GRISSOM AIR RESERVE BASE, Ind. -- A recent EF3 tornado in Howard County, Indiana left hundreds of homes damaged and three of those belonged to Airmen from Grissom Air Reserve Base.
While spouses and family members of those three Airmen were left reeling from the destruction of multiple tornadoes, the Airmen themselves weren’t present; they were deployed, but in their absence was a Key Support Team.
“We went to their homes, we brought chain saws with us and we cleaned up their yard,” said Jill Marconi-Pyclik, 434th Force Support Squadron Airman and Family Readiness director. “We took care of it – that’s what we do.”
From providing assistance with home repairs, to cultivating a garden, to having a confidant or even helping salvage a home devastated by a tornado, the Key Support Team continues to strengthen the Hoosier Wing and its surrounding communities by supporting family members of Airmen attached to Grissom.
According to Marconi-Pyclik, the Key Support Team, formerly Key Spouse Program, was established as a quality of life initiative out of concern for Air Force families after the results of a total-Air Force community action plan found a missing link between military members and their families.
“The Key Support Program is a link between families and the military member,” Marconi-Pyclik said. “Sometimes a spouse/family member will have an issue or concern and will want to have a one-on-one conversations with someone who isn’t an Airman.”
According to Marconi-Pyclik, establishing continuous contact with spouses and families offers not only the opportunity to learn about the unit as well as provide additional resources if need be, it often forms a network necessary during separations from the military member.
“By encouraging early contact with spouses/family members, we create a great working network for that person to call if/when the Airman deploy,” Marconi-Pyclik said. “We always contact the spouse, significant other, and even parents of Airmen when they deploy or are away for a period of time. It’s as simple as calling those individuals and saying ‘hey how are you. We are the key spouses, we’re part of the Airman and Family Readiness Program and we just wanted to call and tell you that we’re here, we’re going to call you once a month. If you don’t want us to call you once a month, that’s great but we just want to make sure you know someone will always be here for you.’”
The commander-driven 14-member team is currently comprised of Col. Larry Shaw, 434th Air Refueling Wing Commander, key spouse mentors, first sergeants and the 434th Force Support Squadron Airman and Family Readiness Center and has representatives from every unit.
Spouses/significant others interested in becoming a member of the Key Support Team will need to be nominated, selected and approved by the military members’ commander followed by classroom training.
“For the military members, this program gives them a peace of mind,” Marconi-Pyclik added. “Our job here is to make sure that when Airmen are gone, we will hold down the homefront with everything we can in order to take care of their families so Airmen can accomplish the mission.
The 434th ARW is the largest KC-135R Stratotanker unit in the Air Force Reserve Command. Men and women from the Hoosier Wing routinely deploy around the world in support of the Air Force mission.
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