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The 2013 Community Assessment Survey launched March 29 with this year’s themes of “A strong community depends on you” and “We’re listening.”
Approximately 160,000 active-duty Airmen, 160,000 spouses of active duty and more than 100,000 other Air Force total-force teammates will receive the voluntary survey. It is sent to those invited to participate by email.
The survey is designed to identify areas that need improvement throughout the Air Force community. Past surveys have led to the development of numerous programs and community support elements, such as installation parks, base introduction programs and enhanced helping programs through the Ramstein Airman & Family Readiness Center and other organizations.
“Our Air Force is all about people … caring for Airmen and their families,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III. “Please invest some time in sharing your thoughts and opinions on how we can do this better and make our Air Force community stronger.”
Survey results are analyzed by the highest in Air Force leadership, and participation is highly encouraged to help the Air Force’s decision makers focus on the right areas to improve. It has provided Air Force leaders feedback every two to three years since 1988, and the results are used by installation commanders to target areas to improve. The results from this year’s survey will be distributed Air Force wide, starting at the headquarters level, making its way down to each installation’s leadership.
The analysis comprises seven main content areas: personal adjustment, family adjustment, community well-being, individual and family adaptation, help seeking and mental health stigma, resilience, and risk behaviors.
“We need to make sure our programs are meeting the needs of Airmen and their families,” said Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James Cody. “This survey is one way we can learn how well we’re doing that. It’s every Airman’s responsibility to provide honest feedback to help.”
This year’s assessment includes new items on job category, suicide acceptability, selection of and satisfaction with housing, and resilience training. The themes are designed to communicate to those being surveyed how important it is to give candid feedback. It gives members the opportunity to have their voices heard by Air Force leaders who can affect change throughout the service.
“The overall purpose of the Community Assessment Survey is to provide leaders with actionable community-level data,” said Jan Devitt, 86th Airlift Wing community support coordinator. “The large, random representative samples of Airmen, spouses and civilians provide results to assist many facets of installation support elements to provide the best possible services, programs and care to the total force family on base.”
The 10-week campaign is scheduled to end in May, and the results are expected to be released in October.
