As the Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management, one of the most important duties I have is overseeing the Army Family Action Plan process.
AFAP is the Army’s grass roots effort in that Soldiers, civilians, families and retirees identify and elevate significant quality of life issues affecting the Army community to senior leaders for action.
AFAP is also a key component of the Army Family Covenant because it gives commanders and other Army leaders insight into needs and expectations of the Army community.
Simply stated, AFAP is a voice for the Army community to inform and partner with Army leaders to determine if we’re doing the right things, whether we’re doing things right and to find out what we’re missing.
Here’s how it works: AFAP is a year-round process that begins at the installation level. Representatives of the community meet in forums to identify, develop and prioritize issues they believe are important to maintain a good standard of living for the Army community. Approximately 90 percent of the AFAP issues that emerge are resolved at the local level and result in ongoing community improvements.
However, some issues require support beyond the local level. Those issues are elevated to mid-level AFAP conferences. Issues that require the attention of higher-level authorities go to the Headquarters Department of the Army AFAP conference, where delegates from across the Army determine which issues will be worked by the Army staff.
The AFAP General Officer Steering Committee, comprised of senior Defense Department officials, Army leaders and field representatives, meets every six months to provide senior leader direction on action plans, milestones and resolution of AFAP issues.
In the six months since the last AFAP GOSC meeting, functional representatives from the DA staff and I have met for six AFAP sessions, reviewing 86 active AFAP issues.
During those sessions we studied the history and latest developments for each issue, then decided on a recommended status (remain active, complete, or unattainable) to present to the AFAP GOSC for consideration.
I presented our recommendations to the GOSC on June 30. We now must determine the next steps and status for each issue. The results from this GOSC, as well as previous GOSC meetings, are available on the new and improved AFAP website at www.myarmyonesource.com.
Users can search the status of all 86 active issues using several filter options, such as keywords, issue status, service component, subject, demographic group, command and others.
The Army is dedicated to building awareness of AFAP across the service, ensuring everyone has full access to AFAP recommendations and accomplishments, and knows how to become a partner in the process.
As the ACSIM, I am committed to ensuring all AFAP recommendations are thoroughly analyzed to determine if they are realistically achievable based on factors such as congressional support, cost and other factors.
I am also committed to ensuring that the GOSC provides the Army community with the results of our analysis and decisions as quickly as possible.
I challenge you to become a partner with us in our continuing effort to improve our Army.
Contact your garrison Army Community Service AFAP program manager to become a volunteer, participate in an AFAP forum or submit an AFAP issue.
