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Canceled Spring Sidewalk Sale Among Many Adjustments Commissaries are Making Due to Coronavirus Concerns

04/09/2020 By Military Life Administrator

The Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) recently announced the cancellation of the annual Spring Sidewalk Sales as well as other special events in the wake of COVID-19 (also known as the Coronavirus) concerns. “The cancellation of these events is due to the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak and out of an abundance of caution for the safety of our employees, customers and industry partners,” said Tracie Russ, DeCA’s director of sales.

DeCa has also implemented a rationing system. In-Store signage will indicate if an item is rationed and what the allowable quantity is. You also won’t be able to place a special order on these items. So no gaming the system and special ordering toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Commissary Store Directors decide locally which items are limited based on availability. Likely items include bottled water, spray disinfectant, baby wipes/sanitizing wipes, hand sanitizer, toilet paper, rice and bleach.

Central distribution centers, the central meat processing plant and DeCA stores are all designated mission-critical in DOD’s response to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic according to Virginia S. Penrod, acting assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. “”Providing for the care and feeding of our military members and families is a critical requirement that must be accomplished at all health protection condition levels,” she announced.

Grocery stores tend to have a high level of sanitation due to food safety concerns and with the outbreak your Commissaries are working hard to keep you safe. Commissary customers worried about whether or not it’s safe to shop in the store shouldn’t be, said Army Lt. Col. Angela Parham, DeCA director of health and safety. “We follow the highest standards of DOD health protection in our stores,” she said. “This means we are always vigilant to ensure our workforce follows the strictest precautionary measures including routine hand washing and other basic sanitation measures to avoid spreading germs.”

“Our commissaries undergo daily sanitizing, disinfecting and cleaning regimens tailored to protect our customers’ health,” Parham added. “These routine measures used by food establishments to prevent ordinary foodborne illness also work to keep viruses from spreading and help keep customers and employees from getting sick.”

Here are other changes DeCA has made to ensure the health and safety of employees and patrons.

commissary cashiers will no longer handle patron ID cards. Instead, customers will be asked to scan their own ID; cashiers may use the handheld scanner if available.
100% I.D. card checks at the entrance of the store. Children under 10 with their parents don’t have to have an ID Card.
Guests/Visitors will no longer be allowed to accompany patrons at the commissary.
designated ‘COVID-19 Vulnerable’ hours – check your local commissary for hours
No ‘Early Bird’ shopping hours.
As an additional precaution during the COVID-19 pandemic, the commissary will discontinue the use of reusable shopping bags.

When shopping the commissary in the next few weeks, make sure to allow extra time for I.D. checks and slower moving lines with social distancing. Don’t stress the system by shopping only for what you typically need and be conscious of your fellow patrons by not clearing the shelves of a select item.

Marguerite Cleveland is a freelance writer who specializes in human interest and travel stories. She is a military brat, a veteran and now a military spouse. Her military experience is vast as the daughter of a Navy man who served as an enlisted sailor and then Naval Officer. She served as an enlisted soldier in the reserves and on active duty, then as an Army Officer. She currently serves as a military spouse. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two sons. Visit her website www.PeggyWhereShouldIGo.com

Walter Reed Army Institute of Research at the Forefront in the War Against COVID-19: Vaccine in the Works

04/06/2020 By Military Life Administrator

The Army has a long history of fighting infectious disease. Prior to World War I most battlefield deaths were caused by disease. Researchers at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) are significantly contributing to the ongoing COVID-19 response. WRAIR has a robust infrastructure and decades of experience that allows researchers to rapidly respond to outbreaks and develop tests, vaccines and treatments on an accelerated timeline. With clinical research sites and laboratories all over the world, the military and civilian scientists can identify and prepare for emerging infectious disease threats.

“WRAIR was established 127 years ago to combat these type of health threats,” said WRAIR Commander Col. Deydre Teyhen. “We have every confidence in our civilian and Soldier scientists to work at the speed of relevance to develop new products to protect and treat our Service Members, beneficiaries and the global community.” WRAIR has a long legacy of response to emerging infectious diseases. It was the first to test humans for the current Ebola vaccine, Ervebo, and develop a Zika vaccine from conception to human testing in less than 9 months. These are just a few of their many accomplishments in the field.

Dr. Kavon Modjarrad is the director of WRAIR’s Emerging Infectious Diseases Branch (EIDB) and is leading the COVID-19 efforts to develop a vaccine. “We have been working on this since the beginning of the outbreak. If we hadn’t done that, we’d be weeks behind,” he said. Modjarrad’s experience with other coronavirus strains will be invaluable to these efforts. He was a researcher on the first human trial of a Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) vaccine candidate and recently published the results. It is a coronavirus strain with a fatality rate of nearly 40%.

The EIDB research team has been working on a vaccine for almost three months now with promising early results. “Personnel at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), in partnership with other laboratories in the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC), are working quickly to develop a safe and effective vaccine to prevent COVID-19 infection. In the first days after COVID-19 was first identified as a new threat, we began designing our vaccine approach. On January 9^th, when the first genetic sequences of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the illness known as COVID-19, were published, we started work on our vaccine,” said Modjarrad.

“Currently, my core team of approximately 20 scientists is designing, developing and testing several different versions of our vaccine in mice to identify the most promising candidate. From there, we plan to take that vaccine forward for testing in larger animals and humans. We are currently on track to begin recruiting for a first-in-human trial in July and start the first vaccinations in September,” he said.

The team is also working closely with academic, government and industry efforts to develop other vaccines in an effect to get a vaccine to the public as soon as possible. “WRAIR is a singular national asset for developing vaccines, whether our own homegrown candidate or another on which we partner. We want to get a horse across the finish line as fast as possible, whether it’s ours or someone else’s, to protect our military families and civilians as soon as possible. At this early stage, having several vaccines in the pipeline improves the chances and pace of getting a successful vaccine for the public,” Modjarrad shared.

The team is facing many challenges particularly that currently, there are no FDA-approved vaccines against any coronavirus. They also have some advantages. “We have experience studying other coronaviruses and we have developed some vaccines against some of those other coronaviruses. I have been fortunate to be the principal investigator of the first-in-human vaccine for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus at WRAIR. The approaches we took for that vaccine and other approaches that are being used for COVID-19 have been tested for other viruses as well. This gives us a little bit of a head start in making a vaccine for COVID-19,” he said.

Like many first responders and health care professionals, they are facing the challenge of this work amid a pandemic. They face the same daily challenges of taking care of children and parents while working to prevent the spread of the virus.

In addition to working on a vaccine the scientists at WRAIR, as part of the Army response, are working with government and industry partners on a range of efforts to prevent and treat the illness. Modjarrad said, “In addition to the vaccine, there are other prevention strategies, to include specific antibodies that can be used as treatments. We are also working with partners to understand how best to select plasma, a fraction of blood, from survivors that can be transferred into sick COVID-19 patients as another treatment option. Our Experimental Therapeutics Branch is also partnering with industry and using artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to screen libraries of more than six million compounds for their activity against COVID-19 to design new drugs from scratch. They are working on existing drugs that can be used for COVID-19.”

With talented researchers such as Dr. Modjarrad and his team, there is a lot to be hopeful for regarding future treatments and the prevention of COVID-19 and other coronaviruses.

Weekly Registrant Giveaway!

03/26/2020 By Military Life Administrator

Check out our list of winners for 2020!

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Margaret	Keel
George	Cornwell
BILL	HUCKABEE
Debbie	Auchey
Melissa	Lewis
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Teresa	Campbell

ENTER TO WIN A $100 COMMISSARY OR EXCHANGE GIFT CARD! NEW WINNER CHOSEN EACH WEEK!

Commissaries adjust shopping limits, implement ‘No ID touching,’ begin 100% ID checks and prepare for suspension of early bird hours

03/18/2020 By Military Life Administrator

NEWS RELEASE

Defense Commissary Agency

Corporate Communications

1300 E Avenue, Fort Lee, VA 23801-1800

Tel: (804) 734-8000, Ext. 8-6105 DSN: 687-8000, Ext. 8-6105

FAX: (804) 734-8248 DSN: 687-8248

www.commissaries.com

Release Number: 27-20

Date: March 18, 2020

Media Contact: Kevin L. Robinson, public affairs specialist

Tel.: (804) 734-8000, Ext. 4-8773

E-mail: kevin.robinson@deca.mil

Commissaries adjust shopping limits, implement

‘No ID touching,’ begin 100% ID checks

and prepare for suspension of early bird hours

By Kevin L. Robinson,

DeCA public affairs specialist

Note: Go to the DeCA website to read this online.

FORT LEE, Va. – The Defense Commissary Agency announced several operational policies to help stores better serve customers during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak.

These policies include the following actions:

Effective immediately, a 100-percent ID card check at all commissaries, so that only authorized customers – this includes disabled veterans with VHIC cards – will be able to shop. While this policy is in effect visitors will not be allowed to enter the commissary. This is designed help with social distancing and crowd control. Children under 10 with their parents don’t have to have an ID card.
Effective March 15, to prevent customer-to-customer spread of germs, commissary cashiers no longer handle patron ID cards. Instead, customers will be asked to scan their own ID. Cashiers can use the handheld scanner if available or have the customer scan their own card.
Effective March 19, all commissaries will suspend early bird shopping to allow more time to clean and restock the store.
In a move to lessen panic-buying, the agency instructed its store directors worldwide to use their discretion in placing the shopping limits necessary to help maintain stock availability.

Rear Adm. (Ret.) Robert J. Bianchi, DOD special assistant for commissary operations, announced the shopping limits policy March 14 in response to a growing number of customers engaged in unauthorized purchases for the purposes of resale or hoarding.

The shopping directive, effective immediately, gives store directors more authority to quickly tailor shopping limits, as required, to keep more products available for more customers, Bianchi said.

“These decisions should not contravene or override any restrictions or guidance provided by installation commanders,” Bianchi said. “However, in the absence of installation commander direction, our store directors are now authorized to make local decisions as they deem necessary to control stock shortages through instances such as panic buying and unauthorized purchases for resale.”

From the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, commissaries overseas – starting with stores in Italy, South Korea and Japan – instituted shopping limits on items such as hand sanitizers, disinfectants and toilet paper.

As coronavirus fears ignited a surge of customer activity worldwide, it became necessary for commissary officials to counter panic buying to take care of all customers, Bianchi said.

“Now our store directors have the flexibility to institute shopping limitations if no directives exist,” he said. “They still must inform base leadership when they are implementing these restrictions, but they can use my authority to move forward.”

From a product availability standpoint, commissaries continue to work with their industry suppliers to support the needs of senior leaders on the ground at each location. This support manifests itself through increased deliveries to the commissaries that need it most. For overseas stores this means emergency airlifts of high-demand items to counter delays of shipboard supply containers.

“We know this is a potentially stressful time for all concerned,” Bianchi said. “But together we will meet these challenges and support our service members and their families throughout the duration of this crisis wherever necessary.

“We always recommend to our customers that they calmly purchase what they need and avoid any panic buying to ensure products are available for others in their communities.”

Preventing virus spread at stores

The “No ID handling” policy is just one of many actions stores are implementing to help prevent COVID-19 exposure, said James “Jay” Hudson, principal deputy director of DeCA’s Store Operations Group.

“We consider the health and welfare of our customers and our employees our No. 1 concern,” Hudson said. “Our stores are following the highest standards of the Department of Defense’s health protection. This means we’re using disinfectant cleaners to wipe down our checkout areas, restrooms and shopping carts frequently. We’re also ensuring our associates practice routine hand washing and other basic sanitation measures to avoid spreading germs.”

Hudson also said DeCA encourages its employees to closely monitor their health, and asks them to stay home if they, or someone in their household, are sick.

Commissary customers should continue to refer to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Coronavirus site for updates and guidance regarding this virus. Updates related to the commissaries can be found on DeCA’s Coronavirus page.

-DeCA-

It’s Time to Get Your Applications in for the 2020 Operation Purple Camp

03/18/2020 By Military Life Administrator

Operation Purple Camp offers military children a free week of summer camp and gives them a chance to connect with other kids who have shared experiences. The camp is a program offered by the National Military Family Association each summer. Children from all uniformed services, including National Guard, Reserve, Space Force, and the Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and United States Public Health Service may apply.

The deadline for Summer 2020 Camps is April 12, 2020. First preference is given to military children who have a parent that was wounded, ill or injured during service or have been deployed 18 months prior to or after May 2020.

Military Spouse Pam McFarland is a fan. “Alex loved the camp that year. It was well run, and he had a great time. It was a great opportunity for him to spend some time with other kids who also had currently deployed parents,” she said.

Operation Purple Camps are held throughout the country and you can visit the Interactive Map to click on a state you might like to send your child to. A listing will pop up giving you all the specifics for that camp such as location and the age group range for the program. Many of the camps are held at YMCAs, 4H, or church camp facilities. Once you have completed your application and you are notified your child was selected to attend an Operation Purple camp session in 2020 they will be required to submit an online “Hold My Spot” Deposit of $25 per child.

Your child can expect to enjoy a great summer camp experience. Each week includes arts and crafts and outdoor activities, like ropes courses, canoeing, swimming, archery, and climbing walls. The counselors and camp staff are trained to help children adapt and overcome the stressors of military life. They will meet other military kids who understand what it is like to have a parent in the military. Campers are encouraged to share their experiences and their sacrifices are honored.

Why Purple? Purple is the color of the military child and it also is what you get when you mix of Army green, Coast Guard blue, Air Force blue, Marine Corps red, and Navy blue. Operation Purple Camp has served more than 64,000 military kids since its inception in 2004, and the memories made last a lifetime.

Currently with Covid-19 or Corona Virus in the new, here are the safety steps Operation Purple Programs are taking:

First and foremost, we want you to be safe.
We are carefully monitoring the situation and listening closely to advice and directives coming from the CDC and the federal government.
Here are some extra precautions being taken to ensure families stay healthy:
Camps are increasing how often surfaces are cleaned.
We are working on getting extra hand sanitizer, but please bring your own if you have it; Hand sanitizer is getting harder to come by.
As for travel, please for the safety of all campers, stay home if you or anyone in your family is sick. We will refund Hold My Spot payments if you are unable to attend due to illness.

What the Department of Defense is Doing to Improve the Quality of Military Housing

03/16/2020 By Military Life Administrator

Privatization of military housing was supposed to provide new and updated housing inventory to the aged housing on many military installations. In the past year, the news has been filled with stories of mold and substandard construction while work orders fell behind. About 30% of military services members and their families live in privatized housing.

Recently, Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper and the service secretaries joined to sign a Tenant Bill of Rights. This document sets form 15 of the 18 rights that were mandated by law. The 2020 National Defense Authorization Act includes housing provisions for on base housing. These include a dispute-resolution process, move in/move out procedures, development of a common lease agreement, and the public availability of home-maintenance histories.

The secretaries from the military branches and senior executive from private housing companies are currently meeting quarterly to discuss ways to improve housing. According to a recent press release from the Department of Defense (DOD), providing quality housing to families is the Defense Department’s highest priority. The DOD Official recognized in the past, the department “took its eye off the ball” overseeing privatized housing on installations but said the housing today is in much better condition than it was, but more work remains. The release listed some of the recent improvements:

The official said some improvements include:
Publication and implementation of a Tenant Bill of Rights
Improved communications and transparency with service members, lawmakers and the public
Additional personnel to oversee the success of housing improvements
Improved housing inspection
Focusing the attention of leadership and landlords on helping residents achieve their rights.

In June 2019 a survey was sent to nearly 200,000 residents of privatized housing to provide input on the draft resident bill of rights by CEL & Associates, a third-party consulting firm that administered the feedback collection, tabulation and analysis on DOD’s behalf. The finalized Tenant Bill of Rights goes into effect May 1, 2020. Some highlights are:

Meeting health and environmental standards and having working appliances and utilities
Having easy-to-understand leases that outline any additional fees, identify the military tenant advocate, and spell out the dispute resolution process
Providing prompt and professional maintenance and repair
Providing common documents, forms and processes for housing units that will be the same for all installations.

Here is a link for The Complete Tenant Bill of Rights

It is encouraging to know that with all the issues in housing that the DOD and Congress are scrutinizing the private housing companies and providing more oversight. Service members deserve to have a safe, healthy home for their families to live in as well as timely maintenance when issues do occur. How have your experiences been with on base housing?

The Commissary Surcharge, What is it? Could it Be Going Away?

03/11/2020 By Military Life Administrator

An oft misunderstood aspect of shopping at your local commissary is the 5 percent surcharge added to your total when you check out. Many question this fee and think it adds to their cost making the commissary not as good a deal. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) calculations include applicable taxes in commercial grocery store prices and surcharge in commissary prices. Average savings over off base grocery store vary on your location but in 2019 range from 20% or more in stateside commissaries to 35.1% in Alaska and Hawaii and 42.2% overseas. The average savings from all commissaries is 25.6%. So even with the surcharge you can save quite a bit shopping at the commissary.

According to a recent article in the Military Times by Karen Jowers, the commissary surcharge could be going away per a Pentagon proposal. It is a complicated because the commissary surcharge is mandated by law and is used to for construction and maintenance of facilities. A few surcharge facts from DeCA:

The 5 percent surcharge added to every commissary customer’s receipt – goes directly back into the benefit, paying for the modernization and replacement of stores. It’s the funding source for maintenance and repairs, store equipment and store-level information technology systems, such as checkouts.
It is not a tax. Surcharge dollars go back into stores, paying for the construction and modernization. In fiscal 2018, the surcharge budget is nearly $271 million.
The surcharge has been set at 5 percent since 1983, and cannot be changed without congressional approval.
The surcharge’s history traces back to 1879 and features various applications and rates through the years leading up to 1983. Through the years, thanks to the surcharge, patrons have a direct role in sustaining and enhancing their commissary benefit.

According to Jowers, the Pentagon proposal to do away with the surcharge is part of draft legislation to change the law. It appears the purpose is to allow the money currently raised by the surcharge to be used for the commissaries operating fund and to do away with the surcharge fund. This would take money for basically reserved for a building fund and move it into day to day operations of the commissary saving money on the Pentagon budget for commissaries.

She interviewed Kelly Hruska, Director of Government Relations for the National Military Family Association who voiced concerns. “I have a lot of questions. I still don’t understand how the variable pricing will be adjusted to make up for loss of surcharge.” I’d like to understand where the proposal came from, and the purpose of the proposal. I don’t know how this would help the customer. You’ll be raising shelf prices that won’t benefit customers. Since customers compare prices — if the commissary price is higher, they’ll shop elsewhere.”

My concern is what happens if money is moved out of the surcharge fund. What will pay for the maintenance and improvement of our commissaries? Also, if there is no surcharge will prices go up at the commissary?

Currently there is no information on this new proposal on the DeCA website. When information on changes to our benefits leak it is a good thing because it allows us to advocate for our benefits with Congress. The legislature has ruled against Pentagon requests in the past so if a benefit is important to you make sure to write your Congressional representatives to let them know.

How COVID-19 is Impacting Military Families

03/10/2020 By Military Life Administrator

Hearing news of people exposed to COVID-19, a.k.a. novel Coronavirus, being quarantined at military bases in the United States brings back memories of soldiers returning from Africa who were quarantined at Joint Base Lewis-McChord a few years ago. I lived there at the time and remember feeling tinges of concern. Overall though, I was sure all the necessary precautions were taken and that those that lived on the base would be safe.

I recently visited my son at Lackland Air Force Base where some of the people exposed to COVID-19 are quarantined. He said they could see the people in Hazmat suits visiting and how eerie it was. Overall he wasn’t concerned. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, novel Coronavirus data so far suggests the illness is mild, although the elderly and people of all ages with severe underlying health conditions are at higher risk of developing serious COVID-19.

Another concern is with regard to our friends stationed in South Korea, particularly in Daegu where Coronavirus is widespread. Their posts on Facebook attempt to be positive, but you can read between the lines and see they are worried. All the schools are closed, and the children are doing all their assignments virtually. No one is quarantined on the base, but soldiers aren’t allowed to go to any businesses off the base and family members are asked to avoid leaving as well. Even all large gatherings such as church services are canceled. The local government off the base has banned large groups and asked that the populace remain home. I can imagine that it is challenging for families stationed there, especially not knowing whether they can travel or not.

In a recent Department of Defense (DoD) news briefing, Secretary of Defense Dr. Mark T. Esper said, “For the past six weeks, defense leaders have been meeting to plan for any possible scenario with the virus that first surfaced in China. “We’ve issued a variety of [memoranda] and directives advising the force on how to deal with Coronavirus.”

One thing that is important to know is that the military already has plans in place to combat a pandemic or infectious disease outbreak. Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff reiterated this at the press briefing and stated that the military is executing those plans. The DoD is monitoring what is going on in the field and reacting accordingly. For example, an exercise in South Korea has been postponed due to the large outbreak in that area while Exercise Cobra Gold in Thailand is continuing.

One thing a lot of people don’t realize is the military has research laboratories. The mission statement of the Military Infectious Diseases Research Program (MIDRP) is to protect the U.S. military against naturally occurring infectious diseases via the development of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved vaccines, drugs, and diagnostic assays and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved vector control protection systems (to prevent transmission of infections by insects, ticks, etc.). According to Milley the labs are working “feverishly” to try to come up with a vaccine.

Esper recently conducted a detailed meeting with DoD civilian and military leadership, including all the service secretaries, the COCOM commanders, to ensure the entire department is equipped for all scenarios: short and long-term, domestic and international. “Commanders of individually affected geographic commands have all the authority they need, and we’ll provide specific guidance to their troops as the situation continues to evolve. Meanwhile, NORTHCOM remains the global integrator for all DoD efforts and entities. My number one priority remains to protect our forces and their families; second, to safeguard our mission capabilities; and, third, to support the interagency whole-of-government approach. We will continue to take all necessary precautions to ensure that our people are safe and able to continue their very important mission,” said Esper.

We will see how the situation pans out in the next few weeks, but I feel the Department of Defense has a good handle on the situation especially for service members stationed overseas.

For more information and updates on COVID-19, please visit https://www.cdc.gov/ and https://www.defense.gov/.

Space A Travel Tips and Tricks

03/04/2020 By Military Life Administrator

Have you ever wanted to try Space-A Travel but were a little intimidated? It is a great option for free travel if you are flexible. The Air Mobility Command (AMC) flies planes around the world and when there is unused space it is available for Space-Available flights. Military Service Members and their families can travel around the country or the world for little or no cost. It is very unpredictable but if you have a flexible time frame and take the time to plan, Space-A can be a fun adventure. Most bases have lodging available for TDY and PCS moves. When those spaces aren’t reserved, they are also open for Space Available reservations.

So how do you find out about using all these great low-cost options. First visit the Air Mobility Command website and go to the AMC-Space-A travel section. This spells everything out in black and white. If you have difficulty reading military jargon check out Military Space Available Travel which has info on flights and lodging. Stephanie Montague, a retired military spouse, created Poppin’ Smoke a blog about travel using your military benefits to stay and fly. She also has a Space-A getting started guide which is very informative. Another option is to check out Military One Source which has a great section on Space-A Tips and Tricks.

Most AMC terminals run a Facebook page which has all the information on what flights are available. It is useful to visit and look at dates that have past. For example, flights don’t just leave from military bases some leave from airports. A quick look at flights to Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany showed 72 seats released and only 32 used with the lowest category a CAT VI which means even if you were the lowest category on that flight you would have made that flight. Whereas another flight showed 10 seats released, 10 used and they took CAT II so if you were a CAT VI you would not have made that flight. The Facebook pages typically post a 72-hour flight schedule and many post the monthly schedule as well.

The basics (make sure to visit Air Mobility Command to verify eligibility, paperwork, etc.) to take a flight are:

Sign-up – Up to 60 days from when you expect to take your trip and at each potential terminal. There is some gamesmanship involved. Many like to show up about 50-55 days out so they have been the longest on the list for their category and it also allows a few days after your arrival at the terminal in case you don’t get on a flight the first day before your 60 days is up and you have to sign up again.
Double Check – A few days prior to travel call the terminal and verify your standing on the list.
Check In – On the day of your planned trip arrive at the terminal with all the required documents and your baggage at least one hour prior to roll call when they call the names for that flight. Make sure to double check the times for roll call as it can change as well as the flight times.
Wait – Now you wait while they call the names and hope that you are called. If you are not called, you are still eligible for the next flights to your destination or you can look at other flights leaving that day.

A few things to increase your odds of success. Give yourself a three-day buffer on each end of your vacation. Most Space-A flights are scheduled Mondays thru Fridays. Be flexible if you want to go to Spain and can get a flight to somewhere in Europe take it. Once there you can possibly take another flight to Spain or find cheaper commercial options to get there. Don’t fly on drill weekends or during school breaks as you will have a difficult time getting a flight.

So, what do you do if you don’t make your flight or something unexpected happens? Montague says you must be adaptable. “We adapt by being flexible and prepared to move. Flexibility is key when your destination changes to an unexpected location. Preparing to strategize means having your resources at hand to coordinate lodging, transportation, and other logistics wherever you land. Case in point. Last year we were flying Space-A from Japan to Europe, and we thought our most likely landing point would be Ramstein AB or NAVSTA Rota; those bases have frequent flights from the US, and we’ve flown in and out of both terminals several times. As it turned out, the final leg of our journey was from JB McGuire to Spangdahlem, Germany. We had never flown via Spangdahlem, but we knew that the base is somewhat remote and doesn’t have as many passenger services as Ramstein. While waiting at McGuire, we researched the logistics and our transportation options in Spangdahlem so that we knew exactly what to do when we hit ground. When flying into a terminal for the first time, research that location as much as possible before boarding, and begin strategizing your next move when you land.”

So you have finally arrived at your destination, now what? If you did your planning, you investigated Space-A lodging opportunities. In addition to lodging on the military bases there are also some great Armed Forces Recreation Centers. The one most familiar to everyone is the “Shades of Green” at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. There are also the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany; the Dragon Hill Lodge in Seoul, Korea; the Hale Koa Hotel in Fort DeRussy, Hawaii.; and the New Sanno Hotel in Tokyo, Japan. These are awesome luxury resorts if you can get into them. Also check the MWR site at the military base you plan to go to for other lodging options. Fort Story in Virginia Beach is a beach front option to stay at. Another option is Pacific Beach on the west coast of Washington State which is an old Navy base turned into a resort. Each branch of service has a lodging website for example Navy Lodging. You can find options online by searching for military lodging which will give you tons of options to plan your trip.

Another option for getting advice on Space-A travel is to ask your fellow military spouses about their experiences. Facebook pages for military spouses or your military base are a great resource to ask questions. Often the military clothing sales stores on the base will have books on taking a space-a flight or books on lodging options.

Have you ever taken a Space-A trip? What was your experience like?

Recent Survey of Army Spouses Has Takeaways All Military Spouses Can Use

02/25/2020 By Military Life Administrator

A recent RAND survey of Today’s Army Spouses had some interesting findings that all military spouses can relate to. Most were not unexpected, but some issues had me thinking that we can do better in some areas to help our fellow spouses. The issue that really stood out for me is that spouses of junior enlisted soldiers were more likely to indicate a need for general information especially about military practices and culture. Also, it was noted that spouses who used resources to meet their needs had their needs met. For those that didn’t use the resources the reason given was that they didn’t know about it. I think we need to do a better job of getting information out. Often the information is presented to the active duty member who often doesn’t pass it on to their spouse.

The survey was conducted by the RAND Corporation which is a well-respected research organization. It is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest. The survey was conducted with the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences. Here are the key findings:

Work-life balance, military practices and culture and well-being were the top chosen problem areas
The most frequently selected issue was ‘feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or tired’. The next selected issues included feelings of loneliness or boredom.
For spouses who expressed a need for help, the top need was emotional or social support.
Junior enlisted spouses expressed the greatest need for information especially regarding military practices and culture.
When questioned about the resources spouses used these were the most common: personal networks outside the military, other military spouses, a medical provider covered by the military, internet resources both civilian and military, and social media.
The most reported reason for not using resources to help was not knowing who to contact.
Spouses who used resources had most of their needs met.
All spouses indicated having one or more needs unmet.
The two highest problem areas not met were health care system problems and military practices and culture.
The two areas with the least unmet needs were household management and their own well-being.
For those with unmet needs they reported the most stress and the least positive attitudes towards the military and their active duty spouse staying in the military.
The most vulnerable were Spouses who were unemployed and looking for work, those who lived far from the military installation, and spouses married to junior enlisted soldiers.

There were a variety of common-sense recommendations made such as revamping Army Family Readiness groups to improve communication and provide social support for military spouses. Look to reach spouses by collecting email addresses (I thought we already did this). The one I felt was most important was to consider targeting vulnerable groups of spouses for outreach.

I also think there are areas we as military spouses can have some impact. One way you can reach out to new spouses is to encourage your active duty spouse to host a gathering at your home inviting the military members that he supervises and their spouses. This can be done at any level from junior enlisted supervisors all the way up to officer ranks because new spouses come in at all levels. It really does make a difference. Often spouses do not receive information from their military spouse about activities and resources that can help them adjust to military life. I can remember as a new soldier going to my squad leader’s home and how it made me feel like someone cared. Make sure to reach out and personally give contact information so spouses know someone they can reach out to. When my husband first took command, we became aware of a soldier and his family living in squalid conditions in an ant infested home. They were young and didn’t realize the landlord’s responsibility. My husband planned a battalion wide week where every single soldier and his family received a short visit by the immediate chain of command. Family members received Family Readiness group information and the team was able to identify any families that could be at risk during the upcoming deployment.

What do you do to help junior military spouses feel welcomed to your unit? Do they feel comfortable asking questions or do people make them feel dumb because they don’t know the answer? We can all make a difference.

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