FSC assists Airmen throughout career life cycle

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Elizabeth Culbertson
  • USAFE News Service
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (USAFENS) --  With all the online and automated telephone services available in today’s technologically advanced landscape, it seems to be increasingly rare to pick up the phone or go to an office and talk to an actual person.

Family support centers around the command prove that the human connection can never be replaced, however, said Gretchen Shannon, U.S. Air Forces in Europe Family Matters community readiness consultant.

“There’s no comparison to having a person on site,” said Ms. Shannon. “The FSC staff is a group of professionals that work long and hard and are concerned with the welfare of the Air Force family. The objective of the FSC is to provide services that help to remove personal and operational obstacles.”

FSCs assist Airmen throughout the entire life cycle of their careers, she said.

“I like to think of ‘FSC’ as standing for ‘Families,’ ‘Singles’ and ‘Community,” said Ms. Shannon. “Because it is all-encompassing and the staffs are very involved (with the Airmen) from the beginning until the end of their tour.”

From arriving at the airport and being met by an FSC-trained sponsor to transition assistance for separating or retiring Airmen, the FSC is there every step of the way, she said.

Some of the available FSC services include: sponsorship training, the loan locker, a resource center with computers for e-mailing, financial management, the Air Force Aid society, Heart Link spouse orientation, parenting skills, relationship enhancement, volunteer programs, relocation assistance, PCS preparation, deployment preparation, reunion and reintegration assistance and transition assistance.

“It’s not a cookie-cutter approach because not everyone needs the same things, so the approach is tailored to the specific needs of the individual and the location,” said Ms. Shannon. “The aim is to provide as much service as strategically as possible.”

Ms. Shannon said that the way FSC staffs are doing business is transforming across the Air Force.

“Staff members are interacting directly with the units and taking the services to the members, as opposed to the members having to come to the FSC,” she said. “In so doing, it cuts down on travel time, it makes the services more accessible and the unit members become more familiar with the services that are available. The FSC building will also be there, but for those individuals that can’t make it over there, they won’t miss out on the opportunity to get needed services.”

Some of the services that are better provided in person are the volunteer program and spouse employment said Janie Illing, USAFE chief of family life education and spouse employment.

“It really takes the one-on-one conversation with the person, identifying skills, interests and abilities to make a good placement, as well as following up,” said Ms. Illing.

Volunteer and employment programs could be solely handled by a website, she said, but wouldn’t be as effective.

“With all the technology that’s been introduced into human service professions today, I think people still want to talk to a person,” said Dr. Thomas Appel-Schumacher, USAFE chief of family plans and programs.