The Navy Family Ombudsman Program will celebrate its 50th anniversary on September 14, 2020. The program was established in September 1970, with the issuance of “Z-gram” 24 by then Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr.

The Z-gram emphasized the importance of Navy spouses and established a procedure that gave spouses the opportunity to present their complaints, viewpoints, and suggestions to the commanding officer.  By doing so, Zumwalt acknowledged the vital role spouses play and provided them with what he described as an “official representative to express their view to commanding officers and base commanders.”

Throughout the next year, working up to the 50th Anniversary Commander, Navy Installations Command’s (CNIC) Ombudsman Program will share information and communication strategies on the program for today and its history to remember and honor the importance of command ombudsmen and the role they fulfill for the benefit of Navy commands and families. 

Today, the Fleet and Family Support Program (FFSP) is offering all current and past ombudsmen photo frames to use on their Facebook profiles to show their pride in their service as a past and present Ombudsman.

All ombudsmen can find and download the Navy Ombudsman 50th Anniversary profile frame as follows: Go to your personal or professional Facebook profile picture and click “Update” on your profile picture. Then click "Add Frame" and type in the Search Box “Navy Ombudsman 50th”. There are two sets of frames to choose from, either “I Serve” or “I Served”.  Select whichever one is applicable to your status.

Commander, Navy Installations Command’s (CNIC) Family Readiness Program supports readiness through a full array of programs and resources, which help Navy families to be resilient, well informed and adaptable to the Navy environment. There are currently 81 service delivery sites worldwide, with 58 site delivering a full portfolio of programs and services.

For more information on the CNIC Family Readiness Program visit: www.cnic.navy.mil/ffsp   

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For more news from Commander, Navy Installations Command, visit www.navy.mil/.