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The U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern’s 2006 Army Family Action Plan Conference, “Setting Standards of Living for Transforming Army,” is a chance for servicemembers to make a change.
The conference will be from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Armstrong Community Club on Vogelweh Housing.
“This year, we are in need of issues,” said Angela Bellamy, the garrison’s Army Community Service AFAP coordinator. “We are looking for any issues that pertain to quality of life for Soldiers and their family members.”
The 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 raise issues to Army leadership.
“This is about change – positive change in our community and Army,” said Mrs. Bellamy. “AFAP is a way to let your voice be heard and affect the quality of lives in our military.”
Given the joint demographics of the KMC, Air Force members can also submit issues, providing input for changes in the KMC, as well as within Department of Defense, Mrs. Bellamy said.
This family conference is a chance for KMC members to say what is and is not working, as well as how to fix it within the KMC, said Linda Slaughter, Department of the Army and DOD’s garrison ACS director.
“The changes that have occurred since the start of AFAP have significantly made huge differences in how the Army supports the force, the ‘total’ force,” said Mrs. Slaughter.
Since the program began in 1983, action plan issues have become Army or DOD policy. The conference has raised more than 600 issues resulting in 99 changes to legislation, 145 revised policies and 164 improved programs and services, said Mrs. Bellamy.
Locally, the KMC Military Family Housing and 435th Air Base Wing Civil Engineer Squadron changed procedures a couple of years ago to better inform residents of upcoming maintenance projects. The Kid’s Zone on Pulaski Barracks became a reality due to an initiative started at the 2001 conference.
The issues that cannot be addressed locally will be forwarded to higher levels, as far up as the Department of Army level, said Mrs. Bellamy.
For example, the teen group from the 2004 AFAP conference here worked on the issue, “funding for Department of Defense Dependent Schools students visiting stateside colleges” that is now active at the DA level.
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.
Members can bring their issues to the conference by filling out proposed issue worksheets located at ACS, Kids’ Zone and post office on Pulaski Barracks. In addition, Family Readiness Group leaders also have issue worksheets to give to their members. Those wanting to bring up issues can e-mail the AFAP coordinator at angela.bellamy1@us.army.mil. For more information or to register for this year’s AFAP, call Mrs. Bellamy at 489-6752.
