ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- 97th Air Mobility Wing Airmen, along with the rest of the nation, will be required to participate in the 2020 Census, April 1, 2020. Military members and their families stationed or TDY to Altus Air Force Base, Okla., are responsible for participating in this count. Altus AFB is expected to have every member counted no later than May 15.
The U.S. Census Bureau, a nonpartisan government agency, is required by the Constitution to count the population in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the five U.S. territories every 10 years. Information collected from the census shapes billion-dollar decisions regarding federally funded services such as hospitals, fire departments, schools, and construction projects, to name a few.
Military members and their families living on or off base, including in crash pads, will receive a Vessel Questionnaire Form in the mail between March 12 and April 1. Responses to the questionnaire should be completed and returned as soon as it is received - online, by phone or through mail. Residents are reminded to count everyone living in the household, not just themselves. This includes young children, infants, relatives and anyone else living in the household.
On April 6, an official Census Bureau representative will be present at Altus AFB to conduct a count of official military members and students living in the dormitories and temporary lodging on base. This representative will be meeting with dorm and lodging management to get an accurate count of who is living in those buildings. Unlike members living in housing, members living in the dorms or lodging will not receive a questionnaire by mail and will not need to complete the form.
Any military members that are TDY here for less than three months should contact Cherrell Williams, the Altus AFB 2020 Census point of contact, for instruction on their counting process.
Military personnel who are deployed overseas are also required to participate in the census. When filling out the invitation, Airmen should use their home station address in the U.S., not their deployed address.
For more information please visit the 2020 Census website at www.2020census.gov, and direct questions or concerns to Williams at cherrell.williams@us.af.mil or (580) 481-6761.