STUTTGART, Germany -- An online sponsor training and resource tool launched nearly a year ago aims to improve the relocation experience for service members, especially in light of the impending PCS season this summer.
The eSponsorship Application and Training site, or e-SAT, is another tool in the Defense Department arsenal in the effort to standardize the quality of training in the decades-old sponsor program, largely viewed as "hit or miss" across the services. Units have varied in how they deliver the mandatory sponsor program.
Department of Defense officials "soft launched" the e-SAT program last March. Use of the online training tool at www.apps.mhf.dod.mil/ESAT began in U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart last June, according to Daniel Adams, Relocation Readiness Program manager at USAG Stuttgart's Army Community Service.
The e-SAT site includes training, links to relocation resources and an e-mail function that allows communication between sponsors and incoming families. Coupled with another source of Department of Defense online support, Military Homefront, located at www.militaryhomefront.com, the two tools "...help ensure that there's consistency, accountability and follow-through - a more standardized way of doing things," Adams said.
"Those who are implementing eSponsorship are saving themselves a lot of time," he said. "Each unit is responsible for ensuring that contact is being made and the ball doesn't get dropped. Accountability will assist commanders in implementing better programs and provide tracking capabilities within their unit's trained pool of sponsors."
Each unit or command runs its own sponsorship program as the commander sees fit. The ACS Relocation Readiness program provides support to the units with materials, guidance and training.
1st Sgt. Tawnia Valdez of 587th Signal Company, 52nd Signal Battalion, said the eSponsorship online training has been an invaluable resource in her unit, which includes a number of younger Soldiers, many of whom are experiencing their first permanent change of station move.
"They know what they should be doing and what the expectations are," Valdez said. "Their feet are held to the fire, and they have to keep up the contact until they reach [incoming personnel] by e-mail or phone. They have to report to unit leadership and I maintain a spreadsheet of all inbound [personnel]."
The eSponsorship training helped Staff Sgt. Brian Bravante of the 587th Signal Company make sure he covered the basics in his recent sponsorship assignment.
"I had a past experience where I had no set sponsor and in-processing was pretty much my sponsor," Bravante said.
Bravante tried to give the Soldier he sponsored a different experience. "I was communicating by e-mail, but he was in transition on PCS leave and it would take him a while to respond. I wanted to make sure everything was ready for him," he said.
Two recent additions to 52nd Signal Battalion Headquarters, Headquarters Detachment - Sgt. Eric Gurley and Staff Sgt. John Duenas - said they plan to complete the online sponsorship training, prompted in part by their recent positive sponsorship experiences.
"I got a good first impression of the person and the unit," said Gurley, who arrived Dec. 10. "Coming off a deployment and PCSing here, I didn't want to worry about the little things, and it was really [a relief] to have sponsorship. I was squared away."
Duenas, who arrived on Jan. 7 (his wife and three children arrived Jan. 21), is on his first overseas permanent assignment. "A good sponsor helps get everything done, and my sponsor made sure I got as much done as I could in one day on the checklist," he said. "I got everything set up for my family to come."
Sponsorship, however, is not just for military members. Anyone who is permanent party is entitled to sponsorship, Adams said, which includes Department of Defense civilians, teachers and contractors.
"Those with a smoother sponsorship experience tend to have a brighter, more positive outlook," Adams said. "That experience can reflect on the entire tour and how they, in turn, are able to meet and greet newcomers."
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