Rolling Out Critical Contact Info: Air Force Unlocks Emergency Reach for Support Liaisons

In mid-September, during the 2026 Air, Space, and Cyber Conference (“AFA Conference"), a United Forces & Families panel closed out the event with an important discussion on how vital spouse leadership and support liaison outreach can be for welcoming spouses and families, keeping communication during deployments and operations ongoing, and highlighting the need to have accurate contact information available to command-appointed key support liaisons. The panel also commented on concerns that when there is insufficient or outdated information during an emergency, the command response could be delayed, leaving the spouse and families in the dark. In order to close the gap, the panel discussed that the Air Force was making efforts to provide exact but limited contact data from the Air Force Personnel Accountability and Assessment System (AFPAAS) to unit Key Support Liaisons (KSLs).

During the October 19th, 2026 Military Spouse Commission’s (MSC) October 19th Meeting (“October Meeting”), team member Spencer O’Reilly commented on deployment-related support, one of the commission’s top five focus areas. O’Reilly announced a best practice from the Air Force and the Space Force as it relates to the Commander’s Key Support Program (CKSP), stating they are

“...excited about this program” as it “uses things that each military branch already has, and this is the PAAS system… to connect key support liaisons or volunteers very similar to the Ombudsman in the Coast Guard and the Navy, who work with command to notify spouses and military families of things like deployment updates, emergency notifications, or PCS changes.”

He emphasized, “These volunteers are granted direct but limited system access to these contact rosters from command in order to reach spouses, reach military families in case of emergency.”

On a slide shown in the background during the meeting, it highlighted the best practices of the Air Force, emphasizing information that included the CKSP using “trained commander-appointed volunteers called Key Support Liaisons (KSLs),” and how they “connect service members' families with resources to support them across deployments, PCS moves, emergencies, childcare, education, healthcare, housing, employment, etc.”

Spouse of the Chief of Space Operations, Deborah Schiess, further explained during the meeting “that this is brand new... just being rolled out, and we have really exciting hopes for it.” For their “KSLs that are listening,” Schiess went on to say, “…it’s coming.”

Family Readiness Across the Forces

Furthermore, O’Reilly mentioned during the October Meeting that they think these best practices

“...could be utilized across all of the branches using their …volunteer equivalents and also their Personnel Accountability and Assessment Systems.”

Yet, how effective are the PAASs? During the AFA Conference, Mrs. Deborah Schiess, Spouse of the Chief of Space Operations, added,

“The AFPAAS system is only going to be as good as you keep it updated…[i]n case of emergency, we have had numerous times where family members needed to be contacted, and it was outdated information.”

Regarding the success the Army has shown using the Army Disaster Personnel Accountability and Assessment System (ADPAAS), according to a response from Heather J. Hagan, U.S. Army Spokeswoman, “ [t]he Army synchronizes local recall rosters with ADPAAS through four key modernization controls":

• ALERT System Integration: Triggers simultaneous emergency alerts across both databases, prompting immediate discrepancy updates.
• Mandatory In-Processing: Requires verified ADPAAS profiles before new arrivals can physically join a unit.
• Quarterly Command Officer Representatives (CORs) Audits: Empowers unit representatives to cross-reference and correct database gaps proactively.
• Accountability Exercises: Uses unannounced readiness drills to test, grade, and correct unit-code errors under simulated conditions.

Hagan further explained, “[S]ince its 2008 debut during Hurricane Ike, ADPAAS has evolved from a basic database into a critical lifeline connecting soldiers, families, and commanders during crises. By actively integrating user feedback with secure cloud technology and proactive tracking, the Army continuously refines the system to protect our people. This ensures that when disaster strikes, we can deliver rapid support, immediate relief, and total peace of mind to our military community.”

As it relates to granting support liaisons with limited access to contact information from PAASs, during the October Meeting, Angela Perryman, spouse of the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, commented,

“[F]or the Navy, this is something that we’ve been asking for, for a long time with our Ombudsman program...to have access to those rosters, not for social purposes, but for…emergency purposes, deployment purposes ...”.

The PAAS for the Navy is called the Navy Family Accountability and Assessment System (NFAAS), which Perryman added she is

“...pleased to hear about potentially rolling this out on a larger scale so that our Ombudsman can have access to this information, which is so vital, for we saw it in Bahrain the evacuations, when there’s emergencies that we need to reach out to families …having that information is absolutely paramount in having it quickly.”

Additionally, during the meeting, it was noted that the Coast Guard has now made the Ombudsman an official member of the unit command staff. As the Coast Guard begins to educate, train, and get the message out to all of their units, families have this dedicated liaison for more support.

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The Road to Readiness

What has stopped this information from reaching the support liaisons in the past? Some possible explanations were displayed on a Deployment-Related Support slide at the October Meeting that pointed out

“[M]ost service branches cite concerns with asking for Personal Information (PI) as one obstacle to obtaining detailed contact information; the other reason is that the information is not mandatory.”

Team member Spencer O'Reilly stated, along with the connected issue of personal information,

“Service members may list outdated contact information, …not list their current spouse, or spouses opt-out of or do not arrive at programs for…deployment-related support because they are optional.”

Hon. Desiree Sayle clarified at the end of the deployment-related support portion of the October meeting that the support liaisons who are “brought into the command and they’re already trusted…they’re provided limited access. They don’t have to have full access…,” referring to PI.

O’Reilly expanded further, saying,

“There’s an opt-in process. So, you’re opting out of regular communications, …but you are still able to be reached in case of an absolute emergency.”

Chairwoman Jennifer Hegseth, Spouse of the Secretary of Defense, reiterated that they are discussing this issue because

“One of the key issues identified at the beginning was people feeling like they didn’t have the deployment-related support, but knowing it’s available. So trying to make that connection, and that’s what we’re solving for here.”

The Roles of Readiness

For command leaders, keeping spouses informed also keeps families ready. Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Ken Wilsbach stated at the 2026 Air, Space, and Cyber Conference,

“[T]hat’s on the leadership to make sure that you have those conversations often so that the families are updated. So just the pre-deployment brief before they leave, that can’t be a one-and-done.”

Another integral role comes from the service member. In order for spouses to receive important communication from the command, their most current contact information needs to be available to them. This requires the active duty member to regularly update their account in the Personnel Accountability and Assessment System (PAAS).

"[M]embers out there, don’t take away that ability for a spouse to be connected with our KSLs and others,” Gen. Doug Schiess, Chief of Space Operations, stated during the AFA Conference.

While the Defense Department, along with other federal, state, and community-based agencies and organizations, manages the network of programs and services provided by the Military Family Readiness System, every military branch and command unit has its own distinct method of keeping connected with dependents from initial contact with new spouses and families to supporting them throughout deployment.

Back on the home front, spouse leadership outreach and support programs are vital in maintaining camaraderie, supporting spouses and families, as well as keeping open lines of communication. In an article written by Kathryn Butler in Deployment Guide: 2026 Special Issue by U.S. Military Publishing, she writes,

“Family readiness programs - including the Army Soldier and Family Readiness Groups (SFRGs), the Navy Ombudsman Program, the Marine Corps Family Readiness Program, and the U.S. Air Force Commander’s Key Support Program (CKSP) - serve as a bridge between commands and families…ensuring military families have access to accurate information, trusted resources, and a sense of community.”

If spouses do not know about these support programs, they can start by asking their spouse or sponsor and also by contacting their community support teams, like the Navy’s Fleet and Family Support Program (FFSP), the Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS), the Army Community Service (ACS), the Air Force’s Military & Family Readiness Center (M&FRC) office, the Coast Guard’s Health, Safety, and Work-Life (HSWL), and Military OneSource, which also provides a dedicated state lookup tool for National Guardsmen and families.

Best practices like the Air Force’s CKSP are ways to make sure families are connected and ready. Lt. Gen. Burt Field, USAF (ret.), commented on this topic at the AFA Conference, saying,

“[S]trong families contribute to strong forces, and strong forces are what make our national security.”