News

Army Teen Panel participates in AFAP process
Date Posted: 2/3/2009

By Rob McIlvaine
FMWRC Public Affairs

[AFAP delegates present sixteen issues to senior leadership | Soldiers, Families, Senior Leaders improve Army quality of life | Army Teen Panel participates in AFAP process]

Pete Geren, Secretary of the Army, speaks with members of the Army Teen Panel, representing the future the Army, who brought their concerns for Army youth world-wide, infectious enthusiasm and considerable experience and creativity to the five – day long AFAP conference. - Photo by Rob McIlvaine, FMWRC Public Affairs

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – 16 members of the Army Teen Panel came to present the top three issues that impact military youth at the 2009 AFAP Conference.

Handpicked from Youth Leadership Forums at Army garrisons in seven regions, plus the Army National Guard, Army Reserve and Accession’s Command, this group of young adults brings maturity, intelligence, their unique perspective about the issues, and a determination their voices be heard.

“They represent our future,” Maj. Gen. John Macdonald said to the AFAP delegates on Monday when introducing the Army Teen Panel.

According to Ruth Beaudry, an advisor to the group and staff member of the U.S. Army’s Family and MWR Command (FMWRC), Child, Youth & School (CYS) Services, each of the youth forums held this past summer came up with about 20 to 30 issues.

“Of those issues, the Army Teen Panel decided on the following top three issues to be presented by the Teen Panel to the entire AFAP conference,” Beaudry said. Conference delegates cheered when each issue was announced: Increased Communication & Marketing of Youth Programming, At-Risk Youth OCONUS, and Education.

“Once again, you guys have come through,” Beaudry told the teens.

However, this isn’t all they presented. After arriving at their hotel, they were given an assignment by their CYS advisors to hash out a video script encompassing U.S. Army Child, Youth & School Services’ issues brought up to the Army Family Action Plan (AFAP) over the past 25 years.

Anthony, 18, from Fort Lewis, Washington, finishes his presentation to the group of Army teens. - Photo by Rob McIlvaine, FMWRC Public Affairs

On Monday, they broke into three groups with each one taking a different decade. On Tuesday, they began filming as the AFAP conference got underway. On Wednesday, they continued to develop the script bringing all three decades together in one cohesive story arc while recording voiceovers and videotaping on-camera narration, editing that night and Thursday and presenting the completed production at the conference Friday morning.

“You were able to choose the most important issues and present your ideas because you focused on the task at hand. Many others have found this type of collaboration very difficult,” Chris Zuhars, technology specialist from CYS, said.

“I don’t know if you noticed,” quipped Christopher from Fort Buchanan in Puerto Rico, “but we were going crazy on how to bring it all together.”

For the film, their strategy to enlighten conference attendees about the past 25 years of CYS participation was easily developed: decide on a slogan or catch phrase that encompasses the three top issues for each decade and present them with a song their audience could relate to. Add photos and video with voiceovers and on-camera host and voila´, an entertaining presentation.

The teens, who worked hard on the issues and this film, are also immensely appreciative of the opportunity they’ve been given to represent military youth during this time of persistent conflict.

“When I arrived in Japan I told Mr. Chris McKibbon, the Camp Zama Teen Center Director, that I was bored,” said Xavia, the Pacific Region Teen representative. “He told me to get involved with the Pacific Teen Panel. Later, I applied to be region representative and I got it! He has been my inspiration for wanting to be a part of this organization.”


Another high school student, now an “old timer” with two years on the Army Teen Panel, fondly remembers how Ms. M.-A. Lucas, Director, Child, Youth & School Services, took the time to encourage him.

Anthony, a student at Lakes High School near Lakewood, Washington, says he was at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas for Speak Out Military Kids (SOMK) Ambassador training. This group helps military youth cope with parents being deployed through student-to-student counseling and “any other way we can help,” Anthony said.

At the end of his week of training, he wrote a story called “The Good, The Bad, The Ugly” about what needed to change in the system for helping his peers.

“My story got published at the end of 2006 and M.-A. contacted my SOMK teacher, saying she was very interested in hearing more about the story. After getting a taste of the Army Teen Panel, I began to bug her and Donna M. McGrath, CYS Army Teen Panel Program Manager for an application. To my amazement I was invited to the June 2008 Army Birthday Ball in downtown DC where I saw the Vice President of the United States.

“Then when my father got orders to Ft. Lewis in Washington, I realized how much of an impact the teen forums had made when presenting the issues at AFAP conferences. The first thing I noticed after arriving were the new facilities for youth. And it’s all thanks to M.-A. I’m so grateful she took the time to read my story and to get involved with teens.”

Ashley, a volunteer with over 1,500 hours of work, became “Youth of the Year” in March 2008 at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina.

“I owe everything to Annette Bennett, Teen Leader at the Youth Center, who opened up all of these opportunities, including my invitation in September to travel to the White House where President Bush was honoring volunteers.”

Her dedication to help others has led her from Facilitator at the Youth Leadership Conference at Ft. Bragg where she briefed garrison commander Col. Fox and the Ft. Bragg Commanding General, to an invitation to represent the garrison at the Georgia Regional Conference.

“And now I’m here!”

Asked what she would say to others who might be bored at a Garrison, she didn’t hesitate.


“I would definitely say take charge of anything that moves you and get out there to help others get involved.”