Watch out for the new A&FRC

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Magen M. Reeves
  • 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  On Oct. 16, Team Malmstrom cut the ribbon for the opening of the new Airmen and Family Readiness Center.

The A&FRC was previously located in the basement of Building 1191 and has relocated to Building 800.

"The move has centralized all Airmen and Family Readiness Center offices into one location," said Col. Denise Cooper, 341st Mission Support Group commander. "The Airmen and Family Readiness Center offices (at Building 1191) were interspersed with other agencies and not easily identifiable.  Without an elevator the basement location made it difficult for families with small children and strollers. The new building allows all wing customers to access the building easily."

The move to Building 800 provides the A&FRC with much needed space  This includes a large classroom and a conference room to enable the A&FRC to host more events on-site and improve capabilities. The purpose of the A&FRC is to take care of Malmstrom's members by offering  programs to ensure Airmen and their families are taken care of.

The A&FRC supports the Malmstrom mission by providing relevant and informed programs available to help Airmen build the resiliency necessary to the be the greatest Air Force in the world.

"You can't be on (the Personnel Reliability Program) and out in the (missile) field if you have problems at home," said Dave Burger, member of the A&FRC team. "If you're concerned about finances or your spouse, we support that. We are all for the families and the dependents."

Some of the programs at the A&FRC include the  Air Force Aid Society, the Transition Assistance Program, and a Financial Management program just to name a few. The services offered help build resiliency and enable Airmen to respond quickly to any situation.

Malmstrom's goal is to support the mission with safe, secure and effective daily operations and Airmen and their families make that happen.

From January 2015 to present day, the ten-member staff at the A&FRC have held 627 workshops, helped 7,943 customers and had one-on-one appointments with 3,335 individuals, said Burger.

The staff at the A&FRC not only host operations out of their building, they go to Airmen to offer services like financial planning for vacations and resume writing for spouses.

"We come to you," said Tracie Faulk, member of the A&FRC team. "We go out to the missile fields, to commander's call, to the flight trainings."

"It's better for them," said Burger. "Rather than bringing them here they can be more comfortable in their own environment. We are trying to be more preventative rather than having to 'fix it.'"

The A&FRC not only supports Team Malmstrom, but all of the military members in the state of Montana. This includes the Montana Air National Guard, the Army National Guard, the Coast Guard and retirees as well.

"If you have an ID card to get on base, you're our customer," said Burger. "And we're all confidential."

"We would like to publically thank the civil engineer squadron," said Cooper.  "Lt. Col. Purcell (341st Civil Engineer Squadron commander) and his team did an outstanding job getting the building ready.  Ninety days ago this was an industrial area and today it is a warm environment."

Several 341st MSG squadrons and agencies, as well as several dedicated individuals helped make the move possible, said Faulk.

"CE was unprecedented (in their quickness)," said Burger. "As well as (the 341st Logistics Readiness Squadron), who have very graciously agreed to share (Building 800) with us. They were fantastic. Contracting and (the 341st Communications Squadron) made it so that when we moved in here, all we had to do was turn stuff on."

The A&FRC falls under the 341st Force Support Squadron.

The A&FRC and the civil engineer squadron fall under the 341st MSG. Giving the A&FRC the tools it needs to be at optimal performance was an effort supported and accomplished by the 341st MSG family.

"Any problems big or small, we are here to help with them all," said Burger.