FORT EUSTIS, Va. –
In the United States Army, Soldiers can count on a few things, according to Maj. Gen. Richard C. Longo, senior commander of Army Element Fort Eustis: a P-38 can opener working, a poncho liner keeping you warm, and the annual Army Family Action Plan Conference making a difference.
Longo shared his sentiments Jan. 20, with the delegates of the 2012 AFAP Conference at the Fort Eustis Club in appreciation of the group's efforts to make lasting changes the their quality of life and standard of living, not only at Fort Eustis, but Army wide.
Three groups, comprised of more than 35 active-duty and reserve Soldiers, civilians, surviving spouses, military retirees and other family members worked for two full days with facilitators, staffers, volunteers and subject matter experts. Their mission: to narrow down issues affecting the Army, and to make recommendations on how to resolve the issues. These recommended solutions were presented last Friday to Longo, along with senior leadership of the 733rd Force and Mission Support Groups.
This year, more than 65 issues were looked at among the three groups - divided by family and finance soldier support and medical as well as local issues. The three groups spent last Wednesday morning, the conference's first day, brainstorming and narrowing down the issues they would work on to two apiece.
Subjects ranged from the need to charge equitable rent for on-post housing for servicemembers, to implementing a writing test for non-commissioned officers.
Issues come from the Army community throughout the year, according to Beth Treon, Army Family Action Plan manager, who is in charge of managing issues, and putting on the annual conference. Some of the issues can be dealt with immediately, she said, others make their way to the conference delegates.
Facilitators guided the delegates during the process. True to AFAP tradition, participants wore civilian clothing and were addressed by their names; no rank was divulged so participants could "share their opinions freely."
Toys, like bubbles and mini Slinkies, and candy dotted the rooms where each group worked, as did giant papers with separate issues and comment stuck to the walls.
Like a democracy, the groups voted on their top two issues, and then discussed whether those indeed were the subjects for which they wanted to make recommendations.
Each issue had to be broached in three ways: The issue's title, the scope and the recommendations. All three had to be written succinctly and clear enough to be understood by anyone who reads it. .
An AFAP staffer looked over the issues as each group finished drafts and suggested changes that would help solidify the topic.. Dictionaries and thesauruses got their fair share of use, as did a staffer who was charged with looking up information over the Internet as the groups came across questions regarding their issues. Oftentimes, experts on given subjects were used to answer questions about certain issues, like Marlene Foster Cherrye, Exceptional Family Member Program manager, who talked to Group 1 about respite providers for eligible families.
As the conference moved forward, a friendly competition between group members ensued - to see which one could get their issues approved first. Group 3, led by facilitator Kate Dunbar, finished first with whoops and hollers from delegates, particularly Patricia Chatman and military reservist. She carried the group's final approved issue on a piece of paper, complete with a smiley face of accomplishment, next door to where Group 1 was diligently working. The friendly competition kept the momentum over the two-day group work sessions.
Delegates participating in the conference can look at AFAP's track record to know the time they put in coming up with recommendations for certain issues will be listened to, and in many cases, implemented Army-wide.
According to AFAP statistics, during the conference's history, 98 changes have been made into legislation, 141 policies or regulations have been revised, and 162 programs and services have been improved at the Department of Army level. Some of these improvements have included insurance coverage for all retired soldiers under TRICARE for life, paternity leave for Soldiers welcoming a new baby into the world, and eliminating Social Security numbers from military identification cards (this issue originated at Fort Eustis).
The three top conference issues, voted on by delegates this year were: developing a writing test for all non-commissioned officers to take and pass as part of their curriculum, implementing a Fort Eustis Emergency Preparedness Plan that's extensive and well-taught to the Army base community, and making sure rent for outdated, on-post housing was equitable for all service members.
During the presentation to some of Fort Eustis' military leaders, Longo told the delegates that the AFAP process works, and that some of the recommendations have a good chance of being implemented. Others, he said, may not; such as the recommendation for a third entry gate onto Fort Eustis, a cost-prohibitive recommendation.
Either way, he told the crowd, they need to hold Fort Eustis leadership "accountable."
"Make sure we're doing what we said we should do," said Longo.