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Military families connect during event at Fort Douglas

Posted at 7:16 PM, Jul 10, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-10 23:46:59-04

SALT LAKE CITY -- Family Day at Fort Douglas means families from different units come together to spend time connecting.

Hundreds of parents and children ate lunch together, played games, enjoyed arts and crafts, and jumped on the inflatable bounce houses.

The ultimate goal, though, is making new friends.

“The soldiers are here all the time with each other, but the families don’t get together as often, so it’s fun to connect with them,” said the wife of 1st Sgt. Andrew Cole.

“The goal is to build strong family relationships,” 1st Sgt. Cole said. “We try to build the relationship with the families. Just across from solider to solider, family to family.”

Capt. Chrystal Warburton, a unit commander, plans this event twice a year, once in the summer and once closer to the winter holidays. She said this one coincidentally fell on the weekend after a challenging week for law enforcement.

She said law enforcement are their brothers in blue, and they invited Salt Lake City PD to attend the event and connect with the families and children.

“We are civilians just like everybody else, and at the end of the day we want everybody to know we are here," Warburton said. “Partnership, that's what it comes down to.”