Appointed by the commanding officer, ombudsmen are volunteers and spouses of service members within the command. As an official command representative, the ombudsman is a point of contact for all family members connected to the command - including spouses, parents, and extended family members. The ombudsman Code of Ethics guarantees professionalism and confidentiality, within program guidelines.

The Navy ombudsman for Naval Support Activity South Potomac is Karen Storms. Storms is employed by the Food and Drug Administration and has worked for the governmental agency for 23 years, but is no stranger to helping Navy families cope. She is the wife of Master-at-Arms Chief Sean Storms of NSASP’s police force and recalls how she worked with wives clubs and other command activities while her husband was away on deployments in their 20-year marriage.

‘‘When we (Navy spouses) rallied together the time apart was really not that bad,” she said. ‘‘Help was always available for me when we moved to a new place such as California and Washington and he went on deployment.”

She said that she also views her ombudsman role ‘‘as a source of information for Navy families in helping them to understand the places and people to go to for help when they need it.” She added that it was difficult for new Navy families to be transferred to new places while not knowing anyone for support.

Storms said that the Navy ombudsman program ‘‘is the first place for help for families, especially those new to the Navy...it is a very important role for families with deployed members and I’m honored that Capt. (Catie) Hanft asked me to be NSASP’s ombudsman.”