Incirlik hosts Caring for People Forum Published Sept. 23, 2013 By Senior Airman Daniel Phelps 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey -- More than 60 members of Team Incirlik came together to find ways to improve the quality of life on Incirlik Air Base during a Caring For People Forum Sept. 20 at the Airman and Family Readiness center here. The CFPF is an important opportunity to make a difference not only for the Incirlik Community, but for the Air Force as a whole, said Almeda Giles, 39th Air Base Wing community support coordinator. "A lot of people may be dealing with the same little issues, and it never gets addressed," said Col. Craig Wills, 39th Air Base Wing commander, stressing the need for the CFPF. "Those little issues are important." Through various working groups, people brought up issues they face and asked questions that brought new ideas on how to improve the base and its programs. The CFPF provides an outlet for people to raise their concerns over issues who might otherwise not have an outlet, Giles explained. Last year, two issues from the forum ended up being raised to the Air Force headquarters level. Those two issues included the permanent change of station process not adequately screening people for the personal reliability program and problems with families in the exceptional family members program not being scrutinized adequately. As a result, Airmen and families were arriving without being able to meet PRP requirements or have all the services some family members needed. "The idea is that we are the best Air Force we can be," Giles explained. "If people are unhappy, then we aren't being the best Air Force we can be. That's why this is important." The working groups for the forum were: - Deployment Support - Health and Wellness - Housing - Schools Support - Single Airman Support - Single Parents Support - Special Needs Support - Spouse/Family Support - Unaccompanied (Married) Airman Support Each working group had a facilitator, a subject matter expert and a recorder. The facilitator led the group and the recorder took notes, while the subject matter expert let participants know if their issue could be solved on Incirlik AB or if it needed to be raised to a higher level. "Each issue will be addressed to see if it can be resolved at the base level," Giles said. "If unable to be addressed at this level, they will be sent to the MAJCOM (major command)." Once the working groups came to a close, the participants all came together and shared the top two issues discovered in each session. "This gave me a broader perspective on what is important to people," said Master Sgt. Jason Morse, American Forces Network first sergeant. "It really brought to light that if we don't get together and talk about our issues, we can never really understand each other."