Town hall meeting addresses issues

by Tina Ray
Paraglide

Fort Bragg Garrison Command, personnel representatives, Family members and other interested parties met Tuesday in the Officers’ Club for a town hall meeting to discuss and address installation issues.

Nearly 100 people attended the meeting, with representatives from various directorates across the installation, from emergency services to human resources, among others. Womack Army Medical Center, the Staff Judge Advocate and the Civilian Personnel Advisory Center also attended.

One of the issues addressed was the early closing of the shoppette in the 1st Theater Sustainment Command or East Bragg area.

Attendees learned that two new shoppettes, one at the North Post and the other at the South Post, will open in Spring 2010.

A recommendation was made that would require mandatory training for basic customer service skills for all civilian support personnel.

Nan Sanders, director of Human Resources explained that employees already receive customer service training.

During the training, employees are taught to put themselves in the place of guests to the installation, said Dan Ahern, director of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation. However, Ahern said, more customer service training will be upcoming.

Another issue that surfaced was the lack of personnel at the identification card facility. To offset the shortage, Col. Steven Sicinski, Fort Bragg garrison commander, said additional personnel would be retasked to cover the busiest times.

The following are additional issues and their corresponding outcomes that came out of the meeting:

• Varying speed limits on post.
Posted speed limits will be enforced and are determined based on maintaining safety and increasing travel across the installation.

• Warrior Transition Battalion Soldiers being treated like “kids,” according to a WTB spouse.
There will be a review of the work program to better support a Soldier’s desired end-state, return to duty or transition to civilian life.

• The quick changing traffic light at Gruber and Zabitosky roads.
A project has been funded to upgrade the traffic signal interconnect on Zabitosky Road, which will allow more vehicles to clear the intersection, according to DPW.

Besides the shoppettes, other upcoming projects for the installation include opening of the Armistead Gate to alleviate traffic on Butner Road and Reilly Street and the opening of new car washes and eateries.

In revisiting an issue posed at a previous town hall meeting, Sicinksi said that homes in the lower Normandy area would receive additional square footage, transforming them from about 1,500 to 2,100 square feet.

In other business, WAMC advised attendees about 3,700 no-show appointments in January. To remedy this and open up the appointments for other patients, WAMC urged customers to call the 24-hour cancellation line at 907-CNCL (2625).

According to a corps chaplain, there will be an Easter sunrise service. Plans for the service are ongoing and details will be announced later.

The Army Career and Alumni Program said representatives from the Social Security Administration are on hand at its post facility. The representatives will be able to answer any questions transitioning Soldiers have about Social Security.

Child, Youth and School Services is offering its EDGE! and Hired! program. CYSS also provides online accessibility at https://webtrac.mwr.army.mil.

For more information about town hall meetings, call the Army Family Action Plan office at 396-4447.