FORT JACKSON, S.C. (Aug. 7, 2014) -- Is Army Community Service providing what you need at Fort Jackson?
That's the question behind a survey being presented to Soldiers, families and employees on post, with the goal of refining programs and opportunities offered at Fort Jackson, said Carla Atkinson, ACS director. The results of the survey will be used to help create and revise programs on post during the coming years.
"We use that information as part of our strategic planning so that, when we decide how we're going to use our limited resources over the next three to five years, we have the information we need from our families and service members to plan our programs and services," Atkinson said.
The survey is part of an Installation Management Command campaign to gauge the changing needs of the Army. The survey's target audience includes active duty service members; National Guard and Army Reserve Soldiers; spouses and families of service members; civilian employees; military retirees and family members; and other eligible customers of ACS programs.
"We want a representative sample of our population," Atkinson said. "We have about 3,500 Soldiers and about half as many spouses, and they would be our primary target."
The survey was launched in conjunction with the development of ACS's three-year strategic plan, as well as an accreditation review scheduled to take place in 2015, Atkinson said.
"Once (the survey) develops your demographics, it goes on to ask questions about your familiarity with certain services, as well as the last time you've used those services," said Elizabeth Maher, ACS plans and operations manager. "It took me about five minutes to take the survey. We'll use the survey information to develop new programs and services to meet the needs of our Soldiers and families."
The survey is scheduled to close Sept. 15.
"If we don't get enough responses, we might have to extend the survey," Atkinson said. "It's not just about getting a set number of people to respond. Soldiers and families are our first priority."
The survey is voluntary and confidential. The results will be reviewed by IMCOM following the conclusion of the survey campaign.
"I'd like to challenge our leaders to lead by example," Maher said. "I'd love to see them take the needs assessment survey, let their Soldiers know they've done it and encourage them to take the five minutes out of their day for the survey."
To access the survey, visit www.armymwr.com/ACS-survey.
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