Sponsorship

To help prepare sponsors for success, the Sponsorship Program provides training and access to important information and resources that can help newcomers master their move. The Sponsorship Program helps sponsors fulfill their responsibilities, which may include:

• Contacting the service member and family with an introductory email
• Staying in contact with the service member throughout the moving process
• Sending information about the new community and duty assignment, responding to questions and providing information about resources
• Confirming transportation and lodging arrangements
• Helping with post office arrangements
• Meeting service members and family members upon arrival
• Going with service members to unit check-in point
• Introducing service members to the Military and Family Support Center and loan closet, if it’s available
• Familiarizing service members and families with the installation and key locations, like the commissary

Note: Responsibilities may vary based on service-specific policies and guidance. Make sure to check with your service branch for sponsor training requirements.

Overall, the Sponsorship Program aims to:

• Provide newcomers with a sense of belonging
• Ease the transition for inbound service members or civilians and their family members
• Increase productivity of service members and loved ones
• Help newcomers make informed decisions
• Cultivate new friendships
• Improve morale

For more information on the Sponsorship Program, contact your installation Military and Family Support Center.

Sponsorship is also available for youth. Installation youth sponsorship programs help military-connected youth make a successful transition to a new community. Primarily directed to preteen and teenaged youth, installation youth programs/centers provide information and materials on programs and services available at their new location. Where available, youth can exchange emails, talk on the phone or chat online with other youth. The youth program staff at your new installation can offer more information on installation youth sponsorship programs.

You can also contact your installation School Liaison Program office for information about school-based youth sponsorship programs such as Anchored4Life and Student2Student. These peer-to-peer programs help your student adjust to and navigate their new school.

If your child would like to become a youth sponsor, contact your installation School Liaison Program or youth program/center.

Congratulations on your assignment to Naval Support Activity Northwest Annex, Chesapeake, Virginia. We would like to welcome you aboard. Contact your gaining command to request a sponsor to assist you with your transition. Once your sponsor is assigned, be sure to ask about your command's specific check-in policy. This is especially important if you will be checking in while your new command is deployed.

Don't forget to ask your sponsor about forwarding your mail while in route or simply ask your local Post Office for other options, in regards to holding and forwarding your mail. It is wise to keep in close contact with your command sponsor. Your sponsor will be the primary point of contact at your new command, providing you with important information about your new command and the surrounding communities. If you are unsure of where to go, you can stop by the Military Information Booth at the Norfolk International Airport or the United Service Organizations of Hampton Roads at the Norfolk or Newport News/Williamsburg International Airports. You may also contact the Northwest Command Duty Officer at 757-567-2850. Be sure to have your service record and orders when you check-in. If your sponsor does not meet you personally upon arrival to the area, military personnel should report to commands as follows:

• United States Coast Guard Communications Command personnel please call 757-421-6240.
• USCG Maritime Security Response Team personnel please call Command Duty Officer/Officer of the Deck 757-510-5123.
• Navy Brig personnel please call the Control Center, 24/7 at 757-421-8674 or CDO/OOD 757-421-8798 after hours.
• Marine Corps Security Force Training Company personnel please call 757-421-8554 during working hours or 757-421-8100 after hours to report.
• Training Support Center Hampton Roads Northwest students call CDO at 757-359-0616 during working hours. Dam Neck personnel call CDO 757-359-0616.