ARLINGTON, Va. -- The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command participated in the Army Family Action Plan Conference here Feb. 27 through March 2.
"This is the platform for us to address quality of life issues and concerns from our communities with Army leaders," said KC Bertling, AFAP program manager, SMDC.
This year's conference consisted of four working groups to include 53 delegates from across the Army to discuss and recommend solutions to numerous issues important to Soldiers, Family members, civilians, and retirees.
The working groups fall under four categories: family support; medical, dental and wounded warriors; personal well being; and Soldier support.
Staff Sgt. William Jungerman, a satellite network controller assigned to Alpha Company, 53rd Signal Battalion, 1st Space Brigade, in Fort Detrick, Md., represented SMDC as a delegate in the medical, dental and wounded warrior working group.
"Within our groups, all the different demographics are represented," said Jungerman. "You have not only Soldiers, Families and retirees, but you also have DA civilians, wounded warriors and survivors. So you get everybody's opinions and experiences.
"With some of the issues that were brought forward, we had individuals who it directly affected, so we heard personalized experiences of these particular issues," Jungerman added.
The working groups began the week with a total of 51 issues, which were narrowed down to the top eight.
"At this conference, each working group is authorized to prioritize the top two issues that are most critical," said Bertling.
The top eight issues were presented to Army senior leaders on the final day of the conference.
Jungerman found the conference very beneficial.
"I can take this experience back to my Soldiers and Families in my unit and tell them Army leaders do care," Jungerman said.
"The AFAP program is not only for the Army military Families, it is also for civilians and retirees, wounded warriors, and survivors of fallen Soldiers. It is for the total Army family. If anybody has ideas or concerns, they can address that with me or their local AFAP representative," said Bertling. "AFAP shows that the Army leaders do care."
The SMDC AFAP conference is scheduled for May 8-11 in Colorado Springs, Colo.
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