Mrs. Welsh visits Air Force Personnel Center Published Sept. 17, 2013 By Tammy Cournoyer Air Force Personnel Center JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas -- Airman and family division staff members got the chance to brief the wife of the Air Force chief of staff on some current issues when she visited the Air Force Personnel Center here Sept. 11. While her husband Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Mark A. Welsh III met with other AFPC staff, she learned about key areas such as spouse employment; the Exceptional Family Member Program; crisis and disaster support for families; supporting families of the fallen; and resiliency programs. Military spouse employment initiatives are proving successful, said Peggy Rayfield, chief of the Airman and family sustainment branch. "There are now only six states that don't offer unemployment compensation to military spouses searching for a job at a new duty location," she told Welsh. In other good news, the services have partnerships with nearly 160 employers; however, Rayfield would like to see that number closer to 1,000. Welsh said she would do what she could to help with that goal. The Exceptional Family Member Program has also made great strides in the past few years. This program assists Airmen who have a family member with a physical, developmental, or emotional or mental disorder requiring specialized services so these needs are considered during the assignment process. More Airmen are using the program and Welsh attributes this to declining stigma and education. "EFMP has come a long way," said Welsh. "It takes time, but we've wrapped our arms around it. It's important to continue educating parents about the program." Yvonne Duker, chief of the Airman and family support branch, spoke briefly about the role her team and Airman and family readiness centers play during a crisis or disaster when families need to be evacuated and "safe havens" need to be arranged. Duker also spoke about a new mission that Airman and family readiness centers will be assuming very soon; Air Force Families Forever. This long-term aftercare program will provide dedicated support to family members who have lost a loved one serving on active duty. The goal is to provide resources, support and information to help individuals adapt to life without their loved one. Another new program deals with resilience. Major Jovanna Wilson, resilience operations officer, explained that the new program's goal is to help Airmen and families withstand, recover and/or grow in the face of stressors and changing demands. This will involve researching and studying the societal issues and trends that Airmen face and how the Air Force can help them deal with these challenges. Although the program is in its infancy, it can't come fast enough. "I think we can all use resilience training and skills," said Welsh. "It's key for our Airmen to learn how to be wingmen." Her visit wasn't nearly long enough to touch on all the different services the division is providing for its nearly 1.77 million customers, but it was time well-spent learning how AFPC is taking care of Air Force people.