Photo By Kara Carrier | Patricia Montes Barron, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Community...... read more read more
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Military life can sometimes be tough on service members, civilians, and their families, but a multitude of personnel at Joint Base San Antonio are ready and willing to help members navigate life while serving their country in the Alamo Region.
These exceptionally dedicated personnel had the opportunity to showcase their efforts to maintain a ready force July 7-8 when they hosted Patricia Montes Barron, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy and Erika R. Slaton, Director, Military Community Support Programs, at the JBSA-Fort Sam Houston Military & Family Readiness Center.
During the two-day immersive tour, 802nd Force Support Squadron staff members from across JBSA explained how they are building resiliency among members.
Joint Base San Antonio has two Force Support Squadrons within the 502nd Air Base Wing, the 502nd FSS and 802nd FSS. The 802nd FSS provides the military and civilian personnel support, education and training resources, and mission readiness programs highlighted during the visit.
The dignitaries attended presentations on spouse employment readiness, teen talks, child and youth services, transition assistance, and other programs.
Information was also shared on services for those who have lost a service member, to include casualty assistance, Air Force Families Forever, and Survivor Outreach Services.
Lt. Col. Marjorie Barnum, commander, 802nd Force Support Squadron, led the visit, and was appreciative of the opportunity.
“It was an honor to host Mrs. Barron and Mrs. Slaton, and to allow my hardworking team to share their accomplishments supporting the service members and families of JBSA,” she said. “We so appreciated their time and commitment to understanding the base-level impact of policy decisions.”
A tour of Child and Youth Program facilities and a round table discussion with leadership were the focus of the second day agenda.
“We were grateful for the opportunity to showcase one of our phenomenal School Age Care Programs here at JBSA and show our leaders some of the great programming offered to children,” said Jennifer Couch, assistant chief, Child and Youth Flight, 502nd FSS. “We also appreciated the opportunity to discuss base-level challenges and initiatives related to behavior support in our programs, and how Ms. Barron and Ms. Slaton may be able to assist.”
Frances Anderson, chief of the JBSA-Fort Sam Houston Military & Family Readiness Center, commended her staff members during the visit for their excellent support of JBSA’s military and civilian personnel, and their families.
"It's always a pleasure to brag a bit about the great programming our Military & Family Readiness Centers are able to provide and the ways we are able to partner with other civilian and military organizations to enhance those programs,” she said. "We were so pleased to have the opportunity to showcase programs like Teen Talks - a collaboration between M&FRC, Child & Youth Programs, and Military & Family Life counselors - because it demonstrates what's possible when resilience and support organizations come together.
"It's so important that DOD leadership at the highest level hears from the field about how programs are working and what can be done at the policy level to make them better,” Anderson said. “It's awesome that Mrs. Barron and Mrs. Slaton were so receptive to what we shared."
More information on the programs and resources provided by the 802nd FSS may be found at: https://www.jbsatoday.com/802fss/, and information on activities provided by the 502nd FSS may be found at: https://www.jbsatoday.com/.
| Date Taken: | 07.13.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 07.15.2022 10:31 |
| Story ID: | 425063 |
| Location: | SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 121 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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