Airman & Family Readiness Center here to help Published Jan. 2, 2013 By Airman 1st Class Sarah Breer 6th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Service members and their family face unique challenges every day. The MacDill Air Force Base Airmen & Family Readiness Center is here to help. Don't be fooled by the name, the A&FRC is in place to help all service members, retirees and family members, regardless of their branch of service. Family is a huge part of life for most people. To support the diverse needs of families in the military, the A&FRC offers a variety of programs such as the Exceptional Family Member Program, family readiness programs, quality of life programs, play groups, a school liaison officer and Military Family Life Consultants. Working with customers of all developmental stages is her favorite part of working at the A&FRC, said A&FRC Director, Elizabeth Waters, emphasizing how it is rewarding for her to help those who are in distress. Events for families are held often, such as deployed family events, the give parents a break program, a mock deployment for kids, and many more. Deployed family events are activities such as a family skate night, bowling, or a meal. The CARES event is a mock deployment exercise put on for the fifth graders at Tinker Elementary School each year. Family events are some of the most important that the A&FRC host, said Tech Sgt. Tashiana Sanders, A&FRC readiness NCO. "The family events we hold bring people together and allow families to become closer," Sanders said. "Events let families know about all of the resources we offer in a low stress, casual environment." Due to the fact that the A&FRC offers many programs that are for families, a satellite A&FRC was opened in the Brandon area. There was a need for a center in that area. A large group of service members and their families live in the Brandon community, Waters said. Together, the A&FRCs are ready to take care of the needs of military members across the services and their families. Spouses of military members are cared for as well. The Air Force mandates that a Key Spouse Program is provided at each base. Each unit on a base has at least one spouse that represents them in the Key Spouse group. Their main job is to make sure that spouses know that they are taken care of, especially when members are deployed. The A&FRC also offers the Heartlink program for new military spouses in all branches. Heartlink's goal is to teach new spouses about all of the resources available to them and their families. Childcare is provided during the meetings. In addition to assisting families and spouses, the center offers career and transition assistance. Newly arriving service members can borrow a variety of items from the loan locker until their household shipment arrives. Those moving to or away from MacDill can utilize the relocation assistance program. Members leaving the military and spouses can use the transition and employment assistance programs and career building workshops. There are many other services offered by the A&FRC that can be used by members and their families. A resource center with computers, printers, scanners, fax machines and much more is available. There is a Single Airmen Program available to service members who live on and off base who are single. The group does activities throughout the month to socialize. A legal assistance program and a casualty assistance program are also offered. "Members need to come in and tour the place," said Waters. "Sit down and have a talk with a staff member to really learn about what we offer." The staff of the A&FRC are there to help. They can give a large amount of information on the programs provided. In addition to offering many services, the A&FRC provides a staff that knows what they are doing. Every member of staff at the center has valuable experience, Sanders said. Each member has life experiences that help them know how to help people that come in, be it military experience, being a spouse or child of a service member, or being a civilian working with the military. To work at the A&FRC, each staff member has to be competent in all areas of the program, and an expert in at least one. For example, Sanders is the readiness NCO. She knows everything that there is to know about preparing for and making it through a deployment. She can get family members through a deployment in a much smoother way. She knows how to transition back into life after a deployment. She is the expert on readiness. The staff is knowledgeable and is able to help people with most of their needs. If the center doesn't offer a service, then the A&FRC will refer members somewhere where they are provided, said Waters. Any service member that needs something should stop by the A&FRC, because chances are that there is a program or service available to help with any need.