Action Line 71102 – CDC Hours Published Dec. 3, 2007 By Anonymous 39 Air Base Wing Public Affairs INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey -- Concern I am writing regarding an issue that has caused my wife and I a great deal of problems and concern. My wife and I are both active duty military members. She is part of the 39th Operations Squadron and I'm with the 39th Services Squadron. Due to the nature of our operations, we work shift work. I have never understood why the military only offers day care Monday - Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. A large number of Air Force personnel do not work corresponding hours. I feel like in the states, it's typically not a big issue because of outside alternatives. I would think a place like Incirlik Air Base would be different since our child care options are limited. We were forced to hire a Turkish nanny, whom we were unfamiliar with and came with the added disadvantage inherent with the language barrier. We have gone through two different nannies that did not work out, not to mention the paper work that goes with that. Now we are back to square one and trying to figure out what we are going to do. My wife is seven months pregnant, which leaves us a second child we are going to have to worry about. As a result of our concerns we find ourselves focused on daycare as opposed to the mission. I am not sure why an overseas base would allow family's to PCS to a location without offering the resources necessary to take care of those families. I understand manning and funding issues here but would please ask you consider extending CDC hours as a solution. My situation is not unique as I have discovered discussing with other Incirlik parents. I am not certain that this e-mail will accomplish anything but I wanted to get my concerns out there knowing other families are going through the same thing. Response Thank you for your letter and we understand the challenges our dual-military and single parents face with regard to childcare. As such, we do our very best to target available resources to meet the childcare needs of as many parents as possible. While extending CDC hours may seem like an easy answer to our after-hour childcare needs, the limited number of qualified childcare providers on base and the requirements set forth by the organizations who govern childcare operations make this solution problematic. Simply stated, we don't have enough qualified childcare providers to extend operating hours at the CDC. As for after-hours options that are available (aside from nannies), we encourage potential childcare providers by assisting in the licensing process and helping with referrals. You can contact Bonita Jones at 676-6553 for a current list of licensed childcare providers. Additionally, we ask that you work with your supervisor to aid in work schedules that are complementary with your spouses hours.