Pensacola Area Ombudsman Honored During Appreciation Luncheon

Steve Vanderwerff, Naval Education and Training Command Public Affairs (NNS) -- Naval Education and Training Command domain ombudsmen in the Pensacola area were recognized for their service at an appreciation luncheon held Sept. 12.

The event was hosted by Rear Admiral Don Quinn, commander, Naval Education and Training Command and his wife Jean at their Quarter's "A" residence onboard Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola. Starting in early September, ombudsmen around the fleet are being appreciated by their commands throughout the month.

After lunch, Quinn took photos with each of the ombudsman while handing them their certificates of appreciation and a NETC challenge coin. Jean gave each one a bouquet of yellow flowers. He then spoke about how ombudsmen support readiness and improve command climate.

"Mission readiness is enhanced by family readiness and family readiness is enhanced by your unselfish devotion," he said. "This luncheon is a way to show our appreciation for your dedication and sacrifice. You are the keepers of the truth for many of our spouses, especially when you start talking to them about the stresses and uncertainty that are part of our lifestyle. So let us know how we can help you and arm you with answers to those hard questions and where you need support."

"I'm really thankful for what you do for us," he added. "On any given day, NETC owns about 10 percent of the Navy's manpower. That's about 45,000 people and the majority is students with an average age of 19 to 20. With that demographic comes all the wonderful things that come with that age. We all went through it, and know that it presents a whole set of unique challenges not faced by sea going commands. I appreciate all that you do for our people and their families, and appreciate the sacrifices required, both of the Ombudsmen and their military spouse."

Ombudsman are appointed by a command's commanding officer (CO) and are considered a full member of the CO's team, keeping families informed about what is going on with the service members, and be a point of contact in case of an emergency. This past August they were prepared to keep families informed as Hurricane Isaac approached the Gulf Coast. They also support families affected by mobilization, individual augmentation, and geographic separation.

"As the liaison between the command and the families, family members can call us for information or because of an emergency," said NETC's Ombudsman Natalie Evans. "When Hurricane Isaac was approaching the area ombudsmen kept up with information as the status of the storm continued to change. If it had impacted our area more, the ombudsmen would have provided assistance and information. Just because a family doesn't live near a Navy installation, or if a families service member is deployed, TAD or on an individual augmentation, it doesn't lessen the command's responsibility to ensuring they are supported."

The Ombudsman Program was originally established in 1970 by then Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Elmo R. Zumwalt, who envisioned a program in which Navy spouses would be the liaison between the command and families. He adapted the program from a 19th century Scandinavian custom originally established to give private citizens an avenue to express their concerns to high government officials. In 2006 an updated instruction required that all Navy families have access to the program.

"In the past we used command leadership, the CO and XO and the chief's mess to get the word to our families, but what we discovered was sometimes the information was not getting to the home front and there wasn't a single point of contact while Sailors were preparing for deployment or already deployed, "said NETC's Force Master Chief April Beldo. "Thankfully the CNO at the time had the vision to standup this program. Now we have a spouse back at the home front that can reach out to not only the families, but also the commanding officer to make sure that our families have the information they need, so they can continue doing what they need to do while their military spouse is away, at the 'Tip of the Spear'."

For more information about the Naval Education and Training Command, visit the NETC website at: https://www.netc.navy.mil , and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/NavalEducationAndTrainingCommand.
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