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YOKOSUKA, Japan - Dinner was served to all in attendance at the Fleet Activities (FLEACT), Yokosuka Chief Petty Officers club as a part of ombudsman appreciation, Sept. 18.
Ombudsman Appreciation dinners are held yearly to pay respect to those ombudsman who have supported service members and their families stationed at FLEACT Yokosuka. Ombudsman from 23 different commands, ranging from Yokosuka Afloat Training Group, Commander, Naval Forces Japan, and US Naval Hospital Yokosuka, to Blue Ridge (LCC 19) and 7th Fleet staff, to USS George Washington (CVN 73) were in attendance.
“Your children will see how you spend your time,” said guest speaker, Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Capt. David T. Glenister. “They will see how you spend your time giving to others and they will do the same when they grow up. So I applaud you for that. Whether its being an ombudsman, whether its being a coach , no matter what you do, things we do for ourselves die with us but things we do for others live on in those that we help.”
Ombudsman act as a liaison between family members and a command, keeping them informed on what is going on with their loved ones who are actively serving their country, as well as serving as a point of contact during emergency situations.
“Throughout the year, the ombudsman take their time and help the family members of their command, whether it’s to give them a resource that they are looking for, whether there was a death in the family, whether there was a crisis for anything, they are there for them,” said FLEACT Yokosuka Fleet & Family Support Center, Ombudsman Coordinator, Brenda Ray.
“They really don’t get anything throughout the year because they are so busy, and plus it sometimes takes a little bit of time away from their families to do this,” said Ray. “So at least once a year, I feel that they should at least get appreciated and everybody should come together and appreciate them in one big group instead of individually - which they do – you know, each command takes them out and stuff but, its better to show how appreciated we really think they are.”
If there is an issue with regards to families that the command needs to address, ombudsman will let the command know. If resources are needed, be it the family member or even the command, the ombudsman are there to assist, whether it be issues concerning daycare, the Navy exchange or auto port services. During deployments, an ombudsmen’s role can be crucial to the moral and welfare of the service members.
“Some commands have gatherings, go out on a picnic or go shopping, somewhere that they could just help each other, and if there is a crisis of some sort, the ombudsman can help them with that as well. Ombudsman are there to just be a friend or a trusted person that people can depend upon,” said Ray.
Being in Japan as an ombudsman brings about a unique situation from being in a foreign country, making their role more crucial for inbound service members and their families.
“Over here in Japan, we have less resources and the language barrier is a big one,” said Ray. “You have some Japanese spouses that go to the ombudsman for many reasons and it’s a communication factor here; sometimes they do not understand what they are being asked and they do not understanding what they are being referred to. If they receive emails that have been sent out, sometimes it may be hard for them to understand them, so communication definitely is a big barrier over here. But ombudsman adjust to these situations. They have people that can help them translate things and they are very patient and will do whatever they can to break down things so that they understand everything presented to them.”
Through the years the Ombudsman program has advanced and become more efficient with technology such as e-mail and social media, while being mindful of possible sensitivities.
“Social media affects ombudsman a lot,” said Ray. “Faster information going out to family members, but they also have to make sure that there is nothing going out that is not supposed to be going out. We tell them that if it doesn’t come from us, and it doesn’t come from your command mainly, don’t put it out. If you are going to start a facebook page for example, you will need command permission first.”
The history of the ombudsman program can be traced back to former Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. E.R. Zumwalt Jr., who in 1970 created it with the sole purpose to improve communication between commands and Sailors’ families. Adm. Michael G. Mullen re-emphasized the importance of the program in 2006 while he was acting as CNO himself, signing an updated instruction highlighting the requirement that all Navy families have access to the program.
| Date Taken: | 09.18.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 11.01.2013 03:12 |
| Story ID: | 116091 |
| Location: | YOKOSUKA, KANAGAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 88 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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