Photo By Kari Hawkins | During the summer surge of Permanent-Change-of-Station moves for Army families,...... read more read more
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Army leadership involvement is vital to the success of quality of life initiatives implemented at installations, said the chief of staff of a four-star command charged with overseeing multiple programs and services provided to the Army’s 475,000 active duty Soldiers and their families.
“Senior Army leadership is fully engaged in addressing quality of life issues,” said Maj. Gen. Walt Duzzny, chief of staff for Army Materiel Command. “The financial investment in quality of life initiatives (related to Permanent Change of Station Moves, Housing, Child and Youth Programs, and Spouse Employment) over time is massive, but it will take some time to make those investments. Leadership engagement at all echelons will be the difference.”
Duzzny’s remarks were part of a panel discussion entitled “Community Grit: Building Family Support Readiness” at the Association of the U.S. Army’s Warfighting Summit and Exposition July 27 in Fayetteville, North Carolina. On the panel with Duzzny were leaders from Fort Bragg’s Garrison and the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce.
Charged with responsibility for the Army’s logistics, sustainment and materiel readiness, AMC’s lines of effort include installation readiness as well as Soldier and family readiness. AMC oversees the Installation Management Command and its quality of life initiatives.
“Quality of life and readiness of our Soldiers and families is directly tied to the Army’s mission, which is to fight and win the nation’s wars. This is not new, but the amount of emphasis on quality of life now and in the future is growing incredibly,” Duzzny said.
“Speaking from the macro level, you should know that all leadership of the Army is engaged in quality of life. When our leaders come together, there is a good majority of discussion around quality of life initiatives directly tied to the warfighting function. We owe our Soldiers the peace of mind that their families are being taken care of at the highest standard. We have an absolute commitment around this and want to deliver the best to every family.”
In reviewing progress with concerns regarding the annual summer surge of Soldier family moves, Duzzny said each season brings its own set of challenges, although this summer’s moves have gone smoother than expected due to initiatives implemented in the past few years.
“These initiatives are really making a difference. They appear to be having a positive result,” he said.
Initiatives include implementing the inspections of 100% of shipments prior to movement, streamlining and speeding up reimbursement for damaged goods, reimbursing Soldiers at 100% of moving costs when they opt to move themselves, reducing reimbursement time by 50% through the Smart Voucher Program and providing the My Army PCS app to provide information, and resources for Soldiers and families before and during their move.
“There is a huge responsibility to help Soldiers make their PCS move smooth,” Duzzny said. “Chain of command has to be fully engaged in this process. Officers and non-commissioned officers in the chain of command are key to improving this for Soldiers and their families.”
In the area of Housing, Duzzny said the Army’s goal is to provide safe and well- maintained housing for Soldiers and families, and to maintain the trust of all residents living in Army housing. However, the scope and scale of the Army’s Housing Portfolio – almost 10,000 Army-managed homes; 87,000 privatized homes; and more than 2,000 barracks across 44 installations – does create maintenance and service challenges for AMC and IMCOM.
To address those challenges, the Army and privatized companies area investing $4.9 billion in new and renovated housing through fiscal year 2026, which includes 2,700 new homes and 15,000 renovated homes. Renovations of 26% of the Army’s housing will be complete by fiscal year 2030, Duzzny said. In addition, the Army is improving its communication with residents through the Digital Garrison and Army maintenance apps, and regular town hall meetings, and has implemented the tenant bill of rights.
“We are holding private companies (managing Army housing) accountable and holding ourselves accountable,” Duzzny said. “Again, the chain of command involvement is critical to achieving the type of success we want over time with housing.”
While the Army has excelled with its child and youth programs for many years, Duzzny said the Army is working to expand capability through 21 facility projects implemented through fiscal year 2030. Army child care programs have long been among the nation’s best, with 100% certified by the Department of Defense and 95% nationally accredited, he said.
However, child care issues become immediate problems for families when Army facilities are filled to capacity and can’t accept additional children, he said. While AMC/IMCOM works to get new facilities built, they are also managing child care location services, providing families with information on child care availability outside installations that provide the same high standards of care found at Army facilities.
In spouse employment, the Army has made tremendous strides by building partnerships in communities with employers who can provide opportunities, developing the Civilian Employment Assignment Tool that makes it easier for employees to move their employment from one installation to another, and streamlining the process for establishing home-based businesses on installations.
With all improvement to quality of life initiatives, Duzzny said it is important to get feedback from Soldiers and their families. Feedback through surveys like the annual tenant survey give Army leaders information they need to make decisions moving forward.
“In many cases, surveys validate what we already know,” he said. “But the power those surveys have with Army leaders and Congress is powerful … The feedback – the data – we receive helps leaders to make decisions on how to use limited resources of time, money and people. Data is critical to driving decisions that have an impact down the road.”
| Date Taken: | 07.28.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 07.28.2022 11:30 |
| Story ID: | 425991 |
| Location: | FAYETTEVILLE, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 42 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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