In 2017, the AUSA Family Readiness Directorate focused heavily on educational forums and outreach to our currently serving population of military families.

We began the year by providing a family forum at the Global Force Symposium and Exhibition.

The discussion, titled “Warrior and Family Wellness: It Takes a Team,” featured speakers and panelists from the Army Surgeon General’s office, the Redstone Arsenal Community Health Clinic staff, and a representative from the Hudson Alpha Institute for Biotechnology.

In April, which is the Month of the Military Child, we partnered with Our Military Kids and provided an all-day symposium: “Understanding the Needs of Ill and Injured Military Families.”

Experts in the field of military child psychology and wounded warrior family support discussed the impact of injury on the parenting process and identified gaps in research and support to our young family members.

April also provided us with the opportunity to partner with Operation Deploy Your Dress.

The event, hosted at AUSA national headquarters, allowed military ID card holders to shop for gently used and new formal attire for both women and men at no cost. All items were donated by individuals and businesses throughout the country to include both the AUSA Fairfax Lee and the George Washington chapters.

In May, we had the pleasure of co-hosting 100 Army moms at the fifth annual Mother’s Day Brunch sponsored and co-hosted by the Washington DC Marriott Marquis, the official hotel of AUSA’s Annual Meeting and Exposition.

Over 400 Army family members joined us for a beautiful brunch the Saturday before Mother’s Day.

June was an exciting month as we launched our first annual AUSA Facebook Live series called “Army Spouse: Voice for a Simpler PCS.”

Our goal was to help Army spouses build consistency and streamline processes in their new communities. We were able to create new information products, provide a platform for Army spouses to share their challenges with the PCS process, and we had fun.

We reached 66,000 Facebook users over the five-week period.

We also participated in the AUSA Hawaii Chapter’s Wounded Warrior Regatta week.

Partnering with the Schofield Barracks Health Clinic, we presented a forum focused on wounded warrior wellness and self-care. Over 120 participants attended the event.

The health clinic staff was pleased that plans are already underway to partner again in 2018.

The Annual Meeting Family Forums were also well received.

Live streaming the Senior Leaders’ Town Hall through the Army’s Facebook page gave us our biggest online audience to date with over 120,000 views.

With 2017 behind us, we look forward to 2018.

• AUSA will offer a family membership option allowing current members to enroll individual family members at a $15 for two-year rate.
• We will continue our onsite forum offerings as well as offer a Facebook live event in June.
• We plan to partner again with Operation Deploy Your Dress.
• We will be exploring new and engaging ways to connect with Army families, no matter what their status or where they live.
• We will continue live streaming the Annual Meeting Family Forums.