I just went to my first det brief for a small boy det our squadron put out, and it's not my first deployment but it was informational since it was going to be totally different than the carrier cruise.
The OIC didn't have any new info, the basics about how the schedule was in flux and he introduced himself with a little bit of background. The ombudsman sort of chimed in every once in a while wth det info stuff. Questions I specifically asked were:
1. Mail-I had heard that it was pretty much impossible to get mail to the det, and I wanted to confirm since I would send boxes weekly to the carrier
2. Emails-the whole squadron/airwing was changing emails while the det was out and I was just curious if they would have a specific det email or use the new airwing email
3. POA (Power of Attorney)-Here in Japan you need one to do anything when your spouse is absent, even register/pay taxes on cars (which was an issue for us since it will be when the det is out) and somtimes specific POAs are needed and sometimes general will work. We discussed the importance of it, and how to get it, etc.
For us, if there is an emergency we contact the ombudsman or send out an AmCross message and not the OIC. We've personally never had any issues with paying mess bills, but it does bring up a good point and I think the deployment checking account is a good idea for fun in port/boat expenses.
Unfortunately no one else asked any questions, but as stated above by ea6 make sure people know that there is a support system. If your group isn't too big you can do what they did with ours (we only have 4 pilots..I am the only pilot wife and a handful of veteran aircrew wives) and have everyone introduce themselves and how long they'v been with the squadron. It might give new wives an idea of who's been there and might know the ropes...especially if they just checked in. Though I'm not sure how your squadron works but we had a few new spouses doing their first deployment with the squadron.
Hopefully something out of that helps...
