Free smartphone app designed to keep Airmen informed

by Staff Sgt. Ian Hoachlander
Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs

7/24/2013 - JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas -- The Air Force launched a free mobile app geared toward informing Airmen and families about force support squadron morale, welfare and recreation events happening on their base.

"MyAirForceLife," developed by the Air Force Personnel Center, links eligible patrons to force support squadron-related MWR information at Air Force led installations.

"This mobile app gives force support squadrons tools to better communicate facilities and activities offered on base," said James Anderson, AFPC services integrated marketing and branding branch chief. "Additionally, customers will be familiar with and are more likely to download a branded consolidated application that provides information about bases throughout the Air Force."

Twenty locations are currently available on the app and more than 25 additional bases are adding content in order to go live in the mobile app.

The locations currently on the application include: Joint Base San Antonio-Sam Houston, Lackland, and Randolph, Texas, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., Keesler AFB, Miss., Lajes Field, Azores; MacDill AFB, Fla., Little Rock AFB, Ark., Maxwell-Gunter AFB, Ala., Minot AFB, N.D., Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, Patrick AFB, Fla., Schriever AFB, Colo., Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C., Sheppard AFB, Texas, Travis AFB, Calif., Yokota Air Base, Japan, Grissom Air Reserve Base, Ind., March ARB, Calif., and the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo.

Within two months of its release, 3,500 individuals have downloaded the "MyAirForceLife" app. This mobile app provides details about force support squadron activities to include hours of operations, specials, and even directions to the event via GPS.

"'MyAirForceLife' also integrates the nonappropriated fund job listing which allow users to search for available jobs by facility" Anderson explained. "Users can rate facilities, save contact information directly to their contact list or phone book, and call or email facilities by clicking on the link.

To download the application, users should open their smartphone app store and search "MyAirForceLife."

Once downloaded, users can select their favorite base or multiple locations. After selecting a base, the app will open the main menu and automatically connect the user to upcoming events happening at the specific base.

The main menu provides users with upcoming events, which scroll at the bottom of the screen, and gives them several options to choose from.

Users have the option to search for events happening on their base, check in with their local food vendors, see what is going on at the local fitness center and even find out about any family events happening on their base.

The application allows users to manage the base selected via the option menu. This option allows users who receive orders the ability to see what events are happening at their new base.

Airmen interested in seeing their base added to the "MyAirForceLife" app should contact their installation's force support squadron. For more information about the "MyAirForceLife" mobile app and force support squadron MWR activities, visit service's website at www.myairforcelife.com. 

Swimming Safety Tips

From http://www.safekids.org/tip/swimming-safety-tips

There Is No Substitute for Active Supervision

• Actively supervise children in and around open bodies of water, giving them your undivided attention. 
• Whenever infants or toddlers are in or around water, an adult should be within arm’s reach to provide active supervision. We know it’s hard to get everything done without a little multitasking, but this is the time to avoid distractions of any kind. If children are near water, then they should be the only thing on your mind. Small children can drown in as little as one inch of water.
• When there are several adults present and children are swimming, use the Water Watcher card strategy, which designates an adult as the Water Watcher for a certain amount of time (such as 15-minute periods) to prevent lapses in supervision. Download a Water Watcher card here. 

Start Slow With Babies

• You can start introducing your babies to water when they are about 6 months old. Remember to always use waterproof diapers and change them frequently. 

Educate Your Kids About Swimming Safely

• Every child is different, so enroll children in swimming lessons when you feel they are ready. Teach children how to tread water, float and stay by the shore. 
• Make sure kids swim only in areas designated for swimming. Teach children that swimming in open water is not the same as swimming in a pool. They need to be aware of uneven surfaces, river currents, ocean undertow and changing weather.
• Whether you’re swimming in a backyard pool or in a lake, teach children to swim with a partner, every time. From the start, teach children to never go near or in water without an adult present. 

Don’t Rely on Swimming Aids

• Remember that swimming aids such as water wings or noodles are fun toys for kids, but they should never be used in place of a U.S. Coast Guard-approved personal flotation device (PFD).

Take the Time to Learn CPR 

• We know you have a million things to do, but learning CPR should be on the top of the list. It will give you tremendous peace of mind – and the more peace of mind you have as a parent, the better. 
• Local hospitals, fire departments and recreation departments offer CPR training.
• Have your children learn CPR. It’s a skill that will serve them for a lifetime. 

Take Extra Steps Around Pools

• A swimming pool is a ton of fun for you and your kids. Make sure backyard pools have four-sided fencing that’s at least 4 feet high and a self-closing, self-latching gate to prevent a child from wandering into the pool area unsupervised. 
• When using inflatable or portable pools, remember to empty them immediately after use. Store them upside down and out of children’s reach.
• Install a door alarm, a window alarm or both to alert you if a child wanders into the pool area unsupervised. 

Check the Drains in Your Pool and Spa

• Educate your children about the dangers of drain entanglement and entrapment and teach them to never play or swim near drains or suction outlets. 
• Pools that pose the greatest risk of entrapment are children’s public wading pools, in-ground hot tubs, or any other pools that have flat drain grates or a single main drain system.
• For new pools or hot tubs, install multiple drains in all pools, spas, whirlpools and hot tubs. This minimizes the suction of any one drain, reducing risk of death or injury. If you do have drains, protective measures include anti-entrapment drain covers and a safety vacuum release system to automatically release suction and shut down the pump should entrapment occur. 
• Regularly check to make sure drain covers are secure and have no cracks, and replace flat drain covers with dome-shaped ones. If a pool or hot tub has a broken, loose or missing drain cover, don’t use it.
• If you do have drains, protective measures include anti-entrapment drain covers and a safety vacuum release system to automatically release suction and shut down the pump should entrapment occur. Go to www.PoolSafety.gov for a list of manufacturers of certified covers.  
• Check to make sure your pool or hot tub’s drains are compliant with the Pool and Spa Safety Act.

- See more at: http://www.safekids.org/tip/swimming-safety-tips#sthash.vxrQWnQS.dpuf

Blue Star Museums

The National Endowment for the Arts has partnered with the Department of Defense, Blue Star Families and museums across the United States to offer admission at no cost to military personnel and their families through Blue Star Museums. Blue Star Museums expands military Morale, Welfare and Recreation offerings by providing service members and their families with the opportunity to visit museums from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Blue Star Museums is a model partnership in support of the White House’s Joining Forces initiative.

Highlights

Blue Star Museums is a valuable resource for service members and their families, giving them an opportunity to enjoy one another and experience many different kinds of museums during the summer of 2013.  More than 1,800 museums in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and American Samoa are participating, including:

·         Children’s museums

·         Fine art museums

·         History and science museums

·         Nature centers

Eligibility

·         Any bearer of a common access card, DD Form 1173 ID card or DD Form 1173-1 ID card

·         Military ID holder plus up to five family members, which may include a spouse or child, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc.

Additional Information

Blue Star Museums

http://www.bluestarfam.org/Programs/Blue_Star_Museums

National Endowment for the Arts

http://www.nea.gov/national/bluestarmuseums/index-ongoing.php