REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- Three community issues addressing health care providers, family safety during inclement weather and public school choice made it to the top of the priority list during Redstone Arsenal's annual Army Family Action Plan Conference on Dec. 10-11.
Those issues -- recruiting in-network health care providers for Army civilians and military families using federal health insurance programs, providing storm shelters for the families who live in Redstone's housing community and providing school-of-choice options for service member families residing on Redstone Arsenal -- all address concerns affecting the quality of life for Redstone Arsenal families.
"Families are what make our Army strong," AMC commander Gen. Dennis Via told the delegates during the AFAP kickoff social Dec. 10. "When you re-enlist a Soldier, you re-enlist their family. That's why this forum is so critically important."
Sixty percent of Soldiers today are married. Of the total Army family, 62 percent are the children of service members, a number that doesn't include the children of 300,000 Army civilians.
In the 30 years that AFAP conferences have been held, Via said "our Army has changed and changed for the better" in its commitment to address family issues. AFAP has addressed nearly 700 issues since 1983. The Redstone AFAP conference was established 26 years ago.
"Some of the best ideas started in meetings like this," Via said.
At Redstone, past AFAP conferences have led to the 2013 opening of an indoor swimming pool, increased hours at the child development centers, a Madison County vehicle registration office on Redstone and the establishment of centralized service locations that are known today as the Community Welcome Center and the One Stop.
During the two-day conference, 33 delegates representing organizations throughout the Arsenal community split into three groups: Health Care, Installation Support and Consumer Services. The delegates reviewed more than 75 issues, chose one issue each to discuss and then to present to Army leadership with recommendations, and discussed and provided recommendations on the majority of issues submitted to AFAP through an online process. All issues discussed by AFAP delegates will be reviewed and acted upon by Arsenal leadership.
"Delegates have the important and challenging role to prioritize Team Redstone's top AFAP issues," Via said.
Via and the Team Redstone leadership are committed to reviewing and acting on the issues presented by the AFAP conference.
A lot of the quality of life amenities that Army families enjoy today are the result of an AFAP, said Curtis Clark, the Garrison's deputy commander.
"This is your opportunity to let the leadership know what you would like to see in changes," Clark told the delegates. "AFAP improves the quality of life for everyone on the installation. We want to make our installation the best in the world. … The quality of life here at Redstone continues to improve and it's because of your ideas."
During the out-brief session Dec. 11, delegates from each of the three groups presented issues to Lt. Gen. Patricia McQuistion, deputy commander of the Army Materiel Command and senior commander of Redstone, and Linda Via, wife of the AMC commander, along with other Arsenal leaders.
Delegate J.D. Webster presented the top Health Care issue at the AFAP out-briefing. Currently, there are not enough local health care providers in the Federal Health Care Network, which makes it difficult to obtain timely doctor's appointments. This situation is expected to get worse as the number of federal employees in the local area increases.
The Health Care group made the following recommendations: Actively educate existing and emerging health care providers on the benefits of being part of the Federal Health Care Network; identify root causes to eliminate providers' reluctance to accept the FHCN; and develop and provide an access-to-care network database on a reliably available website.
Col. William Darby, commander of Fox Army Health Center, told the delegates that the issue they described is "systematic across the entire region" and that the reluctance to be part of FHCN is based on the insurance reimbursement rate and the timeliness. He assured them that he is planning to pursue the issue with regional leadership of the Medical Command, and with representatives of Tricare and Humana Health Insurance, Crestwood Hospital and Huntsville Hospital.
Delegate Steven Oates presented the top issue for the Installation Support group -- Storm Shelters in Redstone Arsenal Housing. He referred to the tornadoes from April 25-28, 2011, saying there were 358 total tornadoes in 21 states. In Alabama, 243 people died in tornadoes on April 27, 2011. He said Redstone "dodged a bullet" when tornadoes did not hit its own housing area.
Oates said Redstone's Housing area is not adequately protected from tornadoes. It was recommended that the Garrison construct safe and adequate storm shelters in the Housing area, and develop and publish an emergency plan utilizing storm shelters.
Clark told the delegates that the Garrison has already recognized the issue, and it has received $750,000 in funding to construct a storm shelter for the Mills Road Child Development Center. Pointing out the lack of funding for other storm shelters, Clark said, "We can't promise a fast solution. But we are looking at it and we will continue to work this as a community issue."
Isha Greene, a delegate with the Consumer Services group, presented the third top issue of the conference -- School of Choice Option for Service Members Residing on Redstone Arsenal. While city zoning laws prohibit school of choice, Greene said military children, who must contend with unique challenges as the children of service members, deserve the level of educational excellence set by the Department of Defense. While the Arsenal's zoned schools meet state education standards, they don't meet DoD standards.
The Department of Defense Education Activity, which rates public schools based on strict educational standards that involve parental input and standard test scores, has rated the schools that are zoned for Redstone Arsenal children. Columbia High School has rated a 3 on a scale of 1 to 10, and Williams Elementary and Williams Middle schools a 4 on a scale of 1 to 10.
The group recommended that the Garrison establish a policy for Redstone Arsenal to allow for all service members residing on the Arsenal to select a school of choice for their family members.
Clark said school choice is not a new issue, and it is an issue that is being worked "very hard" by Garrison leadership.
McQuistion said that, along with school choice, "there is more that we can be doing to improve the quality of our schools. We can lend our expertise and partner in programs like Adopt-a-School where we can all help raise standards."
In closing the AFAP conference, Linda Via commended the delegates as well as the subject matter experts, recorders and facilitators who participated in Redstone's AFAP.
"What a fantastic group this has been. You have been passionate about your issues," she said. "I've been an Army spouse for 30 years. It does my heart very much good (to see the work that has happened here). AFAP may look different at different installations. But it is alive and well."
McQuistion assured delegates that the issues they addressed will be reviewed by Redstone leadership.
"We do take it very seriously. It doesn't end here. Follow-up will continue," she said.
"Redstone Arsenal is better and better year after year because of your engagement. We will continue to work these issues. You have our commitment on it."
Many of the delegates were grateful for the opportunity to participate in Redstone's AFAP.
"I like being part of the Redstone team," said delegate Janice Garland, who worked in the Consumer Services group. "I hope to get our issues accomplished. That's a big part of the process."
Delegate Eugene Brooks, who worked in the Health Care group, said the AFAP process was an educational experience for him.
"I got a lot of information and I learned what others go through to get things accomplished," he said. "The information I received will help me help my fellow veterans somewhere along the way."
Delegate Edna Cole has worked with AFAP for the past four years as a registrar. This is the first time she has served as a delegate. She plans on volunteering as a delegate again next year.
"I enjoyed being a part of a community concern and being able to make suggestions on what could possibly make a future change," she said.
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