2011 EUCOM Quality of Life Conference Kicks Off

Gordon ends his brief with one important question: What are your B.H.A.G.s?

What are our Big Hairy Audacious Goals? Hopefully, Robert L. Gordon III’s question will be answered by the end of the European Command’s Quality of Life Conference happening this week.

During his brief to conference delegates and attendees, Gordon, deputy assistant secretary of defense for military community and family policy, focused on four key priorities for support and care of military families, which can be found in Presidential Study Directive #9. The priorities include enhancing the overall well-being and psychological health of the military family; ensuring excellence in military children’s education and their development; developing career and educational opportunities for military spouses; and increasing childcare availability and quality for the Armed Forces.

I joined more than 130 participants for the 2011 conference kick off Monday as Gordon and several members of top EUCOM leadership as well as distinguished visitors from the Defense Department addressed the need for good quality of life programs, but also stressing the fiscal challenges of sustaining and maintaining many of these programs.

European Command’s Quality of life Conference is a proven method to hear the unvarnished community voice first hand. Since 2004, we have hosted more than 240 delegates -- community members who help manage expectations upon return to home station. They become peer ambassadors for change.

Focusing this year on sustaining and enhancing, our conference objectives changed slightly to consider a future of constrained resources; review goods and services with a sustain and enhance program value theme; and seek greater service, interagency, private sector and host nation collaboration and synergy in the joint environment.

We were joined via pre-recorded message by Adm. James Stavridis, EUCOM commander, who welcomed the attendees and issued two challenges to participants. He challenged us to first look jointly across the services at how we can work together at what we can do to create holistic coverage in the European Command. Second, we should look at how the public sector can connect with the private sector to enhance current quality of life programs.

EUCOM Chief of Staff, Admiral Charles Martoglio issues the charge to the delegates at the 2011 EUCOM Quality of Life Conference

Rear Adm. Charlie Martoglio, the EUCOM chief of staff, set the scene with how quality of life fit in with our National Security Strategy. He explained how shared awareness between agencies helps to better apply our resources to help sustain and enhance our quality of life programs. He charged the delegates to review programs for applicability in today’s environment considering program worth and seek redundancies for elimination; and develop ideas to enhance scalability, common standards, joint applicability, self help/wellness, host nation participation, expectation management – all while accommodating uncertainty.

Col. Michael Godfrey, EUCOM J1 director, followed with the Conference Flow and Action Plan review for the QoL Executive Steering Committee. This select group of senior leaders from each of the components focuses their discussions on programs and resources we currently have. They define the programs and services of value, look for overlap, and seek out joint ventures and greater host nation programs.

Our two speakers from back in Washington, D.C. , addressed issues facing the EUCOM and larger community. Assistant Secretary of the Army, Manpower and Reserve Affairs, Honorable Thomas Lamont added important information on suicide prevention and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

The rest of the conference this week will be filled with concept briefs; hours of working group sessions; Executive Steering Committee meetings; and distinguished visitor and senior spouse engagements. The four working groups are Remote and Outlier; Service and Family Member; Single/Unaccompanied Service Members; and Health of the Force and Family. Between these four groups of delegates -- representing all component services -- and the Executive Steering Committee, I expect this to be a very productive week.

We wrap things up tomorrow, so I hope to have some good news to report!

Captain Deanna G. Goudeau
Air Force IMA
HQ EUCOM QoL Staff Support