Airman & Family Readiness Center has support, resources

  • Published
  • By Mark Horning
  • Airman & Family Readiness Center

In March 2017, Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Kaleth Wright briefed the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the welfare, readiness and morale of Airmen, expressing the Air Force must focus on child care and spouse employment challenges.    

“We continue to explore opportunities to strengthen our force. While some initiatives are force wide, others are more targeted, but all have the same objective; to provide commanders with the most well-trained, deliberately developed Airmen and the most resilient Airmen and families.”

The Columbus Air Force Base A&FRC is the service organization for base families and is a one stop location where individuals can obtain reliable information and assistance on a wide range of important topics.

Our mission is to “Promote, educate and facilitate readiness and resiliency for Airmen and their families”. Our team strives for excellence in customer service and support.  We assist Airmen and their families with relocation, family readiness, volunteering, personnel financial readiness, local employment, Exceptional Family Member Program, casualty services and survivor benefits, information and referrals. 

We have core activities and programs that apply to you whether you’re married or single, officer or enlisted, military or civilian. These are just a few of the core programs the A&FRC offers.

Air Force Aid Society

The Air Force Aid Society is the official charity of the U. S. Air Force. It promotes the Air Force mission by providing worldwide emergency assistance to members and their families, sponsoring educational assistance programs, and offering a variety of base community enhancement programs that impact member and family welfare.

Casualty Services

The Columbus AFB Casualty Services Program’s primary goals are to provide prompt, accurate reporting, dignified and humane notification, and efficient, thorough, and compassionate assistance to the next of kin for as long as needed.

Survivor Benefit Plan

Military pay stops when a member dies. The SBP is a government program that makes it possible for retiring members to ensure after their death, their eligible survivors receive a portion of their military retired pay in the form of a monthly annuity.

Employment/Career Focus Program

Searching for a new job? The A&FRC is the right place. The Employment Readiness Program provides no cost consultations, programs and services to help families in the job search process.

Exceptional Family Member Program

Military family members with special needs face unique and often times stressful situations. Every Air Force family needs to know that enrollment in EFMP is mandatory for all active duty with a special needs family member.

Family Life Education

There exists a strong correlation between a military member’s ability to accomplish the mission successfully and the quality of his or her family experience. Because of this, A&FRC offers activities to promote a healthy family and work life.

Family Readiness

Resilience is the ability to respond successfully to the challenges of life, and our program provides tools to help you anticipate and manage the challenges associated with the deployment cycle. Our goal is to ensure you and your family are fully prepared for your deployment, remote or extended Temporary Duty Assignment (30 or more days). A&FRC coordinated monthly social events called Hearts Apart for family members whose sponsor is deployed, remote or on extended TDY. This is a great opportunity to meet other families dealing with similar issues, meet with leaders from around the base, and most importantly a time to relax and enjoy yourself as all events and food are at no cost to participants.

Key Spouse Program

Spouses may remember what it felt like to be new to a base or to the Air Force. The Key Spouse Program is a chance to assist others, so they don’t travel the same bumpy road.

Military and Family Life Counselor

The Military and Family Life Counselor program provides non-medical, short term, situational, problem-solving counseling services to address issues that occur across the military lifestyle and help service members and their families cope with normal reactions to the stressful and often adverse situations created by deployments and reintegration.

Personal Financial Readiness Program

Money should make lives better, not create stress. The A&FRC can help customers develop sound financial skills and obtain consumer information through one-on-one counseling and/or financial workshops.

Relocation Assistance Program

The Relocation Assistance Program at Columbus AFB will assist with information and education to ease the personal and family stressors military families experience with a permanent change of station. All new military and civilian personnel must attend a Wing Newcomers Orientation which is held monthly at the Columbus Club. Attendees receive invaluable information from subject matter experts across the base and local community that assists them in quickly and safely settling in to their new installation/community. 

Transition Assistance Program

The A&FRC can help navigate through transitions by utilizing “Goals, Plans, Success”, a program also known as Transition GPS. It is the Department of Defense’s transition program redesigned to ensure service members are better prepared to transition from military to civilian life.

Volunteer Program

Volunteers provide invaluable support to the base and community, donating thousands of hours each month. Opportunities range from Columbus AFB Medical Center to the Airman’s Attic.

Air Force Families Forever

A long-term aftercare program established to provide proactive outreach to family members who have lost a loved one who, at the time of death, served on active-duty in the U.S. Air Force.

Gold Star Program

Gold Star families are survivors of military service members who lost their lives during armed hostilities.  This program provides enhanced support and outreach for the lifetime of each survivor, or until the survivor no longer needs or desires the services.

Installation Voting Assistance

Located in A&FRC, the Installation IVA office provides accurate and nonpartisan voting information assistance to uniformed service members and their voting aged dependents, federal civilian employees and other U.S. citizens who have access to the A&FRC. Services include but are not limited to filling out and submitting Federal Post Card Applications, Federal Write-In Absentee Ballots and National Mail Voter Registration Forms. 

For more information about the A&FRC and its programs, call (662) 434-2790 or visit online at columbusafbliving.com.