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 JOINT
BASE LEWIS MCCHORD, Wash. - Arriving here on Joint Base
Lewis-McChord, Wash. from Fort Carson, Colo., a young specialist and
his family find themselves without transportation, without a home
and no clue what to do next.
After scouring the classifieds
for several hours, the Soldier decides to rent an apartment close to
base and buy a cheap car. He somehow manages to find Waller Hall and
begin to inprocess just in time. Unfortunately, with no guidance
where to go and what to do the Soldier finds out too late that the
apartments are in a bad area, his landlord ripped him off and the
car is a lemon.
Although this is a fictional story, many
Soldiers today know someone or have experienced for themselves a
very similar scenario. In 1993, the Army introduced the Total Army
Sponsorship Program to help solve problems like this one. Since then
the program has adapted to meet the changing needs of today's Army.
Last March, JBLM joined Fort Stewart, Ga., Fort Hood, Texas,
Germany and Korea, as a 90-day pilot location for the new Total Army
Sponsorship Program using the Army Career Tracker system.
Using the ACT system, units can automatically track a Soldiers
sponsor status. The pilot is set to end later this month and
depending on feedback and a decision from the Department of the
Army, may be implemented Army wide.
As part of the pilot
program, all Soldiers from the ranks of private through colonel must
have a sponsor confirmed thorough the ACT system before receiving
orders.
JoAnne Clark, chief of the personnel readiness
branch here said there are over 1,000 Soldiers set to arrive at JBLM
in the next year. Nearly half of them do not have sponsors and
almost 100 have not completed a sponsorship request. Clark added
that as soon as Soldiers find out they are changing duty stations
it's important to request a sponsor.
“When Soldiers come in
to the Army they aren't bachelors [anymore], they have families,”
she said. “The Army is trying to take care of Soldiers and families
as they move from one place to another to make it as easy as
possible.”
The Total Army Sponsorship Program regulation
states that after Soldiers complete a request for a sponsor, units
have 10 days to respond, send out a welcome letter and identify the
sponsor.
Even though the regulation says 10 days, Clark said
if units look out at least 90 days for incoming Soldiers and start
sending out welcome letters Soldiers could receive their orders much
faster.
Sponsors are the key to helping new Soldiers,
civilian employees and families settle quickly in their new units,
according to the military one source website. They help build unit
cohesion by making the transition to a new location smoother.
“When I got here in July 2012, I didn't have a sponsor,” said
Spc. Kendall Smithson. “I was coming from overseas and thought I
would have a sponsor because when I went to Germany, my sponsor did
a wonderful job. He introduced me to my commander and first sergeant
the first day I was in the unit. It was smooth sailing. I think this
pilot program is a wonderful thing, because I know that it will help
Soldiers as they inprocess their units.”
Sponsors are usually
the first person incoming Soldiers meet and they need to be prepared
to answer questions on the unit, installation, available services
and the surrounding area.
“When a Soldier gets to a new
unit, his sponsor is his first buddy,” said Clark. “Every Soldier,
when they arrive here, goes through an online training program so
they can become a sponsor. When they go through the online training
they obtain a lot of resources they need as a sponsor.”
The
online sponsorship training is available through the military one
source website. During the training sponsors learn about their roles
and responsibilities which include sending a letters to incoming
Soldiers to welcome them to the unit, showing them to the housing
offices and Army Community Services and introducing them to their
leaders.
“This is the first time I've been a sponsor and am
still figuring it out,” said Spc. William Mosley. “I have already
sent an email to a Soldier I'm sponsoring and I'm just waiting for
him to reply.”
New changes to the Total Army Sponsorship
Program promise to make the transition from different locations
easier than ever by ensuring the Soldier know who his Sponsor is.
By U.S. Army Sgt. James Bunn
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2014
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