Mobile app connects Airmen to their base

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Ryan Crane
  • 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  Want to connect with friends and family? There's an app for that. Need to find the best restaurant around? There's an app for that. Want to see what movies are playing nearby? There's an app for that.

Discovering what events your base is hosting on a particular day? Now there is an app for that, too.

It's called "My Military Communities," or MyMC2, and is the first mobile application in the Air Force that will put a list of every event at your base in the palm of your hand. The app is a free download and is now available through both the Android Market and Apple's App Store.

Developed by the 375th Communication Support Squadron web application development team at Scott AFB, the app pulls event listings from organizational Facebook pages that are officially associated with a base and consolidates them into one place.

"It's a one stop shop for Airmen to be involved in the Scott Community," said Master Sgt. Delbert Freeborn, 375th CSPTS project manager. So far Scott AFB, along with McConnell AFB, Kan., and Travis AFB, Calif., have begun using the program. The Public Affairs offices at other locations will be responsible for ensuring their base gets included into the app, and several bases are in the process of doing just that.

Freeborn explained how the app opens up to a main page that lists the next five events available at each base. Users then have the option to narrow or expand their search by organizational or event type categories.

For example, if an Airman was interested in finding something to do this weekend with his family, he could choose the "Recreation" category. That would then pull all of the upcoming events that fit description. He may see that outdoor recreation is hosting a family day hike on Saturday. He could then click on that event, which would give him a more detailed description, including time, location and a contact number. He could click a button and have the event automatically added to the calendar on his mobile phone, and he could call the organization or open the organization's Facebook or web site right from the event posting. He could also touch a map icon which will open up his native GPS app program for directions to the event.

"This app will be especially useful for newcomers to the area," said Freeborn. "It was developed for Air Force and Department of Defense wide use, so if you move to a new base or travel somewhere for work, you could open this app and view the list of events for that base. It's ready for everybody."

In addition to events listings in the app, there are two quick-call buttons on the home page that can be programmed to whatever the installation commander feels are the most important numbers for the Airmen to have. At McConnell, the two numbers are for the Airmen Against Drunk Driving and Sexual Assualt Prevention and Response hotline so people have ready access to helping agencies.

While the base's public website, www.mcconnell.af.mil does have a calendar and static listings of agencies and programs available to the Team McConnell community, this new app brings that information to each Airman and McConnell community member 24/7 in their pocket.

To download the app you may open your smartphones app store and search "My Military Communites" Or "MyMC2"

Editor's Note: Airman 1st Class Laura L. Valentine, 22nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs journalist, contributed to this article.