The Airman & Family Readiness Center is the service organization and focal point for Air Force family matters. Serving all single and married active duty, Department of Defense civilian personnel and their eligible family members, to include Guard and Reserve, other eligible uniformed members, partner nation Airmen and military retirees, the Luke Air Force Base A&FRC works to ensure service members and their families hit the ground running wherever they land.
The A&FRC’s mission is to provide Airmen with targeted family support and services contributing to mission readiness, resiliency and the well-being of the Air Force community.
“The Airman and Family Readiness Center has roughly 13 programs under our umbrella,” said Teresa Carrillo, A&FRC community readiness consultant. “With these programs and services, we try to do anything that we can to support our community, leaders and families to better help and support them with their continued service while in the military.”
The A&FRC services are not limited to Air Force families, Carrillo explained. The staff is comprised of a variety of representatives capable of providing insight and helping manage multiple aspects of service members’ lives, whether they’re married with children, divorced or single, active duty or retired.
“The A&FRC is one of the first places a family or service member should go when leaving and arriving to a new base,” said Carrillo. “We can provide assistance if a service member is changing stations, if they decide to separate from the military or if they are retiring in the near future. If they are coming, going, or staying — we can help.”
James McCarty Jr., A&FRC Flight Chief, explained that peace of mind is an important aspect of Airmen’s lives and the A&FRC is ready and willing to help in any way possible for them to achieve this.
“The rigors of military life can be tough for the person serving and their family equally,” said McCarty. “We have programs, services and, most importantly, people willing to guide Airmen in any direction of their life they may need help with.”
McCarty described the A&FRC as a stepping stone for Airmen to utilize services which will better render them successful both in and out uniform.
“Whether you need and use the information we can provide or you end up providing it to someone else, having the knowledge of where to go and who to talk to is never a bad tool to have,” McCarty said. “Our staff is passionate about the work we do and a lot of times we have walked in Airmen’s shoes. We understand that maintaining focus and remaining mentally and emotionally fit to fight is important. That is why we are here.”
Both Carrillo and McCarty said Airmen and families new to Luke can visit the A&FRC to find useful programs which will enable them to become involved with the base, utilize family support groups or to get information to help them acclimate to the local area.
Some popular programs and services the A&FRC has available includes, but is not limited to:
* Air Force Aid Society
* Relocation Assistance
* Air Force Families Forever
* Personal Finance Readiness
* Casualty Assistance
* Personal and Work Life Readiness
* Transition Assistance
* Voting Assistance
For more information and a more comprehensive list of available services and programs, call 623-856-6550, follow ‘Luke A&FRC’ on Facebook or visit the A&FRC in person Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Bldg. 1113.
