Drill Sergeant Spouse Focus Group

Fort Jackson Customer Management Services hosted a Drill Sergeant Spouse Focus Group on 21 August 08 at the Plans, Analysis, and Integration Office (PAIO) Conference Room. This focus group is held annually as part of the Community FIRST Quarterly Issue Resolution Process. Its purpose was to discuss issues affecting the spouses of Drill Sergeants and cadre assigned to Fort Jackson. At the conclusion of the focus group, the nine delegates had the opportunity to brief the issues to the Deputy to the Garrison Commander.

Listed below are the issues that were surfaced by the Drill Sergeant spouses.

Title: Drill Sergeant Spouse Orientation and Support

Scope: There is a lack of adequate distribution of support information for Drill Sergeant (DS) spouses and Families. Information is provided to the DS and not directly to the spouse. Due to DS varied schedules, the information is not relayed to Families. Services are available but DS spouses are not aware of them.

Recommendation: Create a standardized installation welcome orientation for DS spouses to be conducted on a monthly basis, to be attended by a representative of each Family Readiness Group and open to all DS spouses.

Title: Special Events for Drill Sergeant (DS) Families

Scope: There are not enough recreational events for DS spouses and Families. DS spouses are not meeting socially. Because of this, they are not building camaraderie with DS spouses and Family members.

Recommendation: Implement monthly events for DS spouses and Families to socialize. Publicize a quarterly calendar of these events using all available marketing resources.

Title: Free Child Care for Drill Sergeant (DS) Families

Scope: Currently there is no free childcare for DS Families. DS Families have to pay regular childcare fees. Due to cost, availability and demands on DS spouses, there is little opportunity to have stress-free time. Having to pay for childcare is an additional stressor on DS spouses.

Recommendation: DS should be considered mission-essential when determining childcare fees, in line with dual-military, single, and deployed Soldiers who receive this consideration.

These issues will be sent to the respective directorate/organization responsible for resolution. The issues and the responses will then be published in the Fort Jackson Leader upon completion. These issues will be discussed during the Installation Action Council (IAC) which is scheduled for 17 September 08 at 0930 in the Post Conference Room.

ICE for the School System

Did you know that you can rate your child’s elementary school on the ICE system? ICE is the Interactive Customer Evaluation system. It is a tool used to measure how well our service providers are supporting our community by gathering feedback from you. You can rate areas such as the staff attitude, office hours, and the actual facility’s appearance. Log onto the ICE website via Fort Jackson’s Homepage www.jackson.army.mil: click on the ICE logo at the bottom of the page, then “Education and Training”, and then the name of the school. Enter your comment or concern and click “submit”- it is that easy! As the new school year gets underway, keep in mind that you can let Fort Jackson’s on-post schools know how well you are being supported. You can make a difference in our community!

You can view all issues submitted or submit a new issue through the Customer Management Services Web site. Whether it affects you here at Fort Jackson or throughout the Army, your feedback is important. Submit your issues and recommendations online at http://www.jackson.army.mil/WellBeing/wellbeing.htm. Click on “Submit an Issue or Recommendation” or click on the AFAP Logo to submit your issue.

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