An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Article Display

Community members tap into MFAP to better JB MDL

  • Published
  • By Airman Ryan Throneberry
  • Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  Delegates from all components of the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst community came together at the Dix Chapel Oct. 27 for the Military Family Action Plan conference.

The conference allowed community members to discuss their concerns with subject matter experts before presenting them to Col. John Wood JB MDL commander.

Wood emphasized the purpose of this event is to get a better understanding of what the community needs and to give our military, family members, retirees and civilians a voice. He encouraged those involved to seize this unique opportunity to truly make a difference.

The delegates represented all facets of the community including civilians, servicemembers and their spouses, retirees, senior enlisted personnel, teens and exceptional family members. These delegates, along with subject matter experts, were divided into seven work groups. Members of each group discussed their respective category of issues, choosing the most pressing issue to be presented to the commander.

"I have been with this program for thirteen years and have seen first-hand the value in it," said Lisa Williams, the event planner with the 87th Force Support Squadron. "The delegates are people who are invested in the military family. This is an opportunity for them to have a direct line to base leadership."

The teen working group came up with an idea of standardizing high school graduation requirements through the Department of Defense to ease the transition from one school to another when military parents have a permanent change of station.

The customer service and facilities working group presented the concern of limited hours of operations for the child development centers on base. They proposed the hours of operation be extended from 5:30 a.m. through 6 p.m. so parents with extended duty hours will have reliable childcare.

The installation working group chose speeding in the base housing areas as their top issue. The group expressed their concern for the dangerous conditions speeders represented to residents. They proposed posting more speed limit signs and imposing a steeper monetary fine for offenders.

The force support working group proposed all incoming military personnel be automatically enrolled in the Thrift Savings Plan so more servicemembers will be able to save money for their family or retirement.

The remaining issues and solutions each group did not present to leadership were written down and submitted for review.

Fifty-seven issues were presented to the base leadership last year, 33 of which have been addressed here at the local level. More than 60 issues were presented this year including the seven which were presented to the base commander. All of the results from this year's conference will be published at www.jointbasemdl.af.mil.

The MFAP team is open to receive concerns or issues year-round. Individuals can pick up and submit solicitation forms in the MFAP office located at 5201 Maryland Ave. Call 562-3898 or email lisa.williams.22@us.af.mil for more information on MFAP.