Mid-South Commanders Recognize Local Ombudsmen

MILLINGTON, Tenn. (NNS) -- Mid-South leaders celebrated the 42nd anniversary of the Navy Family Ombudsman Program and recognized nine local ombudsmen for their efforts supporting Navy families during a luncheon Sept. 12.

"When a Sailor's deployed far away from home for extended periods, it can be very stressful both for the Sailor who is deployed and for the spouse, for the children and for the parents who are left at home. Fortunately, there's somebody wherever you go in the Navy who's there to offer a hand to reach out to you, and to help you - and that's the ombudsman," said guest speaker, Rear Adm. Cindy Covell, commander, Navy Personnel Command (NPC).

Commanding officers and senior enlisted leaders joined their ombudsmen at the luncheon and presented each person a token of appreciation for their service to the Navy.

"Being an ombudsman is certainly sometimes challenging and tends to push one out of their comfort zone," said Taska Dobson, NPC Ombudsman. "But there are also the rewards of hearing that voice of a family member on the other end of the phone line when they say, 'thank you for helping me out' - that makes it worth it."

The Navy Family Ombudsman Program is a Navy-wide program established to improve mission readiness. A strong command ombudsman program, both ashore and afloat, will help ensure that families have the information necessary to meet the challenges of a military lifestyle.

Ombudsmen are Navy spouse volunteers, appointed by the commanding officer and serve two important roles: a communication link between the commanding officer and command families, and a professionally trained information and referral specialist for the command's families.

"There are so many resources out there to assist you with just about any issue. As an ombudsman we are trained as information and referral sources, so we likely already know about these programs and we can cut your work in half," said Dobson.

The program has grown over the last 42 years, according to Covell, but the role of providing that communication link has not changed.

"Family members and Sailors alike need your support to be ready, to operate forward," said Covell. "I know each of you work tremendously hard to create an atmosphere of openness for any of the spouses coming in, you help take care of families and you improve their quality of life."

A monthly NPC Family Newsletter featuring command and community events, local resources and tips and tricks that will help you and your family navigate military life is published by the Ombudsman and is available at http://www.public.navy.mil/bupersnpc/organization/npc/ombudsman/pages/default2.aspx.
For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.