Airman and Family Readiness takes the gamble out of deployments

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Leo Brown
  • 442nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  The name has changed, but the mission remains the same.

Effective last December, Family Support offices in Air Force Reserve Command are now known as Airman and Family Readiness (A&FR), but they will still provide unparalleled support for Airmen and their families.

Offering a host of programs and resources to deal with problems from the profound to the mundane, A&FR is open to military members and civilian employees, along with their family members. If someone has a concern - from finances to deployments - chances are the A&FR staff is going to at least point the person in the right direction, if not help them directly.

Master Sgt. Vickie Chambers, 442nd A&FR non-commissioned officer in charge and Tech. Sgt. Kay Litchy, A&FR technician, both said the office name change was made, at least in part, to stress that they focus on single, as well as married, Airmen.

"Nothing has changed," Sergeant Litchy said. "We were already helping single Airmen. It's just that the name reflects that now."

"We try to be a link for single Airmen," Sergeant Chambers said. "We have a lot of people who aren't deployed who feel they're alone. We want people to know we're here."

Sergeants Chambers and Litchy said the important issue is for people to make their concerns known, regardless of who they are.

"If they call us, we will help them," Sergeant Litchy said. "If there's a situation, they need to make it known."

"Our motto is 'Let us be your lifesaver,' so we pass out Lifesavers candy at the newcomers briefings each UTA," Sergeant Chambers said. "We may not have all the answers, but we know how to refer people to someone who can help them."

While they may refer some customers to other resources, the shop's staff, which also includes Tech. Sgts. Nicole Willeford and Eddie Smith, will offer direct help if they can.

Among other things, the staff helps with deployments, organizing absentee voting ballots, sending birthday cards to children of deployed Airmen, setting up "deployment lines" for the children so they can experience what their parents go through prior to deploying and running the ''home-front hero'' award program, where deployed parents give their children a medal and certificate to thank them for their support while the parents are gone.

The A&FR staff also distributes books to children of deployed Airmen to help them better understand what is happening.

"We have things for older kids," Sergeant Litchy said, "but the younger ones just know they've been left. They don't understand. So we have some great literature to help them."

The staff also works with parents of deployed troops and said that sometimes their assistance isn't anything more than being a good listener.

"I think parents (of reservists) take deployments harder than spouses," Sergeant Litchy said. "It's hard for parents to see their child going into a dangerous situation and there's nothing they can do to protect them. We're there for the family. We're there to be a friend."

"No problem is too small," Sergeant Chambers said. "If it's important to someone, it's important to us. One of our deployed members' parents wrote me about an issue saying, 'I know this may not be important to you ... '''

Sergeant Chambers said the "issue" dealt with a deployed Airman's parents not being able to see a Christmas video from the member.

"I got with Master Sgt. Bill Huntington, (442nd Public Affairs office NCOIC) and we worked it out. We work a lot with other offices," Sergeant Chambers said. "We keep each other informed and that makes our program work well. We truly are a team. This is not a local show. It's a wing show."

When a wing Airman died recently, Sergeant Chambers and Litchy said they worked frequently with the wing's military personnel flight and the member's family to meet everyone's needs.

"We were helping the family and talking with them three, four, five times a day," Sergeant Litchy said. "You get to know them and you get attached to them emotionally."

Cooperation between the A&FR and other agencies isn't limited to the 442nd Fighter Wing, according to the sergeants.

"Sergeant Chambers has a great relationship with the 509th Airman and Family Readiness Center, which is not always the case with reserve and active-duty units," Sergeant Litchy said.

"I can tell you that our offices work seamlessly," Sergeant Chambers said. "We're here for each other no matter what.

Sergeant Litchy stressed that the A&FR's responsibilities require the staff to be very "proactive. We have to be well organized."

Such organization makes demands on the staff even when they're not "on duty."

"My civilian job is very supportive of our work," said Sergeant Litchy, who is the director of development and sales at the Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts at Missouri State University in Springfield. "I just bring the office cell phone to my civilian meetings and they support me."

Sergeants Chambers, Litchy and Willeford said that when they have to refer customers for various concerns, two excellent resources are the Missouri Military Family Relief Fund, accessed at www.mmfrf.mo.gov, and Military Onesource, accessed at www.militaryonesource.com.

"They're wonderful Web sites," Sergeant Willeford said. "You can look up pretty much anything on them."

"There's information on marriage counseling, adoption assistance, doing taxes," Sergeant Litchy said.

"People need to know we're here for them anytime," Sergeant Chambers said. "We stand behind what we say we're going to do. We keep our promises. I think our efforts have helped retention. If family members are happy, the member is usually happy and they'll stay longer.

"This is such a humbling and rewarding job," she said. "I love my job. I would go 10,000 miles for my people."