Marine's health and well-being. For more information, visit the Chaplain Care web site: www.chaplaincare.navy.mil. Support for any question, including those for a Chaplain, can be obtained by dialing a single toll free number from within the continental US. Simply dial 1-877-4-1-TOUCH (1-877-418-6824) and press option 2 when you hear the recording.