ARC uses volunteers to offer vital resources down range

Published May 19, 2008
By Senior Airman Tong Duong
379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Even away from home and deployed halfway around the world, Airmen sometimes can't escape the financial fiascos they left behind.

The only Airman Readiness Center in the U.S. Air Forces Central area of responsibility is ready to help.

"We have computers and morale phones for our customers to make phone calls to loved ones or business transactions back home," said Master Sgt. Meril Monteagudo, 379th Expeditionary Services Squadron ARC noncommissioned officer in charge from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. "We also have fax machines and a scanner for them to use. Many people who come here use our equipment to look for jobs or attend online classes."

The center also offers classes on investing, buying a new home or car, anger management and more, he said.

During peak hours and with an influx of customers, the number of customers the ARC supports can be limited by the size of their facility.

"We get more than 100 people a day who use the facility, and we have limited space and equipment," he said. "Our classroom can [only] fit 20 to 30 people."

According to needs of individual units, ARC staff members brief up to 300 people on reintegration and other topics, designed to help servicemembers prepare for their homecoming or adjust to their new deployed environment.

With a staff of only two, the center relies on the help of volunteers to augment services.

"We use volunteers to answer phones, help customers, and run the front office when we are teaching a class, briefing or doing one-on-one counseling," Sergeant Monteagudo said. "We don't want to have to close the shop or limit our customers from using the facilities."

After attending Right Start, Tech. Sgt. Alfred Williams, 379th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron NCOIC of material management, was so impressed by the support the Airman Readiness Center had to offer, he volunteered a week later.

"I volunteered at the ARC after I heard about it during our briefing," he said. "When I first walked through the doors of the ARC, there was an excellent, warm atmosphere. The personalities of Sergeant Monteagudo and Mr. Wilkinson were refreshing. I believe in everything they have to offer."

On average, a volunteer commits two hours a week, but some do three to four hours because of the influx of customers, Sergeant Monteagudo said. The ARC will lose half of its nine volunteers as Air Expeditionary Force cycle 1/2 draws to a close.

For the most part, volunteer duties include recording names of servicemembers who attended briefings into the database, assisting customers with the fax machines, computers, and scanner, and checking on the customers to see if their needs are meet, the sergeant from Beale Air Force Base, Calif., said.

"[Being a volunteer here] is like working with family. I also enjoy investing my time in to the lives of others," Sergeant Williams said. "Everything we do here is catered to helping other people. It makes me feel like I'm doing [great things]. Even something small could be a blessing to someone, and that means the entire world to me."
Volunteering at the ARC gives people ownership of their own center, said Mr.
Barry Wilkinson, 379th ESVS chief of ARC, from Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.

"In the states, volunteers can afford to come in for a whole day, but most people here, like Sergeant Williams, come and volunteer a couple hours at a time because of their duty schedule," he said. "Having a couple more volunteers would allow us to schedule around that and possibly allow us to expand our hours and services."

Airman readiness center