Troops are returning to business as usual, but their children are largely left in limbo due to a patchwork approach to K-12 education and child care options. As a result, military spouses are feeling the stress as many must also return to work or college this fall.

Military Spouses Adapt, Overcome Pandemic Related K-12 Education Obstacles

Military spouses are concerned about how much they are shouldering and the sacrifices they are making due to the evolving pandemic crisis.

“I just had to make the tough decision to leave my job teaching preschool,” Becky, located on the East Coast, shared. “I love my job, but taking care of the needs of my (kids) in this uncertain time is more important.”

While military spouses are used to career and education fluctuations due to PCSing and the needs of the military, balancing their professional pursuits while also existing in a crisis state has compounded the impact. Several military spouses shared that they needed to make hard decisions about their careers and small businesses.

Katie S., a military spouse with a deployed husband, has also seen her small business change in radical ways due to the pandemic.

“I have had to take a giant step back from my business and allow my team to take over some areas I wasn’t planning on stepping away from for a few more years,” she said. “There is simply not enough time in the day, so something had to give. This is a business that I have built from the ground up over the past 3 years. It has grown beyond my wildest dreams and it is incredibly sad to step back and slow such massive growth, but my family comes first.”

Sam, who is stationed OCONUS, needs to take a step back from pursuing her college degree due to uncertainty of child care and K-12 education this fall.

“I’m in college and have switched to only online courses this fall,” she explained. “I will only be able to do 9 credits so I am not considered full time and will most likely take me longer to obtain my degree in accounting. I may end up dropping a class because there’s not enough time in the day.”

However, all military spouses shared that they were making personal and professional sacrifices to better support their families during an uncertain time.

Through a PCS, Amanda, who moved from Germany to Colorado this summer, has had to make major decisions without knowing exactly what her options would be.

“We started the Pandemic at Ramstein, Germany,” she said. “We are now in Colorado. We are learning by the day how the pandemic will impact the school year. It is very uncomfortable to return to a new school under these conditions.”

Varied Education Decisions Lead to Uncertainty for Parents

Military spouses who responded were located around the US and the world. Sam, who is living OCONUS, is relying on local day care options combined with DODEA. Katie has children enrolled in DODEA schools stateside, but must look to state-level education decisions to drive her planning for the fall. Becky also lives in the US in a region where many school districts are beginning the school year remotely, with future plans to consider returning in-person. Amanda, who recently moved back to the US, has four children with three in elementary school and one is middle school.

Sam has two children in DODEA schools, ranging from first grade to middle school, with her third child attending a local preschool. Right now, she is torn between the needs of her children in K-12 schools that conflict with her own college education and her preschooler. Sam also has a two-year-old child who is receiving services from EDIS.

“(W)e do not know how it will affect our morning routine and if I will need my four-year-old to not return to Youchien,” she said. “If my 6-year-old needs to be on the computer at 8am, I won’t be able to take my four-year-old to school for an 8:30 drop off.”

Right now, neither of her children have a firm schedule of classes and expectations. Instead, they have a general outline of their school day, which falls between 8:00 am and 3:00 pm. However, she does not know when her children will need to be “live” online or when they can work independently.

Becky knows that her older child will be attending high school online through winter break, but her younger children in elementary and middle school may return to in-person or hybrid learning sometime after October.

“The uncertainty of the kid’s schedules–virtual school for the older two until after winter break, virtual start for the elementary school child with a possibility to attend with a hybrid plan after October, a delayed start to preschool, no update to the IEP for services yet or what those schedules will look like–was too much to try to coordinate with a to-be-determined preschool schedule.”

Katie opted to pull both of her children from traditional classrooms in order to homeschool this year.

“After our experience this spring we have decided homeschool would be the best fit for our son out of the options given so I will be homeschooling him and our PreK daughter while working from home,” she shared.

Due to her PCS, Amanda has made the decision for in-person schooling if and when it’s available.

If we stayed in-place, we would have chosen virtual learning,” she explained. “My kids thrived learning at home. They were able to work at their own pace and take breaks when needed. We have no connections here. My kids will need school to help build those connections. Then maybe we will choose to return to virtual learning. But only after they’ve made connections to their teachers and built a friendship base.”

IEPs Major Driver of Education Uncertainty, Decisions for Parents

Two of the four military spouses we spoke with have children with IEPs. None are certain that their IEPs will be implemented correctly or effectively this fall. In part, their feelings are driven by their experiences with virtual learning in spring 2020.

Becky, as of mid-August, had not hear about how IEPs would be implemented. Her concern is compounded due to the fact that her child is also making the transition between middle school and high school.

“My oldest child has an emotional disability and many of his services were postponed” Becky said. “I worry about him starting high school without that last quarter of middle school to help him grow and prepare. I also worry about how overwhelming online high school will be.”

Katie’s decision to homeschool was largely influenced by her experiences of IEP assessments and services during virtual learning this spring.

“My first grade son is autistic and virtual school this spring was a disaster for us. The lack of structure and routine made it extremely hard for him to focus on his school work.”

Many children with ASD, or autism spectrum disorders, thrive with a steady routine and schedule.

In addition to receiving a disability diagnosis, Katie’s son was also stuck in IEP no-man’s-land as assessments were requested just before COVID-19 forced her child’s school to close. This paused his testing and left him without a clear education plan in place.

“He not only did not make forward progress in his education, but we noticed a drastic decrease in previously mastered skills,” Katie explained. “His autism diagnosis was made in February, we requested his IEP evaluation within a week or two of diagnosis but due to COVID we did not even begin the evaluation process prior to school closures. Due to this he had no additional help or accommodations to help him through the virtual learning process. This was all on our plates as parents to sort out on our own.”

Making the Best with the Hand They are Dealt

While Katie is powering through homeschooling and running her how business while her husband is deployed, she also acknowledges that schools are in a tough spot.

“I feel they did the best with the hand they were dealt,” she explained. “The schools are forced to work with the guidelines set by the state and had to wait until those guidelines were decided before they could make their game plan.”

As a teacher, Becky is in a unique position to understand pandemic education decisions as a parent and as an educator.

“I have significant concerns about the quality of the content that will be taught and the accountability, not because of a lack of faith in the teachers, but because this is new for everyone,” she explained. “Teachers are in a unique and challenging position planning new content and delivery and I hope we are able to support them on our end for a successful first semester!”

Amanda, also an educator and co-author of Seasons of My Military Student, is hopeful and excited about possible innovations that improve learning for the future.

“While the pandemic is a horrible reason to cause schools to shut down, I hope leadership really takes advantage of the amazing new opportunities available to schools,” she explained. “The new access to technology, learning platforms, virtual field trips, hybrid or virtual options. Let’s embrace the positive aspects of this crisis and use it to build amazing programs for kids.”

How is your military family adapting to K-12 education during the COVID-19 pandemic? Share your experiences in the comments!

By Marguerite Cleveland

The Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have key roles in Operation Warp Speed (OWS) which is a partnership among the two to engage private firms with other federal agencies to accelerate the production of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics. This will enhance HHS’s current efforts. There are many promising actions taking place.

The DoD recently awarded a $42 million contract to Curative Inc to manufacture 250,000 of their oral fluid swab test kits which are for 100 military treatment facilities. This will increase the testing capability across the DoD and provide a less invasive method of testing for COVID-19. The test is an oral swab of the mouth versus the painful nose swab. “This is an important capability that will strengthen our medical professionals’ ability to detect, isolate and defeat the spread of COVID-19 across the military,” said Maj. Gen. Lee Payne, the DOD’s COVID-19 Lab Testing Task Force lead. “The ability to reliably test service members and their families is critical towards securing our forces’ health and readiness.”

“It’s no coincidence we had the right innovation network in place to source and scale this test at battlefield speeds,” said Dr. Will Roper, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics. “Evolving national security challenges require new and enduring partnerships with commercial innovators. We had the right people and mechanisms in place to move out on this exceptional testing capability for the Department of Defense.”

Also, in the works are ramping up the purchase of necessary supplies needed to administer a future vaccine for COVID-19. On August 4, 2020, the DoD and HHS awarded a $104 million contract to procure syringes and safety needles for the HHS Strategic National Stockpile. This will provide a total of 500 million safety syringes in a 12 month period with 134 million scheduled to be delivered by the end of the year.

“This effort demonstrates skillful collaboration between the interagency and our industry partners, and moves the nation farther forward in its fight against COVID-19,” said Joint Program Executive Officer for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense, Douglas Bryce. “Immediate procurement and prepositioning of syringes will enable rapid vaccination of the U.S. population once an FDA-approved vaccine becomes available. We are pleased to be part of this unprecedented and critical undertaking.”

HHS and the DoD recently announced an agreement with the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson for the manufacturing and delivery of the company’s COVID-19 candidate. Under the agreement the U.S. government will own the 100 million doses of the vaccine which will be used in clinical trials or distributed as part of a COVID-19 vaccination campaign if approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“With the portfolio of vaccines being assembled for OWS, the Trump Administration is increasing the likelihood that the United States will have at least one safe, effective vaccine by 2021,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. “Today’s investment represents the next step in supporting Janssen’s vaccine candidate all the way through manufacturing, with the potential to bring hundreds of millions of safe and effective doses to the American people.”

While the clinical trials are underway, the company will be working on a manufacturing demonstration project which by working parallel will help speed up the traditional vaccine development timeline. This will help the federal government’s goal with OWS to be able to deliver millions of doses of a safe vaccine to the American People by the end of the year.

There are many promising vaccines and therapeutics on the horizon which hopefully will bring an end to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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

PFC Vanessa Guillen, age 20, was last seen alive on April 22. On July 5, her remains were identified. What happened in the weeks and months in between are shining a light on the military’s process of reporting and investigating sexual harassment and assault in the ranks.

Vanessa Guillen’s Disappearance & Death Sheds Light on DOD Sexual Harassment Reporting Flaws

According to reports from Guillen’s family and friends, she had confided in them about several instances of sexual harassment in the months leading up to her disappearance. ABC News reported that Guillen had experienced repeated harassment, including a supervisor watching her shower. However, she had not reported anything to her chain of command out of a fear of reprisals.

Since then, female troops and veterans have flooded social media using the hashtag #IamVanessaGuillen, sharing their own experiences with sexual assault and harassment in the military.

Flawed Reporting Practices Exposed?

From across the services, women are coming forward to share their experiences – and retaliation for reporting.

I was a brand new 2LT when I was sexually assaulted by my OIC. I spoke out; my CMD team took it seriously. Evidence has been found of past instances for this OIC and he’s now facing multiple charges. Despite a “good” outcome for me, reform is needed #IAmVanessaGuillen pic.twitter.com/vbLLA8FVsA

— Mary (@mjolly36) July 14, 2020

Military Times shared the story of former Army Spc. Ashley Martinez, who said that her chain of command actively worked to discredit her after reporting a rape. Ultimately, Martinez left the Army as a result of this process.

https://twitter.com/ashtayluh/status/1278423464718880768

Martinez is one among hundred of sexual assault survivors who are coming forward in the wake of Guillen’s disappearance and death. Many survivors report that their cases were ignored or that their were attempts to discredit their accounts. Some shared that they ultimately left the military while their attackers continue to progress through the ranks.

Hundreds Share Stories of Survival Online

Survivors are coming forward and sharing their stories online and with media outlets. News organizations like ABC, PBS, The Guardian and Military Times are all sharing stories of sexual assault, harassment and retaliation. Popular true crime podcast, The Murder Squad, dedicated two separate episodes to Guillen’s case exploring additional unsolved murders and discussing the military sexual assault reporting process as well.

Across the different outlets, the theme of retaliation for reporting was consistent.

Army veteran Tiffany Summa told PBS News Hour that she was raped in 2009. She waited 6 years for the results of her rape kit. When she summoned up the courage to report it to her command, she was told to bury it and ignore it. Summa shared that she was further threatened that this high ranking officer would “bury” her if she did not comply.

Legislation was proposed in 2013 to remove the chain of command, including officers like the one Summa encountered, and place investigations in the hands of independent prosecutors. However, this bill was countered with proposal to keep investigations centered around the chain of command. Ultimately, the chain of command remains central to investigations of sexual assault and harassment.

In addition, military members are prohibited from suing the military for damages over injuries that occur while they are in the service.

Options for Reporting Sexual Assault & Harassment in Ranks

There are two types of reports that victims can make, restricted and unrestricted. Restricted reporting limits options in terms of pursuing prosecution while also offering supports like therapy or medical care. Unrestricted reporting essentially makes the report public, allowing for military prosecution.

Victims may report sexual assault to:

• medical professional
• chain of command
• military law enforcement
• civilian law enforcement
• SARC/SHARP representative
• therapist or other mental health care provider

Victims wishing to remain anonymous or receive assistance without triggering an investigation can file restricted reports with SARC/SHARP, a medical professional.

Once an unrestricted report has been made it cannot be converted to a restricted report. However, survivors may elect to change their restricted report to an unrestricted report in order to trigger an investigation.

DOD Stats Show Troubling Trend

For fiscal year 2018, the most recent data available, 24.2% of female troops indicated that they had experienced sexual harassment. In addition, 6.2% indicated that they had been sexually assaulted.

Of those who reported sexual assault, 21% of those cases met the criteria of retaliation or retaliatory behavior.

The report also noted that experiencing sexual harassment statistically increased the odds of sexual assault. Approximately 1 in 5 victims of sexual harassment would be sexually assaulted.

There was also a statistically significant increase of women reporting sexual assault across all service branches.

It should be noted that these numbers indicate sexual harassment and assault that was reported to the service member’s chain of command. It does not account for cases that were not reported.

Have you experienced sexual assault or harassment while serving in the military? Did you report it? Were you retaliated against?