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Committed to caring in CAF: 'Taking care of our own' -- the military family

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
  • Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  Chances are if you ask a military member about their family, they might reply, "Which one -- my personal family or my military family?"

Of course that statement could say, "Air Force family, Army family, Marine Corps family," or "Navy family" or Coast Guard family." But no matter what the military service, officials say that "family" atmosphere in military installations and communities throughout the world are important to the success of the military mission.

"Families were critical before, but I've watched what families have been doing since 9/11 in supporting multiple deployments. That service and sacrifice is special at a really critical time," said U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in a March 2011 Department of Defense news report. "We couldn't do it without you and your families. You couldn't be here, deploy and rest easy if things weren't going well at home and for the support that your families have given."

In Air Mobility Command's Comprehensive Airman Fitness, or CAF, culture, the importance of the personal or military family is reflected as well. The CAF culture began in AMC in July 2010 and is built on four pillars of fitness -- physical, mental, social and spiritual. There are also five "Cs" of CAF culture -- committing, caring, connecting, communicating and celebrating.

All of the CAF culture, officials say, applies to the military family. "The goal (of CAF) is to strengthen and sustain a culture of balanced, healthy, self-confident Airmen and their families whose resilience and total fitness enables them to thrive in an era of high operational tempo and persistent conflict around the world," states a December 2010 AMC talking paper on CAF.

Furthermore, the CAF talking paper reflects the involvement of the entire military community, or the "military family" in taking care of each service member and their families.

"The end state is a visibly stronger, more cohesive network of Airmen, families and civilians," the AMC talking paper shows. "It's a culture of people who care for each other, offer support when necessary and have the courage to seek help when they need it. It's an Air Force (or military) community that works together, struggles together and plays together for the good of all its members."

Lt. Col. John Jorgensen, Air Mobility Command's Mental Health Consultant, said the benefits of being in the "military family" are helpful to all service members -- single or married.

"Every person has their own set of beliefs, morals and core values," Colonel Jorgensen said. "That's why we want people to embrace the CAF culture because it combines the personal attributes of every person in life along with the knowledge from all of us in the 'military family'' that we are all in this together. Don't be afraid to seek help when you begin a struggle, whether it's your wingman or one of the many helping agencies on base, getting help early gets the problem under control before there are negative outcomes. No one Airman is ever alone and that's why we say we're 'committed to caring' through CAF."

Many military members might also tell you they are proud to "take care of their own." Most often, it doesn't matter what service the military member and his or her family is associated with -- just that it's a familiar way of life when families serve.

For example, at Joint Base Charleston, S.C., in December 2010, the military community there supported Airmen and Sailors with "Operation Cookie Drop." The operation, coordinated by military spouses, is similar to holiday efforts at many military bases across the globe.

In this effort, a spouses' club at Joint Base Charleston packaged up cookies into gift bags decorated by the children at the base youth center and then delivered them to service members living in the dormitories.

"The remainder of the cookies were then sent overseas to our deployed folks," said Ms. Trisha Gallaway of Joint Base Charleston's 628th Air Base Wing Public Affairs.

Another example of "taking care of our own" took place at McConnell Air Force Base, Kan., in early 2011. According to report there, the wife of an Airman provided home-cooked meals to various families who were going through transitions to include a family where a spouse started law school, a family of an Airman who had surgery, and various families who just moved into base housing.

In the Air Force, "taking care of our own" has also been intertwined with the "wingman culture." In a February 2011 commentary by Maj. Kerry Gladden of the Air Force Network Integration Center at Scott AFB entitled, "A way out: My journey from the brink of suicide," he cited the importance of "wingmen" and the military family.

"We have to embrace the wingman culture," Major Gladden wrote in the story. "A wingman is not a name and phone number on the back of a card. It is someone you know well enough to see when something is wrong, or know enough about their life and struggles to take them aside and offer to talk. If our relationship only exists Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., I'm not going to share my deepest darkest secrets with you."

So whether it means the "military family" of 46,332 Airmen, 9,675 DOD civilians, 22,354 spouses and 41,285 children in Air Mobility Command, or the millions throughout the DOD, "taking care our own" is something officials say we should always strive to do and continue to do to make everyone more resilient.

"Caring for people is not a new concept," the AMC CAF culture paper states. "We have always taken care of our Airmen and families, and value community relations as we expect these same Airmen to take care of our country.

"Ultimately, a highly resilient Airman, knowing that his family is being cared for, can focus on his mission and deploy as he or she is called upon to do."

(Editor's note: This is the fifth in a series of 24 stories for 2011 by Air Mobility Command Public Affairs highlighting the Comprehensive Airman Fitness culture through a "commitment of caring." Maj. Karry Gladden, Air Force Network Integration Center, and Elaine Wilson, American Forces Press Service, contributed to this report.)