OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. -- The Retiree Activities Office at Offutt recently reopened after being closed from March 2020 to June 2021 due to COVID-19 precautions.
The Offutt RAO provides limited counseling, guidance and full referral assistance to military retirees of all ranks and services, as well as family members and surviving spouses of retired service members. The Offutt RAO supports retirees throughout the region, including those from Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin, but will also assist retirees or family members from other states.
“We are always happy to help people face-to-face,” said Debbi Buike, RAO director. “It’s a joy to have them and to visit with them about their military service. Most are very eager to have someone listen to them and to honestly care to hear how they served their country. We, in turn, love to thank them for their service.”
RAOs are staffed by retired volunteers from all services, including surviving spouses, whose sole mission is to assist retirees and their spouses by serving as an information center for base services and offering guidance and advice on retirement issues.
“I work three days a week currently,” Buike said. “This is why I so desperately am wanting to get individuals who feel as I do about retirees, and can help me turn this office into the best it can be. Now that we’re back in operation, we are at two manning where we used to be five, and I’d like us to do more and move into more activities, but awareness and more volunteers are needed.”
The office has plans to produce a podcast and YouTube videos and will also offer a computer kiosk in the future. The RAO is located bldg. 49, room 115. The office is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
RAOs were established in 1969 and are guided by Air Force Instruction 36-3106. For more information, call (402) 294-2590 or (402) 294-4566.