In collaboration with Joint Base Langley — Eustis (LAFB), the City of Hampton and Langley Civic Leaders Association, the “Adopt an Airman” program officially launched in November 2015. The Adopt an Airman program is designed to provide airmen with an avenue to form new friendships in the local community and gather support beyond the formal work environment. Rigorous military standards can tax even the most robust of spirits, producing feelings of great stress to make the grade in some airmen, and in others, moments of loneliness, homesickness and doubt.
Adopt an Airman is an ongoing program that attempts to match host families with airmen who share the same basic interests and characteristics, such as sports, hobbies, religion, and other activities with which they identify. Airmen can request host families by name, and families may do the same for airmen. When two airmen request the same family, both requests might be honored, dependent upon the desires of that family. When two families request the same airman, the program intends to honor the wishes of the airman.
For the Host Family
As a host family, you provide a home-away-from-home during an airman's first years at Joint Base Langley-Eustis. You serve as the airman's mentor, friend, and adviser, providing a caring environment to relax, away from the pressures of work and future deployments. You are also in the position to serve as a positive adult role model in helping airmen understand their role as career Air Force airmen and reinforcing positive social values.
The relationship established through the program can, and typically will, last for the full duration of time the airman resides in the Langley Air Force Base dormitories, unless one of the parties chooses to terminate the relationship early and notifies the community liaison. If all parties desire, they can also continue the relationship they have formed for a lifetime.
The Adopt an Airman program is designed to provide you with an avenue to form friendships and gather support beyond the formal work environment. Host families can provide you with a home-away-from-home and can serve as a valuable support network. All host families are volunteers. They extend their home to you so you can spend time away from the dorm environment. Many host families become lifetime friends. Airmen should work with their supervisors on the base to get an application. All host families are not alike, so your experience will probably differ from the experiences of others.
Host families are encouraged to treat you as a family member, not simply as a guest. As a sponsored airman, you have certain responsibilities in their home. Below, is a list of suggested considerations on your part, in our handbook for Airmen. Your host family may set up different, or additional, rules for their home.