Airman and Family Readiness Center

Airman and Family Readiness Center

The RAF Lakenheath Airman and Family Readiness Center offers an array of specialized programs and services aimed at improving the quality of life for military members and their families.

The A&FRC is located in building 950 next to the Liberty complex. Our operating hours are Monday-Friday 7:30am-4:30pm except for Thursday which we are open from 7:30am-2:30pm.

The A&FRC offers experienced Community Readiness Consultants that are able to bring any program or service that we offer in our center into the squadron.

Community Readiness Consultants also take individual appointments for more personal services. A key resource on your installation and a gateway to accessing all of the resources available to you, the A&FRC provides information, support and services to help you balance the demands of family and the military lifestyle. Please call 226-3847 for more information.

The A&FRC is one part of the overall installation family support system, which is the network of agencies, programs, services, partnerships and individuals that supports your personal and family life readiness, mobilization and deployment readiness, and mobility and economic readiness. The A&FRC is one of your first stops upon arriving at an installation; its programs and services are an important resource for you and your family.

Information Referral


The Information and Referral program's core function is to link individuals and families with the right resource to meet their needs. Whether you are new to the United Kingdom and/or Air Force - you may have questions about living overseas or about different base agencies. An integral function of the family center, information and referral services can assist you in identifying and clarifying needs to determine appropriate forms of assistance and help locate needed services and programs available both on and off your installation, and national resources. The A&FRC has a database of on- and off-base resources available to active duty and family members. Our goal is to make this an easy experience you enjoy.

Personal Financial Readiness

The Personal Financial Readiness program is designed to aid individuals in financial matters such as budgeting, debt reduction/ liquidation, and basic investment planning. This program provides information, education, and one-on-one financial counseling to assist members and families maintain financial readiness. Services are designed to address pertinent money management issues throughout an Air Force member's active-duty lifecycle and into retirement. Financial readiness educational opportunities ranges from basic spend planning to long-term investing.

Air Force Aid Society

The Air Force Aid Society (AFAS) is also in the center. This service provides emergency financial and educational assistance to active duty Air Force members, retirees, and their families. Additionally, the AFAS supports a number of base programs such as spouse tuition assistance, Car Care Because We Care (for deployed spouses), Give Parents a Break, respite care, volunteer child care, and the H. H. Arnold Educational Grant program for the sons and daughters of active duty and retired members. If there is a need, please phone DSN: 226-3847.

Family Life Education


Family Life Education (FLE) includes all programs designed to help Air Force members and their families adapt to current and future changes in their lives. This program provides you with information and education about a variety of life cycle issues to assist you in developing resilience skills that assist in navigating a mobile military lifestyle. Workshops include parenting, healthy relationships, and communication skills, among others, to help you strengthen your interpersonal competencies and social relationships.

Here are some of the FLE programs available through the A&FRC:

Love and Logic Parenting
Personal Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP)
Investing in Your Relationship
Common Sense Parenting
The Golden Rules of Love
Marriage Reintegration Retreats

Relocation Assistance

The goal of the Relocation Assistance Program is to increase knowledge and skills needed by military, DoD civilians and their families to accomplish a successful move. This is done through various seminars such as Smooth Move and Pet Scoop. Additionally, information on a member's new base can be accessed through Military Homefront at www.militaryhomefront.dod.mil.

The relocation program provides an array of services to meet you and your family's needs when experiencing a permanent change of station (PCS) move. Services include, but are not limited to various relocation workshops to help you prepare for a move; access to Plan My Move and Military Installations Directory, web-based information systems that provide in-depth information on world-wide installations and communities; where offered, a loan closet for temporary loan of needed/basic household items while awaiting household goods; and assistance with in-transit emergencies.

The A&FRC works with other base agencies to keep relocation information current, timely, and relevant to allow you to make informed decisions to ensure you experience a smooth and successful move.

Family Services

Family Services provides assistance to Air Force families and single members moving in or out of RAF Lakenheath and those temporarily assigned here. Available services include: a lending closet stocked with household items for people waiting for household shipments. Items include dishes, pots and pan, linens, irons and ironing boards, port-a-cribs and more. Infant and toddler car seats and strollers are available for use until such items can be bought or arrive in household shipments.

New arrivals at RAF Lakenheath can visit the family services office in building 949 from 9:00am-2:45pm or by calling commercial: 01638 53 3154.

Family Readiness

The Readiness Program provides the 48th Fighter Wing with advice and resources on family readiness issues. It also provides assistance to family members before and after times of mobilization, deployments/separation or evacuation. The family readiness coordinator promotes preparedness for these situations through family education and development of assistance programs such as pre-deployment, deployment and reunion seminars, spouse support groups, Give Parents a Break and Car Care Because We Care programs.

In addition, the coordinator helps families maintain contact during separations. This program assists you and your family during all phases of the deployment cycle, providing workshops and services to help meet the challenges of deployment, as well as information and referral to deployment-related resources. Services include pre-deployment education briefings for deploying members and families; sustainment support services such as email connectivity, morale calls, and applicable Air Force Aid Society programs and return/reunion/reintegration support.

Wing Volunteer Resource Program

The Volunteer Resource Program maintains a job bank of volunteer positions where volunteers will gain new skills, obtain work experience, and help the overall morale and well being of the community.

Career Focus Program


The overall goal of the Career Focus Program is to enhance the marketability and employability of family members at RAF Lakenheath. Achieving this goal means addressing these program objectives: assisting in career planning; helping family members learn job-search skills; increasing opportunities for paid and volunteer employment; increasing opportunities for vocational and educational development and increasing access to employment information. The training and information provided can help you identify and reach your employment and career development goals, manage employment challenges associated with a mobile lifestyle and develop job search skills. The A&FRC provides career planning classes, career counseling, local labor market information, employment trend tracking, skills and interests' identification, job bank referrals, resources for self employment, and much more.

Transition Assistance Program

The Transition Assistance Program provides the tools and training to retiring or separating Air Force members, DoD civilians and their family members, necessary to help them make a successful transition from the military. It provides individualized transition counseling to help clients explore and assess their employment strengths. The bottom line is to provide the customer with as many transition options as possible.

The program also teaches subjects outside the normal transition time parameters (i.e. resume writing, skills assessment, etc.) so that potential separatees/retirees can anticipate future needs. The Transition Assistance Program (TAP) prepares separating, retiring, and demobilizing service members (and their families) with information, skills, and knowledge necessary for a successful transition from military to civilian life. The first step in your transition process is to complete the congressionally-mandated Pre-separation Counseling session, which furnishes detailed information on the various benefits and services available to you.

Each A&FRC is staffed to provide personalized assistance for all your transition-related needs.

Military Family Life Consultants

Military & Family Life Consultants (MFLC) are available to help service members, their spouses, and family members address:
Deployment/reintegration support
Marriage and relationship issues
Stress and anxiety
Depression
Grief and loss
Daily life issues

Consultations and trainings are free and anonymous (exceptions to confidentiality include duty to warn cases and PRP disqualifiers.) No records are kept. After-hours and weekend appointments are available, and group or off-site meetings can be arranged. RAF Lakenheath MFLCs can be contacted by calling: commercial 07748 98 3894 or 07879 05 1499.

Exceptional Family Member Program- Family Support (EFMP-FS)

This program is designed to give information to military families with members in need of special assistance. The EFMP Coordinator provides resources from local, state/county, and federal agencies, both educational and medical to accommodate the special needs member and their family. Please contact Wesley Yancey at DSN 314-226-3847; Commercial 01638 523847, or stop by the Airman & Family Readiness Center, Building 950, for additional information.