21 Jun 2016 The ‘Rock’: Supporting Airmen and their families

by Senior Airman Stephanie Serrano
and Senior Airman Mercedes Taylor
19th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

Deployments are tough on service members and their families. Little Rock Air Force Base offers multiple programs to Airmen and their families to use while their Airmen are off supporting Combat Airlift.

Kimberly Brumfield, 19th Force Support Squadron Youth Center operations clerk, has used programs from the Airman and Family Readiness Center (A&FRC) and Military & Family Life Counseling (MFLC) during her husband’s deployments. Brumfield, whose husband deployed this past April, is also a mother to three teenagers.

“He’s been deployed multiple times during his career,” Brumfield said. “With these deployments, trying to fill my husband’s role can be overwhelming.”

In 2011, Brumfield’s husband was away on a deployment when a tsunami hit Tohoku, Japan — just nine miles away from their home in Misawa.

“That was one of the most stressful and overwhelming days of my entire life,” Brumfield said. “Once we saw military support, I was at ease. The MFLC was a big help for us. They were there to sit with my children and listen to what their needs were and help in any way.”

Throughout the process of evacuating Japan, the A&FRC had a team of volunteers who stepped in to lend a helping hand.

“They made sure we had our passport and they made our flight arrangements,” Brumfield said. “While we were in shelter in place, they took care of us until we were evacuated.”

This was not the only time Brumfield depended on the A&FRC. During her time in Japan, once her children reached middle school and high school, she decided she was ready to re-enter the workforce. Using the Employment & Career Focus Support program, she was able to build up her resume to get a job at the Child Development Center.

“They were really engaged and they taught me how to do my own job search,” Brumfield said. “I also learned to be very thorough with my resume and it landed me two jobs in the same field.”

These services and others such as Air Force Wounded Warrior, Air Force Aid Society and Mobilization and Deployment Readiness are just a few programs offered by the A&FRC to assist Airmen and their families in many different situations.

“Knowing these programs are out there is a big relief,” Brumfield said. “It’s almost like a weight off your shoulders. You don’t have to think twice because you know that you have family all around you. With this new deployment, I feel very at peace. The leadership from the 19th Mission Support Group and the A&FRC were very helpful in preparing us.”

The A&FRC offers services to all active-duty members, Guardsman, Reservists, retirees and Department of Defense civilians.

For more information about the programs at the A&FRC, visit littlerock.af.mil/units/airman&familyreadiness. To contact the military and family life counselor, call 501.366.7703.