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Editor’s note: July 25 marks 50 years of “real life solutions for successful Army living” as Army Community Service celebrates this momentous occasion. We at the Pentagram congratulate and thank our JBM-HH ACS staff members, past and present, for their hard work and commitment to helping service members and families adapt and embrace the challenges of military life.
JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, Va. - Half-a-century has never looked so good!
Army Community Service was designed to provide a framework for the operation of a viable system of social services within the Army community and was “born” July 25, 1965, when Gen. Harold K. Johnson, then-Army chief of staff, sent a letter to all commanders announcing the approval and establishment of ACS, according to an article on Army.mil. With the publication of Army Regulation 608-1 on Nov. 19, 1965, ACS was formalized.
ACS opened its doors on the Fort Myer portion of the joint base in the spring of 1966, according to ACS Chief Laurie Brown. By 1967, a majority of continental U.S. Army installations had initiated ACS centers.
Programs such as the Handicapped Dependents Program (now the Exceptional Family Member Program) and the Child Advocacy Program (now the Family Advocacy Program) were created in the years from 1965 to 1981. A revised version of AR 608-1, released Oct. 1, 1978, made budget counseling, debt liquidation and relocation assistance part of the program. In addition, the Army Child Advocacy Program was incorporated into ACS and the Army Child Support Services Program was established.
In 1983, then-Army Chief of Staff Gen. John A. Wickham Jr., wrote a white paper entitled “The Army Family” that addressed how the support of family members was critical to the Army’s mission. That paper led to the Army Family Action Plan, an initiative that identifies and prioritizes quality of life issues for Soldiers and their families at the grassroots level.
In 1988, the Relocation Assistance Program was officially established by a Department of Defense Instruction and further mandated by public law in 1989. ACS also operates the Relocation Assistance Program, the Consumer Affairs and Financial Assistance Program, the Family Member Employment Assistance Program, the Volunteer Program, the Exceptional Family Member Program, the Family Advocacy Program, the Outreach Program, and the Information, Referral, and Follow-up Program.
ACS responded to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan by developing Soldier and Family Assistance Centers in 2007. In 2008, Survivor Outreach Services was established as a means to support and incorporate survivors of deceased service members into the Army family.
ACS can be found online at www.armyonesource.com, which was launched in 2008.
Help ACS celebrate 50 years of service to the Army, its Soldiers and families by attending an open house at its office in Building 201 on the Fort Myer portion of the joint base June 24 from 8 to 10 a.m.
| Date Taken: | 07.23.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 07.23.2015 16:04 |
| Story ID: | 170923 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 27 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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