Thursday, January 21, 2010
Stewart-Hunter keeps the Army Family Covenant
Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield are committed to upholding the Army Family covenant, which was signed Nov. 7, 2007. The covenant represents a $1.4 billion commitment to improve the quality of life for Army Families.As another example of Stewart's on-going efforts to support the covenant, Brigadier General Jeffrey Phillips, 3rd Infantry Division Deputy Commanding General-Rear, stood at the speaker's podium in front of Hunter Lanes at the ribbon cutting that celebrated the completion of the $1.34 million renovation project there. Read the full story here: http://www.army.mil/-news/2010/01/14/32916-stewart-hunter-keeps-the-army-family-covenant/
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Forts McPherson, Gillem full speed ahead with Army Family Covenant!
On Nov. 5, 2007, Fort McPherson and Fort Gillem joined Army installations around the world in signing the Army Family Covenant. The AFC was conceptualized by Army chief of staff Gen. George Casey, and his wife, Sheila, as they visited installations and met with active duty, Army Reserve and Army National Guard Soldiers and their spouses. Realizing that the Army should do whatever it can to keep the relationship between the Army and Families strong, Casey spearheaded the creation of the covenant, stating, "The Army Family Covenant pledges our commitment to support Soldiers and their Families and resource programs to provide them a quality of life commensurate with their service." Read entire story here: http://www.army.mil/-news/2010/01/19/33117-forts-mcpherson-gillem-full-speed-ahead-with-army-family-covenant/
Lt. Gen. Lynch on CNN's iReport
Listen to Lt. Gen Lynch speak at the Army Family Action Plan Conference on CNN's iReport. com at http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-391315
Friday, January 15, 2010
Army Leaders End AFAP Conference With Focus on Family Input
The Army Family Action Plan Conference ended today, and delegates left with a clear message and mission from top Army leaders: the input of Families is critical to improving the Army’s quality of life, and every AFAP delegate must send this message loud and clear to their installations and units.
“The AFAP process has given the Army a great impetus to drive Family programs for two decades,” said Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey, who spoke on the importance of the Army’s program to identify and prioritize issues that impact the lives of Soldiers and Families.
Gen. Casey told the delegates from across the Army that Family issues rank among senior leadership’s top priorities for the Service in 2010. “Continuing to sustain our Soldiers, Families and Civilians will be a major focus for us,” he said. The sustainment effort will include making the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program available to Family members and Civilians to build their resilience, teach them coping skills and improve their performance in order to better meet the challenges the Army faces with repeated deployments and stresses.
Sustaining Soldiers and Families also means injecting continued energy into the Army Family Covenant to assure that the Army meets its commitment to provide Soldiers and Families a quality of life commensurate with their service. “I’ve charged Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch of Army Installation Management Command with re-energizing the Covenant,” Gen. Casey explained, “and we will fund the Covenant from the Army’s basic budget and not from supplemental funding.”
Other elements of sustaining Soldiers and Families, Gen. Casey said, include transitioning Wounded Warriors to the next phase of their lives after they are injured, as well as strengthening the Army’s Survivor Outreach Services program.
“AFAP,” Gen. Casey observed, “is essential to sustaining Soldiers and Families. It’s a proven program that’s had a huge impact on Families, andAFAP enables me to talk with folks on the ground to know what’s going on,” he said.
Secretary of the Army John McHugh told the delegates, “Army Families are at the core of the readiness and the effectiveness of the Force. It’s the good work of Army Families and Spouses that implements the programs the Army provides. I really believe the saying, ‘The stronger the Family, the stronger the Army.’”
Maj. Gen. Reuben Jones, commanding general of the Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command, sent the delegates home with a charge to take their AFAP Conference experience back to their installations and units. “Tell them what the Army’s doing for Families,” he urged. “Tell them how important the input of Families is to the Army. Most important, tell them that Army leaders are engaged and listening.”
“The AFAP process has given the Army a great impetus to drive Family programs for two decades,” said Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey, who spoke on the importance of the Army’s program to identify and prioritize issues that impact the lives of Soldiers and Families.
Gen. Casey told the delegates from across the Army that Family issues rank among senior leadership’s top priorities for the Service in 2010. “Continuing to sustain our Soldiers, Families and Civilians will be a major focus for us,” he said. The sustainment effort will include making the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program available to Family members and Civilians to build their resilience, teach them coping skills and improve their performance in order to better meet the challenges the Army faces with repeated deployments and stresses.
Sustaining Soldiers and Families also means injecting continued energy into the Army Family Covenant to assure that the Army meets its commitment to provide Soldiers and Families a quality of life commensurate with their service. “I’ve charged Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch of Army Installation Management Command with re-energizing the Covenant,” Gen. Casey explained, “and we will fund the Covenant from the Army’s basic budget and not from supplemental funding.”
Other elements of sustaining Soldiers and Families, Gen. Casey said, include transitioning Wounded Warriors to the next phase of their lives after they are injured, as well as strengthening the Army’s Survivor Outreach Services program.
“AFAP,” Gen. Casey observed, “is essential to sustaining Soldiers and Families. It’s a proven program that’s had a huge impact on Families, andAFAP enables me to talk with folks on the ground to know what’s going on,” he said.
Secretary of the Army John McHugh told the delegates, “Army Families are at the core of the readiness and the effectiveness of the Force. It’s the good work of Army Families and Spouses that implements the programs the Army provides. I really believe the saying, ‘The stronger the Family, the stronger the Army.’”
Maj. Gen. Reuben Jones, commanding general of the Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command, sent the delegates home with a charge to take their AFAP Conference experience back to their installations and units. “Tell them what the Army’s doing for Families,” he urged. “Tell them how important the input of Families is to the Army. Most important, tell them that Army leaders are engaged and listening.”
Live from the AFAP Conference: Top Five Issues Voted by Delegates are Flagged for Action
The top five issues are:
1) Military Stipend to Ill/Injured Soldiers for Non-Medical Caregivers;
2) Funding Service Dogs for Wounded Warriors;
3) Behavioral Health Service Shortages;
4) Family Readiness Groups External Fundraising Restrictions;
5) Exceptional Family Member Program Enrollment Eligibility for Reserve Compnent Soldiers.
More to come later today.
1) Military Stipend to Ill/Injured Soldiers for Non-Medical Caregivers;
2) Funding Service Dogs for Wounded Warriors;
3) Behavioral Health Service Shortages;
4) Family Readiness Groups External Fundraising Restrictions;
5) Exceptional Family Member Program Enrollment Eligibility for Reserve Compnent Soldiers.
More to come later today.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Live from the Army Family Action Plan Conference, Day 4: AFAP Housing Group Focuses on Safety and Predictability Issues and Solutions
The Army Family Action Plan Conference includes a Working Group on Housing and Facilities, but it’s not working on bricks-and-mortar issues–this group is all about making Soldiers safer in barracks and making applying for privatized Army housing more predictable for Families.
This week, the 12 Working Group members have chosen two housing-related issues–standard security measures for new and existing barracks and standardization of the privatized housing application process–for in-depth discussion and reviews with Army housing experts. On Friday, the group will send Army leadership its recommendations for addressing these issues.
Donna Cloy, an Army spouse who is the AFAP program coordinator at Fort Eustis, Va., facilitates the group. An AFAP veteran of nine years, she’s helping her group of Active Component Soldiers, Family members, and Single Soldiers finalize their recommendations and get ready to present them to senior Army leaders.
“The Housing and Facilities Working Group has a good mix of people from across the Army,” Cloy said. “Some have lots of experience with AFAP at the installation and command levels, and they know the validity of the process in giving Army leadership real-world input on Family issues. Other members are new, but they’re impressed by what they see here at the AFAP Conference. They all have in common the desire to make a difference for Soldiers and Families Army-wide.”
No one holds back in discussions about making all barracks safer by adding new access control systems. Experiences and insights flow freely when the subject turns to developing a standardizing application process that Army Families can use to apply for privatized Army housing. “The members are very passionate about these issues, and they’re very articulate in crafting the recommendations they’ll send forward to Army leadership,” Cloy said.
With its recommendations nearly finalized, the group is spending this afternoon rehearsing its presentation to Army leaders tomorrow. The rehearsal is full of constructive comments and positive observations for the presenters as anecdotes are tightened and talking points are sharpened.
The Housing and Facilities Working Group is doing its best to achieve the goal of the AFAP process – to identify and prioritize the issues that can improve the quality of life for Soldiers and Families across the Army.
This week, the 12 Working Group members have chosen two housing-related issues–standard security measures for new and existing barracks and standardization of the privatized housing application process–for in-depth discussion and reviews with Army housing experts. On Friday, the group will send Army leadership its recommendations for addressing these issues.
Donna Cloy, an Army spouse who is the AFAP program coordinator at Fort Eustis, Va., facilitates the group. An AFAP veteran of nine years, she’s helping her group of Active Component Soldiers, Family members, and Single Soldiers finalize their recommendations and get ready to present them to senior Army leaders.
“The Housing and Facilities Working Group has a good mix of people from across the Army,” Cloy said. “Some have lots of experience with AFAP at the installation and command levels, and they know the validity of the process in giving Army leadership real-world input on Family issues. Other members are new, but they’re impressed by what they see here at the AFAP Conference. They all have in common the desire to make a difference for Soldiers and Families Army-wide.”
No one holds back in discussions about making all barracks safer by adding new access control systems. Experiences and insights flow freely when the subject turns to developing a standardizing application process that Army Families can use to apply for privatized Army housing. “The members are very passionate about these issues, and they’re very articulate in crafting the recommendations they’ll send forward to Army leadership,” Cloy said.
With its recommendations nearly finalized, the group is spending this afternoon rehearsing its presentation to Army leaders tomorrow. The rehearsal is full of constructive comments and positive observations for the presenters as anecdotes are tightened and talking points are sharpened.
The Housing and Facilities Working Group is doing its best to achieve the goal of the AFAP process – to identify and prioritize the issues that can improve the quality of life for Soldiers and Families across the Army.
Live from Army Family Action Plan Conference, Day 4: Soldier Support II and Medical and Dental II Working Groups
The clock is ticking for the Working Groups at the AFAP Conference as tomorrow marks the final presentation of issues. Today, the Soldier Support II and Medical and Dental II Working Groups focus on each word of their entries.
Medical and Dental Working Group II sits in a room surrounded by work sheets from each of their sessions taped to every wall. The subject: AFAP Issue #22-10: Surviving Spouses’ TRICARE Benefits. The recommendation: Extend TRICARE Prime medical benefits from three to five years for surviving spouses and other adult dependents.
In crafting their recommendation, the group debates the use of the word “eligible” for 10 minutes. Does the word precisely reflect all of the intended demographics? As other word choices are pondered, spouses of Active Duty Soldiers in the working group express the possibility that one day, they too, might be in the position of the bereaved whose fate they are discussing today.
In another room, the Soldier Support II Working Group discusses AFAP Issue #72: Retirement Age for Active Duty Service in Support of the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO). Those around the horseshoe shaped table are wordsmithing their recommendation to credit active service prior to January 29, 2008, towards reduced retirement age.
The working group is allowed only five sentences in which to sum up their formal recommendation. Like those in the Medical and Dental II Working Group, they are having a tough time making every word count.
While the words may be hard to come by, Lt. Col. Robert Hagan, U.S. Army Reserve Liaison Officer with the G1 Army Retirement Services Office and Subject Matter Expert on AFAP Issue #72, paints a picture that sums up his working group’s difficulty succinctly:
“After 9/11, when I was in Iraq,” Lt. Col Hagan said, “I saw a Soldier’s vehicle destroyed by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). She walked out of the vehicle and directed traffic around the site while under attack.”
“How do you convey in five sentences,” Lt. Col. Hagan continued, “that her time doesn’t count toward reduced time for retirement – isn’t valued the same – as Soldiers in Iraq after 29 January 2008?”
Aesop said that in union there is strength. Each working group at the AFAP Conference is benefitting from the combined power of every colleague to create a presentation that answers the call of duty and serves the Army Community.
Follow us here tomorrow for reports on the final day of the AFAP Conference.
Medical and Dental Working Group II sits in a room surrounded by work sheets from each of their sessions taped to every wall. The subject: AFAP Issue #22-10: Surviving Spouses’ TRICARE Benefits. The recommendation: Extend TRICARE Prime medical benefits from three to five years for surviving spouses and other adult dependents.
In crafting their recommendation, the group debates the use of the word “eligible” for 10 minutes. Does the word precisely reflect all of the intended demographics? As other word choices are pondered, spouses of Active Duty Soldiers in the working group express the possibility that one day, they too, might be in the position of the bereaved whose fate they are discussing today.
In another room, the Soldier Support II Working Group discusses AFAP Issue #72: Retirement Age for Active Duty Service in Support of the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO). Those around the horseshoe shaped table are wordsmithing their recommendation to credit active service prior to January 29, 2008, towards reduced retirement age.
The working group is allowed only five sentences in which to sum up their formal recommendation. Like those in the Medical and Dental II Working Group, they are having a tough time making every word count.
While the words may be hard to come by, Lt. Col. Robert Hagan, U.S. Army Reserve Liaison Officer with the G1 Army Retirement Services Office and Subject Matter Expert on AFAP Issue #72, paints a picture that sums up his working group’s difficulty succinctly:
“After 9/11, when I was in Iraq,” Lt. Col Hagan said, “I saw a Soldier’s vehicle destroyed by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). She walked out of the vehicle and directed traffic around the site while under attack.”
“How do you convey in five sentences,” Lt. Col. Hagan continued, “that her time doesn’t count toward reduced time for retirement – isn’t valued the same – as Soldiers in Iraq after 29 January 2008?”
Aesop said that in union there is strength. Each working group at the AFAP Conference is benefitting from the combined power of every colleague to create a presentation that answers the call of duty and serves the Army Community.
Follow us here tomorrow for reports on the final day of the AFAP Conference.
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