The 379th Air Expeditionary Wing last week opened an Airman and Family Readiness Center at its undisclosed operating location in Southwest Asia, becoming the first Air Force unit in the region to host this type of facility, stated wing officials. “We are opening up new services to accommodate the families” as they make a permanent-change-of-station move here, said Teresa Carrillo, 379th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron AFRC team lead. She added, “It’s important they know we are here to support them any way possible throughout their transition.” Daniel Ginsberg, USAF’s assistant secretary for manpower and reserve affairs, attended the center’s Aug. 29 ribbon cutting. The facility provides many of the same programs offered at stateside installations, said wing officials in an Aug. 31 release. Jeanette Wicks, wife of CMSgt. Rory Wicks, 379th AEW command chief, called the center “a wonderful amenity” that “truly shows the commitment the Air Force has to providing the best opportunities available to support the airmen and their families.” (379th AEW report by SrA. Bryan Swink)
A three-month continuing resolution that ended in December inflicted less pain on the Department of the Air Force than it had expected, as procurement and construction continue in the new year. The federal government operated under a stopgap spending measure that stretched from the beginning of the fiscal year on…