Baumholder

U.S. Army Family Action Plan Conference 2010

Issues and recommendations

 

 

Delegates representing everyone from teens to Soldiers in the Baumholder community came together Feb. 17 and 18 for the annual Army Family Action Plan conference to try and improve the Army’s quality of life .

They gathered to voice what is and isn’t working locally and Army wide and recommend ways to make changes or improve what’s not working. They tackled areas dealing with medical and dental services, teen activities, benefits and entitlements, consumer advocacy and family support.

Through AFAP, all Soldiers (Active, Reserve, National Guard), family members, retirees, surviving spouses and DA Civilians have a forum to raise issues and voice concerns to Army leadership.

These voices are given the opportunity to influence Army quality of life and standard of living. AFAP issues come up at all levels. They might concern a local community or relate to problems that have Army-wide impact.

Infact, many issues resolved through the AFAP process go beyond the Army and impact all branches of military service.

At the close of the conference Lt. Col. (P) Paul Pfahler, U.S. Army Garrison Baumholder commander, thanked the delegates for all of their work and explained that the garrison would handle all issues that could be resolved locally. Issues having Army wide impact would be forwarded to the next AFAP level for further discussion or action.

An abbreviated version of all the issues discussed at the AFAP conference follows. The full scope of the issues and the recommendations were edited for publication. A complete, unedited version is available on line at www.baumholder.army.mil

Medical and Dental

Downrange dental care availability

Deployed Soldiers experience a lack of dental care, including routine check-ups and minor dental procedures. This lack of care results in a large number of Soldiers that develop extensive dental conditions. The already understaffed dental clinics expend time and resources correcting the issues that developed downrange.

Recommendations

Appoint a dental professional on the Combat Logistic Patrols to provide a continuous mode of dental support for Soldiers.

Department of Defense health care standardization

Army families are experiencing difficulty in obtaining standardized care across the Department of Defense. Difficulties arise when family members and Soldiers seek services at non-Army facilities and later find out that the services provided do not suffice for Army regulated processes.

Recommendations

Establish a standardized SOP for all branches across the Department of Defense.

Ensure that all Department of Defense medical providers can access the records of all DoD ID card holders.

OCONUS EFMP screening

Army Families are experiencing difficulty in obtaining timely and accurate information regarding their dependents’ EFMP screening information prior to their arrival at their OCONUS duty station.  Recommendations

Ensure all Soldiers with dependents are provided a mandatory briefing regarding the EFMP screening process prior to graduation from Advanced Individual Training, One Station Unit Training, and Officer’s Basic Course, etc.  

Ensure that all Soldiers enrolling dependents into DEERS be provided with an EFMP screening information packet. 

Establish an electronic medium (i.e. Army EFMP website) for spouses and Soldiers to access regarding the procedures associated with completing the EFMP screening.

Teens

Activity bus transportation options for students

There are limited off-post transportation options for those who need transportation to and from inter and intra post activities.

Recommendation 

Establish subsidized activity bus services to outlying towns to take students home after activities and provide shuttle service to other area installations.

Quality information access for teens

Community information methods and access are limited and need to be directed toward teens. Teens want to be involved in communication and to have briefings on current issues and.

Recommendation

Establish a Teen CIB in correlation with teen town hall meetings. Establish a Facebook account. E-mail the daily bulletins to students. Regularly update Baumholder web page.

Benefits and entitlements

Single pregnant Soldiers forced to live in barracks until child birth

Single pregnant Soldiers are not assigned to family housing until the birth of the child.

The current regulation requires the Soldier to stay in the barracks until the birth of her child. Since she has not been authorized quarters, the Soldier and her baby depart the hospital with no home to go to.

Recommendation

The regulation should be changed to allow pregnant single Soldiers to obtain Family housing at least by their fifth month of pregnancy.

Utility entitlements OCONUS should be based on number of dependents

Military personnel with dependents are forced to survive off of utilities based on a flat rate.  The current regulation states that Soldiers with multiple dependents living off-post are to receive the same utility rate as a Soldier with one dependent.

Recommendation

The regulation should be changed to allow military families to receive utility entitlements based on a tier system per number of dependents as opposed to a flat rate.

Meal cards should be ‘pay as you go’

Single Soldiers and Soldiers who are geographically single in the rank of E-5 and below are required to have meal deductions taken out of their pay.

Soldiers are getting charged meal deductions regardless of whether they utilize the dining facility. Recommendation

Change the USAREUR policy so that Soldiers are charged only for meals that they eat in the dining facility i.e. the “pay as you go” system.

Consumer group

AAFES and the consumers’ needs

AAFES is out of touch with their core consumer base. This is evident in the lack of personnel during peek hours, long turn around time for products and poor quality of service.

Recommendations

Train and enforce employment standards to enhance professionalism.

Adjust work hours to meet the needs of consumers.

Standardize and post time frame for products or services rendered.

Enforce “Soldiers first policy.”

Programs for geographical bachelors and bachelorettes

Geographical bachelors and bachelorettes have no programming in terms of support groups or MWR opportunities.

Recommendations

Institute MWR trips geared toward geographically separated Soldiers, to include single parents.

Create support groups for geographically separated Soldiers through ACS.

JAG limitations

Soldiers experience limited legal assistance due to JAG lawyers’ individual state licensing and specialties. Many civilian legal issues are unable to be addressed by military attorneys. The result is large out of pocket expenses for the Soldier.

Recommendations

Institute an inter-military referral program to incorporate the state licensing and legal specialty.

Revise AR 27-10 to include a reimbursement program for civilian legal fees.

Family support group

OCONUS in-processing and family travel.

The Total Army Sponsorship Program, AR 600-8-8, has been more specifically tailored to fit the needs of Soldiers PCSing from CONUS to CONUS and it neglects to address PCSing OCONUS. The SGATE site fails to function properly and personnel do not receive a sponsor until after arriving overseas if they received one at all.

Recommendations

Publish a change to AR 600-8-8 tailored specifically to PCSing overseas.

Sponsorship should be established as a permanent position, rather than an additional duty.

Preference policies for child care slots of full-time college student parent.

Spouses who pursue higher education during deployments are not able to gain any preference for full time child care slots according to CYSS policy.  Spouses who are able to use the post 9-11 GI Bill benefits are limited by the lack of available full time childcare slots.

Recommendations

Change policy so full time (12 credit hours) student parents are given the same priority preference as employed parents.