JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
Is making a diagnosis without a doctor unwise? Is buying a home without an inspector risky? What about facing a judge without a lawyer?
Besides using a Web search engine to find the answers, a little common instinct may provide some insight as well - but either way, the outlook is grim.
A military move without a good sponsor can be just as troubling, for both the military member and their family. Knowing sponsorship pitfalls is half the battle when assisting a new team member, and help is no further than the Airman and Family Readiness Center.
At Joint Base Charleston, if one were to go asking for assistance at the AAFRC they'd end up talking to Elsa Summers, the AAFRC relocation and school liaison who touts 18-years in her chosen career.
The first step to being a good sponsor, Ms. Summers said, is to establish contact with the inbound member, which is also part of the six pillars the AAFRC teaches. The pillars include providing resources, complying with Air Force requirements, honoring the responsibility, establishing communication, demonstrating concern and using creativity.
Ms. Summers noted that sincere concern ultimately leads to creativity, which is a concept that proved true for several Airmen at the First Term Airmen Center here.
Airman 1st Class Richard Goodwin, an electrical and environmental systems technician with the 437th Maintenance Squadron, said his sponsor was comfortable with using cell phone text messaging to communicate throughout the months leading up to his departure from technical school, making it easy to keep in touch. Another FTAC student said his sponsor planned enough in advance to bring a sponsor package and meet him face-to-face at Altus AFB, Okla., while on a TDY for loadmaster instructor training.
The information an inbound member needs most doesn't require a stretch of the imagination, yet the smallest thing to one individual could mean the most to another. For that reason, Ms. Summers said the AAFRC provides a one hour sponsor training class to give new sponsors a firm footing and resources to make each permanent change of station one to remember - for the better.
"If individuals choose to make that investment of their time, they will find their experience as a sponsor and the experience for the person being sponsored will be much better," Ms. Summers said.
Inversely, pitfalls can occur when a sponsor misses their sponsor training, goes on a temporary duty or takes leave without finding a replacement at critical time when an inbound member needs assistance. Stories of Airmen arriving at a duty location with no idea where to go, or who to ask for, are the situations Ms. Summers works hard to avert.
When acting as a sponsor, an officially assigned duty by a unit's Individualized Newcomer Treatment and Orientation Program monitor, many obvious concerns can be addressed by taking advantage of Air Force resources from the AAFRC - which range from a log to keep track of names, numbers and conversations, a welcome letter, fact sheets, apartment guides and computer disks with links to Web-based resources.
"A good definition of sponsorship is a continuous process of providing information," said Ms. Summers. "[It's] proactive assistance for relocating personnel and their family members from the time they receive their new assignment until they are settled in their new community."
Aside from definitions, she said the point of it all boils down to increased mission effectiveness upon arrival at a new duty assignment.
"Giving accurate information and helpful assistance reduces stress associated with change and reduces the amount of settling-in time," she said. "We become mission ready in an efficient and effective manner."
There is much to gain from a good relocation experience, Ms. Summers said, stating a positive relocation experience is linked with a positive attitude towards work, unit, and geographical area. In contrast, a poor relocation experience can have a negative effect as well, she said.
"You only have one chance to make a first impression ... that's why they call it the first," she said.