If your spouse is new to Shaw Air Force Base or to the Air Force way of life, It is highly recommended that you bring him or her to the Right Start Briefing. This briefing is a great introduction to Shaw AFB and the Sumter Community. Childcare is available through our Family Child Care service. To receive up to 20 hours of free care contact Airman and Family Readiness Center at 895-1253 and request the childcare for PCS application. Members must present your orders when completing the short application process.

If you would like to volunteer, find employment in the area, and learn what Air Force life is all about, attend our next Heart Link class. It is an educational and fun program. The 20th Fighter Wing Commander will open the program, and when you will graduate you will receive a spouse's coin. Spouses learn what is available to them for free and what to expect while you are stationed here at Shaw Air Force Base. It is a helpful way to build and establish new friends and learn about all the agencies available for the spouse, for free, on base. For more information, please contact the Airman & Family Readiness Center at (803) 895-1253 or DSN 965-1253.

Co-located with the Airman and Family Readiness Center, the Loan Closet is a free service. All items are available for military members, family members, and other individuals PCSing in or out of Shaw Air Force Base for up to 30 days. Some items include futons, card tables, chairs, dishes, pots and pans, coffee pots, high chairs, portable cribs, and more. These must be returned in clean and serviceable conditions so they can be reissued to other families.

Please bring a copy of your orders when requesting items to check out from the Loan Closet.

Personal and Family Readiness - Assistance is available to families before, during and after a deployment, TDY, or remote tour.

Emergency Family Assistance Control Center (EFACC) provides information and direct assistance to Airmen, families and the community during times of official and national emergency or evacuation, including Noncombatant Evacuation Operations and Reparations.

Personal Financial Readiness

Many times, financial difficulties are a direct result of a lack of knowledge and experience, especially for younger Airmen. Uninformed decisions made today can have a significant impact on an Airman's current readiness posture and impact his or her financial well-being in the future. Your Airman & Family Readiness Center has services, resources and educational tools designed to enhance your financial readiness and money-management skills. We offer the following resources reguarly:

• Individual Budget Assistance - individuals experiencing financial difficulty may request assistance from the A&FRC.
• E4 and below Budget Class offered once a month, mandatory for all newly assigned.
• First Term Officer Budget class offered once a month, mandatory for all newly assigned.
• Savings and Investing Seminars offered once a month for individuals who desire to save for their future.

Helpful Information

Please click on the links below to read or download the information on the programs we offer.

• Current programs for Air Force spouses
• Current programs for Army Spouses
• Moral Call instructions
• Pre-Deployment Brief informational handout
• Stages of Deployment and Remote Tours information
  
• Didn't find the link you need or you are looking for who your Key Spouse is, call the Airman & Family Readiness Center at (803) 895-1253.

Useful Links  

Transitions in life are never easy, that is why the Airman and Family Readiness Center is here to help! We offer a multitude of workshops and classes to get you through these transitional times with ease. Please contact us for more information.

Some programs and assistance we offer are:

• Relocation Assistance Program (RAP) - Provides resources to assist the military member and family plan a cost-effective and efficient move and settle into their new community. Visit our loan closet. Free for use for those PCSing in or out.
• Child Care for PCS - 20 Free hours of child care is available.
• AF Wounded Warrior (AFW2) Support - The AFW2 Program was created in 2005 as a DoD and Air Force initiative to provide personalized care to any Airman with a combat/hostile-related illness or injury requiring long-term care that will require a Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) or a Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) to determine fitness for duty. The Airman & Family Readiness center assists combat/hostile-related ill/injured Airmen and their families to receive personnel services and support, extended transition assistance, and no less than five-year case management follow-up.
• Veterans Administration (VA) - Service members who have questions about VA benefits or need assistance in filing a VA claim can make an appointment to see a VA Representative at the A&FRC every Tuesday and Wednesday 9:00a.m. - 2:00p.m.
• The Transition Assistance (TAP) - TAP is to equip separating/retiring personnel and their families with the skills and knowledge required to enable them to make a smooth and successful transition back into the civilian sector. Transition assistance can lead to a second career, another civilian position if already a civilian employee, or into retirement. Mandatory Pre-Separation Briefings, 2 ½ days TAP Seminars, and more are offered! http://www.taonline.com/TAPOffice/
• Casualty Assistance Program
• Troops to Teachers Program
• Resume Writing Class - Resume classes teach the necessary skills to develop private industry and federal resumes for use in the civilian job market.

If you arrive at Shaw during normal duty hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, you should report directly to your gaining unit's commander's support staff. If you arrive during non-duty hours, report to the 24-hour base lodging office located at 464 Myers St., (803) 895-3803. On the next duty day, report to your gaining unit. If you do not know where your unit is located, report to the Military Personnel Flight, 504 Shaw Dr., between the hours of 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Military personnel must be in uniform to in-process.

Please be sure to bring several copies of your orders and all hand-carried records you received from your previous base. Your records will be reviewed; you will complete your formal in processing and be scheduled for your Right Start appointments.

Once you sign in, you may be authorized permissive house hunting by your new commander. If you require further information about signing in or leave, contact your gaining squadron's commander's support staff or the Military Personnel Flight.

The following items are required for finance processing. If you took a travel advance, including: dislocation allowance, travel pay and per diem for authorized travel days, make sure you have receipts or pay records. Plane tickets purchased also require a receipt. Government-issued tickets are also required along with five copies of PCS orders. Receipts are required for expenses incurred of more then $25 (i.e. taxi, lodging, tolls, and traveler's checks). While en route, annotate locations, dates of departure, and arrival times to make filling out vouchers easier.

If you get married in route to your new duty station you must inform your commander and register your spouse in DEERS with the Military Personnel Flight, Customer Service. Bring your marriage certificate for proof of marriage. Follow procedures exactly as you are given them. The military will not pay for travel and housing of your spouse if you do not follow proper procedures.