BAMBERG - Have you been searching for a way to share your ideas and concerns about the Army community' If so the Army Family Action Plan (AFAP) Conference is a great place to start.
The AFAP conference, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, is a program that canvases members of every part of the military community to seek and resolve issues impacting the quality of life and well-being of their military community and can potentially affect life throughout the Department of Defense.
The conference is held annually and delegates are comprised of active duty Soldiers, reservists, retired service members, civilian personnel, spouses and teens. These individuals meet first at the garrison level and later at the Army-wide level to discuss and resolve issues and concerns expressed by members of the community who have submitted an AFAP issue form.
The canvassing process begins with military community members filling out an issue form. The form allows them to express their concerns about issues they have at their garrison or with the Army as a whole. It is a simple form that enables the community member to describe the issue or problem, explain why it is an issue or problem and allows them to make recommendations to resolve those issues.
Mary Thompson, Army Family Team Building/AFAP Program Manager, feels this grassroots program is one of the most useful tools the Army has today and that the program definitely strengthens the Army Family Covenant ideals and goals.
According to an interview with Gen. George Casey, chief of staff of the Army, the program is a center piece for contribution.
''I think this AFAP is going to be different because it is connected to the Army Family Covenant," Casey said. ''I need for you to think about [AFAP] in those terms. I think we will get a lot more momentum because of this than we might have had in the past."
Casey said he has been an Army Family member for 59 years, and that the motto in the Casey Family, ''make the best of it," is not what Families want right now.
''Listening to the Families, having been in Iraq, understanding what we are asking of them and having lost my own dad in Vietnam, I understand the impact war has on Families. They need more than that, and we are committed to delivering."
Because the program is a bottom-up program, which means the ideas start with the people receiving the services rather than the people providing services, real people are provided with a "voice" in shaping their standards of living and identifying issues related to the current environment.
In order for this grassroots approach to work, there must be people willing to volunteer their time and energy in reviewing issue forms.
"Volunteers are the life-blood of the conference," Thompson said.
Each AFAP conference is comprised of two basic groups. There are the delegates who review all the issues in depth and then prioritize which should be forwarded up to the next level of review and then there are the facilitators, recorders, transcribers and issue support people (FRTIS). The FRTIS are the backbone of the conference because they moderate the delegate discussions as well as summarize what's being said, transcribe the final results of discussions and issue supporters assistance by doing the topic research so delegates can continue the review process.
Although the backbone of the program is critical for structure, the program would go nowhere without assistance from the mind and muscle of the delegates.
"It takes all types," is a common euphemism and, in the case of AFAP, that's exactly what's needed.
Thompson encourages anyone interested in being a volunteer in any of the above capacities to come forward. She also encourages people to think locally and globally when completing their issue forms.
"Becoming part of the process is the first step and in so doing maybe you can affect some change," Thompson said.
Last year's Army-wide conference, which took place from Dec. 3 through 7 in Washington, D.C., reviewed 80 issues. The conference usually narrows the issue field down to the top five, but due to a three-way tie, seven issues made it to the 2007 conference. The issues were:
Minimum Disability Retirement Pay for Medically Retired Wounded Warriors
Traumatic Servicemembers Group Life Insurance (TSGLI) for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and Uniplegia
Federal Hiring Process for Wounded Warriors
Health and Wellness Centers
Access to Medical Care for Non-dependent Caregivers of Severely Wounded Soldiers
Staffing to Support the Physical Disability Evaluation System (PDES)
Comprehensive Behavioral Health Program for Children
Your chance to make a difference in the Army community is all around you. There are boxes to deposit the completed issue forms at the following locations: Community Mail Room, Mini Mall hallway, the Community Activities Center and the food court. Even if you aren't ready to join the delegates and FRTIS, you can still contribute. Pick up an application today at one of the above locations or online at http://www.bamberg.army.mil/sites/services/afap.asp.
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