Members of the U.S. Africa Command community gathered at Kelley Barracks gym, January 14, 2011, for the Family Readiness Group's (FRG) kickoff meeting.

Service members, civilians, and family members were represented at the event, which included briefings on security and finance, as well as community updates.

According to FRG Leader Tracey Whitfield, this event was the first of a series of meetings which will be held on a quarterly basis to keep families informed on community issues and give them the chance to voice their questions and concerns.

"At AFRICOM, we don't have a large contingency that deploys to the continent of Africa, but we do have a lot of individuals that go," said Whitfield. "With their families being on foreign soil here, they need to learn how to survive if the sponsor is not here or has to go somewhere for some length of time."

The FRG was created to assist these families, providing them with an avenue of mutual support and assistance and a network of communication among family members, the chain of command, and community resources.

"What we do is we help the family members find resources so that if there are situations or circumstances that warrant it, and they don't know who to call, then they can always call on us and we can direct them to the right source or resource," said Whitfield.

The two-hour meeting included a security briefing on force protection by Jeff Bartlett, U.S. AFRICOM's Office of Security Management, and a financial briefing on income taxes by Jackie Nasca, Office of Financial Readiness.
Midway through the meeting, participants were surprised with a visit by General William E. Ward, commander of U.S. Africa Command, who accompanied his wife, Joyce.

Ward thanked participants for their involvement in this and other FRG events.

"Your being here says that you're interested, you're committed, you're concerned, and doing all that you can do as you are part of this great team..." said Ward.

"It is about the things that we do today that will cause tomorrow to be better. That's what this is about. This whole FRG process is designed to do just that. How we can better care for ourselves and one another and the important role that our family members, our volunteers, play in that."