When service members, Defense Department civilians, retirees and their family members have a voice — and their leadership listens to those voices — significant change can occur.

A shining example is the Army Family Action Plan, a grass-roots effort dating to 1983, with the help of volunteers that included Army spouses. It's a one-of-a-kind program in the military that benefits people in all branches of service.

Issues are brought up at the installation or unit level and may be addressed there, or move to a higher command, possibly to Army headquarters. Army leaders evaluate the issues and may take action, or seek changes in law to address the issues.

About 60 percent of the issues affect the lives of the sister services, said Christina Vine, who oversees the Army Family Action Plan issues for the Army's assistant chief of staff for installation management's soldier and family readiness division. Vine, also an Army wife, spoke at a recent family forum at the Association of the U.S. Army.

Over the years, the AFAP process has led to 128 legislative and 184 policy changes.

Some AFAP issues that have bubbled up from the grass roots:

Thrift Savings Plan

Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits for family members

Tricare for Life

Dislocation allowance and temporary lodging expenses

Full replacement costs for lost or damaged household goods

School liaison officers

Minimum standards for Army child care (1984, five years before sweeping DoD child care changes)

Video surveillance at child development centers

First policy for Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers (BOSS) program

Guaranteed cost-of-living adjustment for military retirees

Allowing soldiers to remain in their location if they have a graduating high school senior

Medical care access for nondependent caregivers at the military treatment facility while they attend to their soldier

Paternity leave for married soldiers

In 2006, AFAP raised the issue of expanding the funding for the Army Career and Alumni Program – before sequestration and downsizing, Vine noted.

The AFAP process has changed in recent years, with budget considerations that limited travel. Midlevel and Armywide conferences are no longer held. Army leadership had to make changes, but they still value input from units and installations.

They also wanted to resolve issues faster, Vine said. It used to take two years for issues to get to Army headquarters; now it's six months. Research is done on ways to resolve issues, and validated ones are sent to commands, which hold virtual focus groups.

Among current working issues are resiliency training for children and the need for a registry of convicted sex offenders living near military families on installations.

Vine encourages those in the Army community to go to myarmyonesource.com and submit an issue. (Mouse over "Family Programs and Services" and click on "Army Family Action Plan Issue Management System.") "You're the subject matter expert" on what's going on in your community, Vine said, and can let Army officials know about gaps that need filling.

Many programs now taken for granted in the Army community — and the larger military community — exist only because years ago, someone submitted an issue to AFAP.

Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book "A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families." She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.

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