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Most community members reported facing challenges in the past year

• The most prominent types of problems were related to military practices and culture, work-life balance, and well-being.

• Specific issues that stood out across these types were perceptions of poor leadership, challenges managing competing commitments, finding enough time for self-care, and problems with sleep and stress.

On average, on about two to three days in the previous month, poor mental or physical health kept community members from their usual activities, such as self-care, work, or recreation.

Substantial minorities did not need assistance with their top problems, but some who did and sought assistance had unmet needs

• The most commonly cited needs were for additional information; advice, coaching, or education; and emotional or social support.

• Overall, 58% of Air Force personnel who contacted someone for assistance with their top problem reported having unmet needs, despite reaching out.
• Airmen and civilian employees who reported working 50 or more hours per week and the spouses of airmen who bear a similar workload appear to be particularly vulnerable to having unmet needs.
• Personnel and spouses who reached out to military mental health care providers or military religious or spiritual resources were among those most likely to indicate that such resources helped greatly.

Many reported discomfort using or difficulty finding out about military resources

• For both airmen and spouses, the measure of discomfort using or difficulty finding out about military resources was associated with lower satisfaction with military life and treatment of families.

Airmen, their families, and Air Force civilian employees face a range of personal and work-related challenges. To assist Air Force leaders and service providers in identifying the needs of their communities and prioritizing efforts to address them, the Air Force sponsored the 2017 Air Force Community Feedback Tool—a self-reported needs assessment of Air Force community members. The holistic approach asked participants about such issues as military practices and culture, work-life balance, and health and well-being (all chosen as top problems in the past year). The survey also asked about help-seeking behaviors, experiences with military and nonmilitary resources, and attitudes toward military resources and military life in general. A minority of those who reached out to resources had unmet needs, and survey responses suggested avenues to address these and other challenges. More than 88,000 active, guard, and reserve airmen; spouses of airmen; and Air Force civilian employees responded to the survey between August and October 2017. This report synthesizes results across the Air Force and draws lessons from the findings.

• Chapter One

  Overview of Approach and Key Methodological Points

• Chapter Two

  Self-Rated Health and Resilience-Related Measures

• Chapter Three

  Self-Reported Problems and Needs in the Past Year

• Chapter Four

  Help-Seeking Behaviors Among Respondents with Needs

• Chapter Five

  Community Feedback on Military Resources

• Chapter Six

  Attitudes Toward the Military

• Chapter Seven

  Correlations Between Key Indicators of Interest

• Chapter Eight

  Key Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendations

• Appendix A

  Communities for Which Reports Were Prepared

• Appendix B

  Additional Methodological Details and Recommendations

• Appendix C

  Respondent and Location Characteristics

• Appendix D

  Specific Issues Experienced Within the Most Commonly Selected Top Problems

• Appendix E

  Integrated Health Summary