Spouses Newcomer Orientation changes

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Donald Osborn
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  The 60th Mission Support Squadron's Airman and Family Readiness Center has a new way of presenting the Spouse's Newcomers Orientation class to newly arrived Travis spouses. 

The orientation is divided into three separate categories: information fair, personal preparedness briefing and spouse-targeted orientation. The objective of the newly revised orientation is to increase the participation of more Travis' spouses, according to Jason Gunnarson, AFRC community readiness consultant. 

"At this point in time, the numbers show that we reach less than nine percent of Travis' spouses with the Spouse's Newcomers Orientation," he said. "We are looking to increase that percentage tremendously." 

The number did increase with the last orientation, and the AFRC hopes that it is a good sign that more spouses will participate in the program, whether they are new to the base or have been here for a while. 

The AFRC said that, even though the orientation carries the name 'Newcomers,' it is open to all Travis spouses. 

"Any spouse is always welcome to attend," Mr. Gunnarson said. "Not only do we want to provide a smooth transition to Travis for newly arrived spouses with this program, but we also want to provide the same information to any spouse, regardless of when they arrived." 

At the information fair briefing, spouses are given information about the base education center, Health and Wellness Center, Family Advocacy, Travis Credit Union, base housing office, operations security procedures, TriWest, Tri Care services, base spouses groups, Red Cross, Travis Unified School District liaison officer, and other services that include specific information about youth programs, child care and outdoor recreation. 

"The information we provide is spouse-specific information needed not only to prepare for military life, but to personally prepare for life in general," he said. 

Along with the information fair briefing, the AFRC also briefs spouses on personal preparedness needed for when their spouses deploy. They also provide information targeted specifically to spouses that include employment services available, local area information, child care on and off base, local schools, the Phoenix Spouse Program, AFRC programs, disaster preparedness and base resources. 

"We do provide one-on-one counseling for those who are unable to attend the orientation," he said. "All they have to do is give us a call and we can set up an appointment for them." 

According to Mr. Gunnarson, the new orientation was also designed to inform the spouses they do have the resources to help them deal with the military lifestyle.
"We live a unique lifestyle in the military community. The stressors that are a part of the servicemembers are transferred to their spouses as well," said Cathy Knight, AFRC director. "We, here at the AFRC, take pleasure in knowing that we can eliminate some of those stressors by providing valuable information to those nearest to our hearts." 

"Two of our biggest supporters of this program are Col. Steve Arquiette, 60th Air Mobility Wing commander, and his wife," Mr. Gunnarson said. "They have given us the tools necessary to get this program where it is today." 

The Spouse's Newcomers Orientation is held every Friday, from 9:45 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. at the AFRC. For more information, call Jason Gunnarson at 424-2486.