Community can ‘change tomorrow’

***image1***Everyone here can have a voice in making the KMC a better place to live and work at the U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern’s 2008 Army Family Action Plan Conference.

Themed as “A Chance to Change Tomorrow,” the conference is from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Oct. 23 and 24 at the Armstrong Community Club on Vogelweh.

A brainchild of Army spouses, AFAP is an Army-wide program that gives all members of the Army team – active duty and retired military, family members and civilian employees – a chance to voice concerns and raise issues to Army leadership.

“I believe AFAP truly provides the voice for families by elevating their concerns,” said Olivia Gairy, the garrison’s AFAP coordinator. “It’s also the preeminent means for commanders at all levels to seek solutions to the concerns from their
communities.”

She explained this conference is not only a tool for people to identify problems in the KMC, Army and Department of Defense, but it’s also a chance to work together to find solutions to make military life better for everyone.

Changes that have occurred since the start of AFAP in 1983 have significantly made huge differences in how the Army supports the total force with action-plan issues becoming Army or DOD policies, said Michael Andrews, the garrison’s Army Community Service director.

“Here in Kaiserslautern, someone can come up with an issue that we work (at the AFAP conference) and it could change for everybody,” said Mr. Andrews, who has been involved with AFAP since 1992 in Korea and Hawaii.

Army-wide conferences have discussed almost 1,000 issues resulting in more than 90 changes to legislation, 150 revised policies and 190 improved programs and services, said Ms. Gairy.

Local issues already implemented here from last year’s conference was the first Exceptional Family Member summer camp, driver’s simulation classes at Kaiserslautern and Ramstein high schools and wireless internet at the Landstuhl library.

The issues that cannot be addressed locally will be forwarded up to higher levels, as far up as the Department of Army level, said Ms. Gairy.

As a grass-roots program, each garrison will have a local conference.  Their top issues will be passed up to the Europe-wide conference, which will pass their issues to the DA conference. Within the DA conference, there is a General Officers’ Steering Committee, headed by the vice chief of staff for the Army, which resolves the top issues from the previous year’s AFAP.

Volunteers and issues are needed for the two-day conference. The deadline to submit issues is Oct. 3 and to volunteer is Oct. 10.

Given the joint demographics of the KMC, Ms. Gairy said members from other military service branches here can also submit issues and volunteer at the conference because they can provide input for changes in the KMC, as well as within DOD.

The majority of volunteers will serve as delegates. Ms. Gairy said she needs about 75 delegates to form seven focus groups. These work groups will come up with recommendations for the Army to fix the top issues facing the KMC.

Proposed focus groups for this year are teens; health and dental care; community support and consumer services; children and youth; housing and public works; DOD and DA civilians; and Soldier support.

More volunteers are also needed to be facilitators and recorders at each focus group. Training for delegates, facilitators and recorders is 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Oct. 14 at the conference room in the garrison’s headquarters, Bldg. 2933 on Pulaski Barracks.

About 70 issues – 10 for each focus group – are still needed for this year’s conference. Issues that Ms. Gairy is looking for are those pertaining to quality of life for everyone living and working in military communities.

Submitting these issues can be done by filling out worksheets located at central places and Morale, Welfare and Recreation facilities at most KMC Army posts or online at www.mwrgermany.com/KL/acs/afap.htm. Volunteer registration sheets can also be found on this Web site.

For more information or to register for this year’s AFAP, call 493-4357 or 0631-3406-4232 or e-mail Olivia.v.gairy@eur.army.mil.