To give you all some background, the branches of the military have programs that are designed to provide support, answers, etc to the single service member and the family member. These programs have different names for each branch. The Air Force has the Airman and Family Readiness Center and the Key Spouse Program. The Army has the Army Community Service and the Family Readiness Group. The Navy and Marines have their own as well. The Navy, in my opinion really seems to have it going on. They have always dealt with deployments based on the simple fact that they are the sea-faring branch. You have shore duty and sea duty, and when you have sea duty...you're gone a lot. The Marines and Army are tied. These two branches, in my opinion, have it hard. They are now constantly deployed and they are suffering great losses. The Air Force, is now starting to deploy on a regular basis. We need to in my opinion. If you are in the military, it's your job to protect and defend this country. However, our key spouse program is lacking. It was only implemented Air Force wide about two years ago. I believe March 2009. There doesn't seem to be a standardized training, and when training is offered, it's on the most inconvenient days. I've experienced this at Offutt, and apparently, it's like that here at Pope AFB. Well, that's missing the point...a program to support families, that won't borrow ideas or anything from the other branches that seem to be getting it right, and the training is offered at times that no one can seem to make it??? What's wrong with this? Once, the key spouse program at Offutt asked people for ideas about a financial planning seminar, so I suggested that we check out the FRG since I just took theirs before our move. Yeah...I was ignored. I love the AF, and I love all the branches, but the last I checked the global war on terror was applicable to all branches. Not only do all of our branches get deployed, but they all leave family behind. This isn't about bashing the AF and saying that another branch is better, it's about utilizing all the resources out there. My biggest complaint with the military is that it seems to me, that each branch has to do their own thing. If the Army FRGs work, then why not use them for all branches? The Marines use the same structure as an FRG, they just call it something else. What we need to remember is that we're all in this together.
So, I went to an unofficial FRG leaders meeting. It was a way for these amazing leaders to share ideas, best practices, how to overcome the stigma of the FRG, and how to work together. I was the only Air Force spouse and I was so proud of that! I can't wait to work with the commander's wife to become a key spouse again, and to work with the Army to implement their best practices. It is my hope and goal to combine the two programs and create one that works for the AF and see it become our standard. It is my promise to all AF families that I will not give up on this, that I will work hard for you all because we need the support! As I watch Ft. Bragg and Pope AFB combine their efforts and become a joint operations post/base, I wonder if that's what will happen for the families. I think it will.
Below are the links for the different family support centers; they're so cool!
Navy: http://www.cnic.navy.mil/CNIC_HQ_Site/WhatWeDo/FleetandFamilyReadiness/index.htm
Marine Corp: http://www.usmc-mccs.org/family/
Army: http://www.armyfrg.org/skins/frg/home.aspx?AllowSSL=true
Air Force: http://keyspouse.org/index.htm
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