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The 125th Fighter Wing is located at
the Jacksonville International Airport, with an alert detachment at
Homestead ARB, Florida. The
125th has a dual mission: state and federal. The state mission is to
provide trained and equipped personnel to protect life and property
and to preserve peace, order, and public safety. The federal mission is to
provide fully trained and qualified personnel to NORAD in time of
war or national emergency for the defense of the North American
Continent.
The
125th is responsible for maintaining the NORAD Air
Defense Alert site a Homestead ARB, which provides armed F-15
aircraft capable of identifying, intercepting, and if necessary,
destroying unknown aircraft which penetrates sovereign U.S.
airspace.
GET READY
NOW!
4 SIMPLE STEPS TO TOTAL READINESS
The Family Readiness Plan
Military families are often told to "get
ready" for military separation, but are rarely told how. The
four steps below provide a fool-proof definition, along with pages
you can download, print, and complete. Family readiness, like
mission readiness, must begin with a sound plan...a Family Readiness
Plan (FRP).
A FRP is a working plan that clearly designates
the care of loved ones and personal property during deployments. We cannot emphasize how vital a FRP is to the
well-being of your family (please click here
for WHY). You need a FRP whether you are a single Guard member, or
married, whether you have children or not. In fact, certain members
are actually required to keep a copy on file in their orderly room*.
The four easy steps,
below, will help you create a FRP. Please don’t delay. If you
follow them, we promise that you WILL be ready when the call comes.
Step 1
Get a folder with at least 5 tabs or dividers.
Step 2
Print and follow the directions to complete each of the following
forms, making a separate tab in the folder for each of them.
Tab A: Communication
Information Form
Tab B: Powers of Attorney
Tab C: Will
Tab D: Document Locator Form
Tab E: Readiness Checklist
Step 3
Keep your FRP near a phone and notify a trusted third party of the
contents and location of the plan. Give him/her access to the
location of your FRP. Keep in mind that even if you are married, you
should still designate a trusted 3rd party representative in case
something happens to your spouse while you are deployed.
Step 4:
Make a wallet-sized card with the names and phone numbers of
important contacts (i.e., your spouse, the Command Post, your
trusted 3rd party). Keep this next to your Driver’s License in
case of an emergency.
* NOTE: Air
Force Instruction 36-2908 states that it is mandatory for single
service personnel and dual-service couples who are responsible for
family members have a FRP on file at their Wing or Unit. Failure
to do so could result in involuntary separation. Required forms
include Air Force Form 357, and others that are not listed on this
site. Please see your 1st Sgt for more details.
WHY Have a FRP?
The following two true examples clearly
illustrate the need for a FRP:
Sgt. Pat Jones* and her husband, Sam, had three young children. In
December of 2001, Sgt. Jones was activated. One day while she was
gone, Sam was involved in a serious automobile accident on his way
to pick up the kids from school. He had to be air-lifted to the
nearest hospital for emergency surgery.
In the meantime, the kids became frantic when
their father never arrived. The school contacted a neighbor that was
listed on the kids’ emergency contact card who picked up the kids,
but was unable to determine Sam’s whereabouts until later that
evening. At that point, the neighbor did not know how to reach Pat
or other family members. Ultimately, she contacted the Red Cross
whose representatives spent the next 2 days trying to locate Pat’s
unit. It took Pat 3 more days to return from the desert, during
which time the children had to suffer through this terrible ordeal
without their family. Fortunately, Sam made a slow recovery. While
the accident may have been unavoidable, the resulting trauma could
have been avoided if the Jones’ had taken the time to plan.
Similarly, Airman Joseph Smith* was activated
with no FRP in place. Since he was single with no children, he
didn’t think he needed one so he left his apartment and belongings
unsupervised. When Hurricane Ida hit, Airman Smith had no one in
place to assist with insurance-notification and salvage operations.
In each case, just a little up-front planning could have made a
difficult situation much easier to bear. Please take the time to
create your FRP to help you and your loved ones avoid unnecessary
trauma during emergency situations. Please take the time NOW to
create your FRP.
(*all names have been changed to protect the
identity of the individuals and families)
If you need further information, or assistance
compiling your plan, please click here or the
Readiness Contacts tab in the toolbar for representatives near you.
Florida Air National Guard
Family Readiness Office
14300 FANG Drive, Jacksonville, FL 32218-7933
904-741-7027
family.readiness@fljack.ang.af.mil
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