Home > News > Features > Display

Top AF officials meet with Airmen to discuss ‘caring for people’: Malmstrom Airman chosen to represent AFGSC

By Airman 1st Class Kristina Overton , 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs / Published May 13, 2010

PRINT | E-MAIL
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. -- One of Malmstrom's own joined three other single Airmen representatives for the 2010 Caring for People Forum in Arlington, Va. Senior Airman Lakendra Peacock, 741st Missile Security Forces Squadron member, attended the forum April 19 through 21 as the Air Force Global Strike Command representative.

"I was really honored to have the opportunity to represent Malmstrom and all the Airmen in our major command," said Airman Peacock. "I enjoyed working with the people and being able to see the varied styles of leadership. It was reassuring knowing that it was more than just my opinion, but a shared view amongst other single Airmen who feel the same way I do about improving certain issues."

The forum focused on forming initiatives to improve issues affecting the lives of Airmen and their families. As a part of the single Airmen working group, Airmen Peacock helped discuss and create initiatives and solutions to issues involving social and recreational problems, technology and communication issues and Airmen development.

"In the group, we just came up with ideas on how we felt single Airmen should be treated," Airman Peacock said. "We discussed typical things that affect everyday Airmen and improvements that could be made to make their lives better involving topics such as housing, deployment, food and service issues, and social networking."

Other discussions included unit cohesion and morale; informational websites for parents; common access to centralized information; targeting new generation audiences; suicide prevention; mentor and wingman programs; and 'whole person' training to assist Airmen living on their own.

Air Force leaders in attendance included the secretary of the Air Force, chief and vice chief of staff of the Air Force, the chief master sergeant of the Air Force and the deputy chief of staff for manpower and personnel.

The importance of the forum and creating the initiatives was summarized in the remarks of Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley.

"It's important to focus on what the word 'care' really means because it is much more than sentiment, it involves action," said Secretary Donley. "Concern for people is certainly positive but concern only becomes meaningful when action is taken. To ensure we are doing all that we can for Airmen and their families, we need to build a resilient force through multiple avenues of approach."

The initiatives of each of the groups were presented by members to the senior leaders at the conclusion of the conference.

"The forum was definitely a learning experience," Airman Peacock said. "One thing I took from it was the definition of family and what that sense of community means to the Air Force. For me, it goes beyond the friendships we make on installations, but it includes the relationships that we maintain with our co-workers and supervisors. When things happen, a death in the family or stress at work, you rely on them and are able to depend on them to get you through it. It kind of puts family in a new perspective."
USAF Comments Policy
If you wish to comment, use the text box below. AF reserves the right to modify this policy at any time.

This is a moderated forum. That means all comments will be reviewed before posting. In addition, we expect that participants will treat each other, as well as our agency and our employees, with respect. We will not post comments that contain abusive or vulgar language, spam, hate speech, personal attacks, violate EEO policy, are offensive to other or similar content. We will not post comments that are spam, are clearly "off topic", promote services or products, infringe copyright protected material, or contain any links that don't contribute to the discussion. Comments that make unsupported accusations will also not be posted. The AF and the AF alone will make a determination as to which comments will be posted. Any references to commercial entities, products, services, or other non-governmental organizations or individuals that remain on the site are provided solely for the information of individuals using this page. These references are not intended to reflect the opinion of the AF, DoD, the United States, or its officers or employees concerning the significance, priority, or importance to be given the referenced entity, product, service, or organization. Such references are not an official or personal endorsement of any product, person, or service, and may not be quoted or reproduced for the purpose of stating or implying AF endorsement or approval of any product, person, or service.

Any comments that report criminal activity including: suicidal behaviour or sexual assault will be reported to appropriate authorities including OSI. This forum is not:

  • This forum is not to be used to report criminal activity. If you have information for law enforcement, please contact OSI or your local police agency.
  • Do not submit unsolicited proposals, or other business ideas or inquiries to this forum. This site is not to be used for contracting or commercial business.
  • This forum may not be used for the submission of any claim, demand, informal or formal complaint, or any other form of legal and/or administrative notice or process, or for the exhaustion of any legal and/or administrative remedy.

AF does not guarantee or warrant that any information posted by individuals on this forum is correct, and disclaims any liability for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on any such information. AF may not be able to verify, does not warrant or guarantee, and assumes no liability for anything posted on this website by any other person. AF does not endorse, support or otherwise promote any private or commercial entity or the information, products or services contained on those websites that may be reached through links on our website.

Members of the media are asked to send questions to the public affairs through their normal channels and to refrain from submitting questions here as comments. Reporter questions will not be posted. We recognize that the Web is a 24/7 medium, and your comments are welcome at any time. However, given the need to manage federal resources, moderating and posting of comments will occur during regular business hours Monday through Friday. Comments submitted after hours or on weekends will be read and posted as early as possible; in most cases, this means the next business day.

For the benefit of robust discussion, we ask that comments remain "on-topic." This means that comments will be posted only as it relates to the topic that is being discussed within the blog post. The views expressed on the site by non-federal commentators do not necessarily reflect the official views of the AF or the Federal Government.

To protect your own privacy and the privacy of others, please do not include personally identifiable information, such as name, Social Security number, DoD ID number, OSI Case number, phone numbers or email addresses in the body of your comment. If you do voluntarily include personally identifiable information in your comment, such as your name, that comment may or may not be posted on the page. If your comment is posted, your name will not be redacted or removed. In no circumstances will comments be posted that contain Social Security numbers, DoD ID numbers, OSI case numbers, addresses, email address or phone numbers. The default for the posting of comments is "anonymous", but if you opt not to, any information, including your login name, may be displayed on our site.

Thank you for taking the time to read this comment policy. We encourage your participation in our discussion and look forward to an active exchange of ideas.