Military Life News

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5 Tips for Writing Your College Application Essay When You’re a Veteran

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You’ve served in the Armed Forces and you’re ready for the next chapter of your life. For many veterans, the next stop after separating from military service is college. And why not? You earned your GI Bill, you might as well take advantage of this military benefit.

But attending your first-choice university may not be as simple as you think. The college application form may be lengthily and require the dreaded personal essay. This essay is an essential component of applying for colleges and can’t be overlooked or rushed through.

When you’re a veteran writing a college application essay you may be asking yourself

“should I talk about my military experience?”

For many veterans, you went to boot camp right after graduating from high school, so your past experiences are solely your military experiences.

Your deployments, specialized training and overseas assignments have shaped you as an individual and will influence your experience as a veteran turned college student. Here are 5 tips for writing your college application essay when you’re a veteran.

5 Tips for Writing Your College Application Essay When You're a Veteran

What questions do you have about writing your college application essay?

Talk Positively About Your Military Experiences

Anyone who has spent more than 5 minutes in the military can easily list their complaints, but what about the positive experiences? As a service member you were taught leadership skills, problem-solving techniques and focused discipline. In your college application essay, you may want to write about the projects that you were in charge of, the troops that you led and the maturity that you have gained through these experiences.

College admission board members are looking for college students who are mature leaders for their campuses. That’s a positive asset for veterans looking to attend college, so write about this advantage in your essay.

Discuss Your Personal Challenges

Everyone, and I mean everyone, has overcome a personal challenge. What was your personal challenge and how did you work through it?

As a veteran, you’ve done more and seen more in your 6 years in the Army than most people will in a lifetime. Your exposure to stressful circumstances and learning to work through them are all personal challenges that you can discuss in your college application essay.

Maybe you’re still working through a personal challenge. That’s OK too. Write about how attending this university and earning a specific degree will help you overcome your challenge.

Channel Your Personality

Don’t be afraid to be you in your college application essay. The college admission board members want to get a sense of you and your personality through this essay. It’s hard to shine in 300 words or less, so that’s why you need to focus on your unique personality strengths.

If you aren’t sure if your essay is highlighting your personality, let your spouse read it. He or she knows you better than anyone else. They can tell you if your essay is showing your polished personality or if it’s too generic.

Forget the Military Alphabet Soup

Once you start talking in military lingo, it’s hard to break the habit. But you need to remove any military jargon and acronyms from your college application essay. If you write TBS, FOB or OCONUS in your essay, the university staff member reading your essay will most likely be confused. Search your essay for military-speak and try to translate as much of it as possible into civilian talk.

Not sure if you removed all the military jargon? Ask a friend, who isn’t in the military, to read your essay. The military alphabet soup will jump out at him or her immediately.

Don’t Write or Revision Alone

Your college application essay is a vital component of your application. You shouldn’t write it the night before your application’s deadline and submit it without someone else reading it. Everyone makes typos. Spellcheck won’t catch every mistake, so ask for help.

Writing a college application essay isn’t easy for anyone. Even English majors struggle with finding the right words to express themselves and their aspirations.

The struggle is normal, but there are many resources to help veterans as they transition from active duty to college student. Take advantage of these resources and use them to help you write your best college application essay.

What questions do you have about writing a college application essay?

First of Its Kind Military Family Support Center Opens in Georgia

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It has been two and a half years in the making, but the Military Family Support Center in Cobb County, Ga., opened its doors last month.

This is the first public-private partnership like this in the United States. It is a combined effort created with the Cobb County Chamber of Commerce, the Defense Commissary Agency, the Georgia Department of Defense and Dobbins Air Reserve Base and its joint partners to bring commissary benefits to military families.

There are more than 50,000 veterans living in Cobb County. The Military Family Support Center will provide retired veterans, active duty and their families access to a military benefit that many who live close to a commissary take for granted.

Though this Military Family Support Center is not a commissary – it will act as a pop-up commissary.

Its doors will open 3 days a month providing roughly 1,000 items such as: fresh meat, fresh produce, chilled and frozen items along with dry goods.

There is a large population of National Guard and Reserve members for which this Military Family Support Center was designed for, but anyone who has commissary privileges may shop at there as long as they show a military ID card.

It is a long drive to the nearest commissary, so bringing a similar commissary benefit close to home for so many people is a welcome sight. The Military Family Support Center is located just outside of Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Ga.

The commissary offers items at cost plus 5 percent, which can save a family on average 30 percent or more over shopping at a civilian grocery store.

For those living in Cobb County however, it isn’t convenient to make a full day trip to a commissary. The closest commissary is at Fort Benning, which is 130 miles from Marietta.

Though the Military Family Support Center will only be open 3 days a month, it is a benefit many will welcome.

This is the first Military Family Support Center served by the Defense Commissary Agency. The land it sits on is leased by the Cobb Chamber and its partners and the Guard/Reserve on-site sales are run by the commissary.

The groups have come together to bring back the commissary benefit to the greater Atlanta area. Fort Gillem and Fort McPherson did at one time have full commissaries, but both posts were closed as part of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process.

The Military Family Support Center will offer more than just great grocery savings one weekend a month. There will also be other services available at that time. While these services may change, the Military Support Center has scheduled things such as the WellStar physicians and their medical professionals to come out and perform health screenings and offer consultations. The Georgia Department of Driver Services will be available in their mobile unit for any Georgia license holders that need to renew or replace their ID. The Georgia Veterans Administration is also expected to be available to answer general VA questions. More services may be available in the future as well.

If you are in the area, mark your calendars for the following dates the Military Family Support Center will have on-site sales:

  • June 16-18
  • July 14-16
  • August 18-20
  • September 15-17
  • October 20-22
  • November 17-19
  • December 15-17

This off-base commissary’s operating hours are Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturdays 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. once a month.

What do you think of this idea of a military family support center or pop-up commissary? Do you think DeCA should open similar centers in other parts of the United States?

10 Ways that Military Dads Rock!

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Military dads – men who have this parenting thing handled. No matter what. Even at zero dark thirty.

10 Ways that Military Dads Rock

Here’s to you military dads. You absolutely rock!

Let’s celebrate some of the many ways that these guys rock at parenting.

1. Most Realistic GI Joe Gear

When you can bust out Daddy’s cammo face paint, strap on a real helmet or slip into authentic aviators, you pretty much have Halloween in the bag. Or just a casual neighborhood game of tactical tag.

Having a father in the military means that you get to see his gear up-close and personal. And you also get to “borrow” it from time to time.

2. Father-Daughter Moments

If you think that man looks good in a dress uniform, add a sweet little girl who looks just like him to the picture.

Many bases, units or organizations sponsor Father-Daughter dances throughout the year. This is precious time spent together for fathers and daughters who are often separated by lengthy trainings and deployments.

3. Bring Your Parent to School Day

Sure, the other parents are sharing how they can fix cars or treat medical conditions.

A military dad?

He can FAST rope from a hovering helicopter into unknown territory in the dead of night.

When a military dad shows up in school to talk about his job, it is inspiring and a little intimidating. After all, his career has sent him all over the world. He has been to places many of us have only read about and he has the challenge coins, awards and pictures to prove it.

4. Scout Badges

When your father knows how to camp out for weeks on end, tie knots like nobody’s business and is generally well versed in field medicine, many of the badges in Boy and Girl Scouts become so much easier.

With years of tactical gear and training under his belt, he has the knowledge to share with you. Troop or pack mates will also benefit when dear old dad shows up to explain things like: making freeze-dried food edible; the importance of hot sauce; proper backpack packing; and leave no trace tactics.

5. Making the Most of Each Moment

The internet was recently broken by Staff Sgt. John York, USMC, and his 3-year-old son Bryson. To help his little boy deal with an upcoming deployment, this stellar dad celebrated all the holidays that he would miss with this son before he left.

Military dads know how to make the most of each moment, no matter when or how long that moment lasts. Whether they are holiday-loading before a deployment or just hanging out at home, military dads cuddle harder and play longer.

Let’s not leave out the rest of the dads who man up in military families – dads on the home front.

10 Ways that Military Dads Rock

Let’s not forget about the amazing male military spouses who also rock.

6. Master of the House

When mom is away, this dad is in charge. He can cook breakfast, organize a PTA meeting, schedule soccer carpools and survive bath time. Solo.

He guides his children through tough situations, like deployments, as a minority in the military spouse community. And he does it with grace, class and style.

7. Welcome Home Crafts

For a military homecoming, dad has got it handled. He not only purchased the supplies from the craft store, but he also searched Pinterest for the best homecoming sign ideas. His perfectly executed plan is guaranteed to build lasting memories for his kids and show his spouse how much he cares.

8. Lots of Dad Time

Not many kids can boast that they get to spend months on end with just their dad. But military kids can! These are formative years and time spent that can influence future decisions and beliefs.

Plus, dad gets to see a lot of things that are stereotypical “mom” territory: ballet practice, parent-teacher conferences, field trips, class snacks and sleepovers.

9. Cooking with Dad

Yes, this definitely happens in all sorts of families, but male military spouses are often in charge of the kitchen. This can lead to fun experiments that only dads would think of: macaroni and cheese and pizza rolls; hot dogs with jelly; and pasta with whatever is left in the fridge.

10. Rocking Solo Parenting

Female military spouses and moms get a lot of attention. These ladies hold it down at home while their partner is off protecting and defending.

Let’s not forget about the amazing male military spouses and dads who do the exact same thing.

These superstar fathers are finding resources to make separations easier, to figure out semi-solo parenting and to navigate military life. They become both mom and dad in a world where often “mom” is the default expected solver of all child-related problems.

So, here’s to you military dads of all sorts. You absolutely rock!

Tell us about your child’s military dad. What makes him a rock star dad?

5 Inexpensive Outdoor Summer Activities

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Summer is quickly approaching and your kids will be out of school before you know it. Keep them busy with these 5 outdoor summer activities that all cost under $10. They will be thrilled and your summer spending won’t get out of hand.

5 Outdoor Summer Activities for Kids for Less Than $10

Did you know you can make your own sidewalk chalk?

5 Outdoor Summer Activities for Kids for Less Than $10

DIY Slip ‘n Slide

Kids love to be outdoors playing in the sun. As parents, we worry about keeping them from overheating. Drinking plenty of water and playing in water can help. There are many summer activities that include water. Going to the swimming pool is great, but it isn’t always a possibility.

You can put up the water sprinkler for a quick cool off but have you ever considered making a water slide in your yard?

Jennifer from Hope Studios has a wonderful DIY slip ‘n slide. In 20 minutes, you can have one set up. The kids will be excited to have fun summer activities in their own yard and you might score some cool parent points.

To get the fun going you will need:

  • heavy-duty plastic sheeting
  • landscape anchor pins
  • hammer
  • garden hose
  • baby soap (optional)

Follow these step-by-step directions and you’ll be slipping and sliding in no time. Your family will have plenty of laughs and great stories to tell after making a slip ‘n slide as part of their summer activities.

DIY Sidewalk Chalk

Making your own sidewalk chalk is a fun family project to add to your list of summer activities. Children love playing with sidewalk chalk. There are many games you can play with sidewalk chalk including: hopscotch, tic tac toe, four square and making roads to race cars on. Drawing pictures and scribbling are my 2-year-old’s favorite things to do with sidewalk chalk.

Don’t tell your kids, but this can also be educational. Using sidewalk chalk helps children work on their fine motor and gross motor skills. If you have young children, you can use this opportunity to practice colors, shapes, counting and the alphabet. Just make sure to keep it fun.

Start off with some basic supplies to make your own sidewalk chalk:

  • toilet paper rolls
  • scissors
  • Duct tape
  • a small bucket
  • waxed paper
  • ¾ cup warm water
  • 1½ cups Plaster of Paris
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons tempera paint
  • a paper bag

Follow these step-by-step directions for your own homemade sidewalk chalk. Note: It may take several days to dry the chalk before your kids can use it.

Vegetable Garden

What kid doesn’t like playing in the dirt? Some of the best summer activities involve getting dirty.

Planting a garden with your children can be a fun and rewarding family activity.

You can plant a large garden or simply plant a flower or herb in a pot.

Gardening is another one of those sneaky educational activities. Children learn responsibility from caring for the plants. They learn cause and effect, such as if you don’t water it, the plant will die. They also learn self-confidence from seeing the success of the plant growing after their hard work.

5 Outdoor Summer Activities for Kids for Less Than $10

Caring for a garden is a summer activity that keeps your kids busy for the entire summer. Do you plant a garden? What do you grow in your garden?

No matter the age of your children, everyone can play a part. A small child can dig a hole, push some soil in, drop a seed in the hole, push dirt over it or maybe even help pour water. Bigger kids can enjoy adding personality to the garden by making plant markers. Try one of these 26 unique ideas for DIY plant markers.

Begin small by buying a bag of potting soil, some seeds and a clay pot. Tomatoes, green beans and cucumber seeds are all great starter plants. Let your little ones paint or color the pots.

DIY Bird Feeders

One of my favorite summer activities is making bird feeders with peanut butter and pinecones. It’s fun to go on a hike to look for pinecones to decorate. You get a chance to get out in nature and explore with your children.

This is one of the easiest and cheapest summer activities. All you need are pinecones, peanut butter or shortening if someone has nut allergies, bird seed, a butter knife and something to hang the pine cone with such as twine or string.

Kids love covering the pinecones, choosing a place to hang the bird feeder and watching the birds. This also gives you a chance to talk about different birds that live in your neighborhood.

Old-Fashioned Sack Races

Sack races are a quick, easy and inexpensive summer activity. All you need are start and finish line markers and sacks to use in the races such as sleeping bags or pillow cases.

If you’re ambitious and like to sew, you can make your own sacks using burlap.

The start and finish lines could be masking tape, little cones, leftover birthday streamers or anything you find around the house. Let the laughs begin.

What are your children’s favorite summer activities? Tell us about them in the comments section.

3 Ways a Military Move May Kill Your Small Business and How You Can Rescue It

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Being a military spouse small business owner can be exciting and challenging all at the same time. You spend an exorbitant amount of time building up your client base only to be told the military wants you to move again and again. How long does it take you to recover your business after each move?

Here are 3 ways a military move can kill your small business and how to overcome these obstacles in less than 6 months.

3 Ways a Military Move May Kill Your Small Business and How You Can Rescue It

Moving your business during a PCS may be a challenge. Here are some tips to ease your transition.

Your Clients

You’ve spent a lot of time building up your client base and now you’re moving.

What is a military spouse small business owner to do?

You’ll have to start from the ground up once again to build your clientele list. This may sound daunting after all you’ve done to create your customer database, but that’s exactly what you need to do. The key to this is to jump right in when you get to your next duty station. Let people know that you are open for business.

Think about how you got started with your military spouse small business originally or how you got it going at your current duty station.

  • What steps did you take to earn those clients?
  • What marketing avenues did you utilize? Are those same avenues available for you to use again?

Don’t write off your clients at your former duty station right away. Before you leave your current town see if you can keep any of your clients.

Is your military spouse small business mostly online? In that case, the move might not hurt you at all. If you are able to continue working with your clients over the phone, through the internet or by mail, you might be able to keep them as well.

Do some research and see what you can work out. Call your clients and see if they are willing to work with you during this transition. If a customer is committed to you, they might just stick around.

Your Network and Support System

Networking is the key to success in business. As they say, it’s all about the people you know. Before you even pack your first box, get on the computer and check out your next duty station. Who are the other military spouse small business owners in your new town?

Contact your new command to see if they have a spouse liaison. She might be able to point you in the direction of other wives or husbands in the area that have small businesses.

Don’t be afraid to reach out. Pick up the phone or at least get online and talk to other military spouse small business owners. Ask them how the transition worked for them. They will be able to give you tips on how they got their businesses back to usual when they got to that military installation.

Networking and meeting new people will get you back in business in no time.

Get new business cards made and step out into new areas to network. You can use social media to meet fellow military spouse small business owners. Update or create an account on LinkedIn, a professional networking site. You can reach people on LinkedIn that you might not otherwise have met.

Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites can be good outlets. Create pages specifically separate from your personal accounts.

Make a website or have one made for your business. Buy your online real estate if you haven’t already done so. This entails creating accounts on many platforms that use your business name. This keeps others from using your business name and opens doors to both customers and networking.

You don’t have to do it all on your own. The Small Business Administration is available to military spouse small business owners. The same resources that are offered to active duty members who are transitioning out of the military and are interested in opening their own businesses are available to military spouses. This includes counseling and training, access to loans and disaster relief.

Inventory

If you sell products, maintaining control of inventory during a move can be difficult for military spouse small business owners. We all know what can and often does happen to household goods during transit.

Will you be packing up and moving your own items or will you be letting the military send in a crew to do it for you?

Make sure you take careful stock of your inventory before packing begins. If movers are in charge, let them know upfront to be delicate with these items.

If they get damaged during transit, make sure to file a claim. Most insurance agencies have a timeline for filing damage reports so make sure you do it in a timely manner. Take photos of the damaged property. This can be useful in recouping costs. Save all of this information for tax season.

Are you a military spouse small business owner who has successfully moved your business from one location to another? Share your tips in the comments.

What You Can Do to Help Save Your Commissary Benefit

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It’s no secret that I’m a fan of the commissary. My family has been shopping there since I was a baby and I continue to shop there today! Ironically enough, when my parents were visiting this past week, what did we do? We ran into the commissary for the typical bread, milk and eggs run.

The convenience and cost-effectiveness are the primary reasons military families visit the commissary. But, as the new National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is being discussed in Congress, our commissary budget is on the chopping block, yet again. That could mean more commissary closures, reduced hours and days, among other things.

The House of Representatives approved the fiscal year 2017 NDAA, H.R. 4909, on May 20, which authorizes $610 billion in funding for national defense. Now it’s the Senate’s turn to debate it.

While negotiations are in the works, this is our time to speak up! Although it may seem like military families are alone on this one, there are organizations out there lobbying and fighting for our cause.

Join forces with these organizations and they can help amplify your voice.

Blue Star Families (BSF) is a wonderful organization that provides resources, programs and partnerships for military families. Each year, they release a descriptive military lifestyle survey that indicates the concerns of military families. The best part of the survey is that the right people are reading it and it’s making a difference in influencing decisions.

The 2015 survey results showed that military benefits and pay were top issues for military families. Our commissary is looped into the mix there. To make sure our benefits continue to be in the forefront of budgetary decisions, fill out their 2016 survey. Time is running out, so hurry because the closeout date is May 30!

In addition to Blue Star Families, the National Military Family Association (NMFA) is another fantastic organization that strongly lobbies for military families. They provide scholarships and kids’ camps (i.e. Operation Purple Camps) as well as resources for military family and health care issues.

They are also monitoring the defense budget saga and provide detailed explanations to better understand the situation because let’s be honest, it can get really confusing. NMFA recently broke down the defense budget concerns, including the commissary issue here.

With the backing of BSF and NMFA, military families can have a stronger voice. Keep an eye out for volunteer opportunities and ways to contribute to these organizations.

You can also connect with The Coalition to Save Our Military Shopping Benefits. This coalition is “working to protect service members and their families EARNED commissary and exchange benefits, and the critical savings they provide our military community,” according to its website.

You can also contact your state senator  to encourage their vote in the proceedings. This is when you, as an American voter, can and should get your issues heard. Here is how you can contact their offices (be sure to select the U.S. Senate).

That reminds me, have you registered to vote?

Lastly, I want to encourage you to patronize your local commissary because that will also influence the decision-making process.

Every time you shop at your commissary, it’s counted and every dollar you spend is calculated. If the numbers are there, it’s undeniable proof that the commissary system is beneficial.

Are you concerned about proposed changes to the commissary? What are you doing to voice your concerns?

The Convenience of the Commissary’s Early Bird Program

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Do you know what the commissary’s Early Bird program is?

I have always seen signs about the Early Bird program at my commissary but I never knew how the program could benefit me.

I assumed the program was for certain people or just for those who are in the military, not their families. I was happy to learn more about the program and was glad to hear that the Early Bird program is there to help anyone who shops at the commissary.

The commissary’s Early Bird program is a program for shoppers who need 15 items or less. You can shop at the commissary before normal operating hours and pick up your necessary items.

You can’t do your big shopping this way but if you can stay under the 15-item limit, the program can be a good one to take advantage of. This program can help people save money because of the lower costs of shopping at the commissary compared to a convenience store.

The Early Bird program allows people to go into the commissary, get what they need and not have to wait until regular hours to shop.

The Early Bird program can benefit a lot of people who normally shop at the commissary. From military service members that might need to grab something quick in the morning to retirees that don’t want to worry about the crowds and only need a few things when they go.

During the normal store hours, commissaries can get quite busy. I have been to the commissary on days when the line went all the way to the back of the store. If you just need a few items that wait is not going to be the best way to go about getting them.

With the Early Bird program, you do have to plan ahead. You would need to get to the commissary within the time that they have for the program.

Do you know about your commissary’s Early Bird program?

To find out you would need to check the website for your commissary. Here at Fort Campbell the Early Bird program’s hours are 7-8 a.m., Monday through Saturday. It is available at Bolling Air Force Base from 7:30-9:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. At Pensacola NAS, the Early Bird program is open from 7:30-8 a.m. daily while it isn’t an option at the commissary at Twentynine Palms.

Not every commissary will have the Early Bird program and the days and hours might differ based on where you are located.

If you think the Early Bird program will save you time and money, you should try it out. The next time you find yourself wanting to run to a convenience store, see if you can hit up the Early Bird program at your commissary instead.

You can save money this way because the items you need will be cheaper at the commissary. Regular convenience stores can cost even more than a civilian grocery store. By shopping at the commissary instead, you can avoid having to deal with the high costs associated with those types of stores.

Does your commissary have an Early Bird program? If yes, do you take advantage of it?

Mental Health Resources for Military Spouses

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Military life can be fun and exciting as you explore the world. Moving from place to place gives you the opportunity to have new adventures, try new things, make new friends and learn new things.

Military life also can be overwhelming, lonely, difficult and hard to handle. Sometimes it can be a little too much.

Mental Health Resources for Military Spouses

There are many mental health resources available to military spouses. You don’t need to suffer in silence. Help is only a phone call away.

Making friends and forming deep connections with fellow military spouses can truly be life saving. They can help you through tough times and help turn the tides sometimes.

Everything can’t always be fixed with a friend though.

Maybe you don’t want to admit to anyone how you are really feeling or maybe they don’t understand. No matter the reason, if you feel like you need someone to talk to, there are mental health resources available for military spouses.

You aren’t alone. Help is only a phone call away.

Here is a list of available mental health resources for military spouses:

National Military Family Association

There are many options to choose from when you are ready to take that step. The National Military Family Association is a wonderful organization founded by military spouses that advocates for military families. There are mental health resources listed on their site to guide you to the proper avenue that will get you the care you need. This can range from short-term counseling and assistance to long-term or medical mental health assistance.

Non-medical help can be sought out from family support centers at your installation, through the office of the chaplain, at military hospitals and clinics as well as through military family life consultants.

Military OneSource

Military OneSource offers non-medical counseling sessions as well. Through Military OneSource, you are entitled to 12 free sessions. These sessions can be in person, over the phone or online. To find out more and to make an appointment call 1-800-342-9647.

Tricare

Long-term medical and mental health resources are available through Tricare. You can visit a mental health care provider at a military hospital or clinic or utilize the Tricare network for authorized civilian mental health resources. The cost associated with these services will depend on the type of policy you have with Tricare, Prime or Standard.

Military spouses can receive up to 8 outpatient mental health care visits without needing a referral. If follow-up appointments are needed, you will be required to get a referral from your provider. Visit Tricare’s website to learn more.

There is unfortunately a stigma that comes with mental health in this country. Sadly, many people are afraid to seek help because they fear there may be consequences once it’s known that mental health resources are needed.

In the military community, there is the fear that it will have an impact on promotions and duty assignments. If you feel like something isn’t right, like you just aren’t yourself, don’t keep it bottled up for fear of repercussions.

You don’t have to go through official channels, like Tricare, initially if that’s what’s holding you back on seeking help. There are many anonymous platforms you can use for mental health resources.

Military OneSource Confidential Help

Free confidential consultations and services are offered. If you want to talk to someone they offer in person, over the phone, online and secure video chat. They can help with emotional and interpersonal difficulties to include adjusting to military life, surviving deployments, everyday stress, parenting challenges and working though loss. The counselor will not inform anyone, including the command and your spouse, of your consultation.

DSTRESS LINE

The Marine Corps DSTRESS Line is available 24/7 and is an anonymous phone and chat counseling service available to veteran Marines, attached sailors and family members. It is manned by veteran Marines, Marine Corps spouses and licensed behavioral health clinical counselors that have Marine Corps specific training. The phone number is 1-877-476-7734.

National Guard Joint Services Support

The National Guard Psychological Health Program has directors of psychological health in every state, territory and online to help family members get the help they need. They have programs to build family resiliency, educational support for complete wellness and access to immediate help. They also have an online library where you can research mental health.

Family Advocacy Program

This mental health resource is for service members and their families. They help with issues stemming from deployment and life stressors that cause problems with family function, domestic violence and child abuse. Classes, workshops, counseling and new parent support programs are all available.

There are many options available to military spouses when mental health resources are needed. The first step is to admit to yourself that you need help and that that is OK. You can start by talking to a friend, a family member, a command spouse liaison or your doctor. If they can’t provide the support you need, take the next step and seek professional help through mental health resources such as these listed above.

Did we miss any mental health resources for military spouses that you recommend? Tell us in the comments section.

Putting the Memorial Back into Memorial Day

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When I say the words “Memorial Day” what kind of words or images do you associate with this national holiday?

  • Is it the wreath laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery?
  • Is it the somber echo of a trumpet playing “taps” at a military funeral?
  • Or is Memorial Day simply a day off of work, when you will hit the beach with your friends or go shopping?

We’ve talked before about this growing divide between veterans and civilians in our country. The percentage of Americans who have served in the military seems to be shrinking with every generation. There is a greater number of military kids who are following in the footsteps of their service member parents while fewer Americans know anyone who is a solider, airman, sailor or Marine.

Then you add in Memorial Day, a national holiday to honor all service members that were killed during any war and you feel this division between these 2 communities a little more.

If you watched television commercials this month, you would think that Memorial Day is a day for hosting a barbecue, taking your boat out for the first “unofficial” day of summer and that it’s the best weekend to save money on a new mattress.

The truth is that these typical Memorial Day activities are insensitive to the purpose and meaning of Memorial Day.

The truth is that these activities are insensitive to the grieving Gold Star families.

The truth is that these activities send a message to our children that if you die in service to your country, your sacrifice won’t be remembered.

But we know that simply isn’t true.

The truth is that our hearts do ache for our Gold Star families. We want to show them love and support in whatever way they need it.

The truth is that even if you haven’t had a friend, neighbor or sibling killed in action, you still want to honor and respect that person’s sacrifice to our country.

I recently saw evidence of that public support for our fallen service members when I read the news articles about the thousands of people who lined the streets of Coronado, Calif., to pay their respects to Charles Keating IV. The 31-year-old Navy SEAL died in a gunbattle with Islamic State fighters on May 3 in Iraq.

The truth is that taking time for a meaningful Memorial Day activity doesn’t take much time at all. All it takes is a bit of effort and planning.

Throughout the years, I have worked to find a Memorial Day ceremony or parade wherever we found ourselves on Memorial Day.

In Okinawa, Japan, my dedication to a meaningful Memorial Day meant attending a service that remembered the Americans who died on that island during World War II.

In Port Hueneme, Calif., my dedication to a meaningful Memorial Day meant attending an early morning ceremony and listening a Navy captain discuss the noble and courageous efforts of today’s sailors in the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In Gettysburg, Penn., my dedication to a meaningful Memorial Day meant teaching my daughter to place her hand over her heart when the military color guard marched by us at the beginning of the 145th Memorial Day parade (one of the oldest continuing ceremonies in the country.)

But I must confess that last year I didn’t do any of these things. I was in deployment survival mode and was driving to my parents’ house, eager to start the summer with them. I regret to say that I forgot to remember Memorial Day.

Have you ever forgotten to mark Memorial Day in a meaningful way?

I hope I don’t ever forget it again.

Since then, I’ve learned about the National Moment of Remembrance. The National Moment of Remembrance encourages all “Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation.”

Here’s what the Moment of Remembrance founder Carmella LaSpada says about it

“It’s a way we can all help put the memorial back in Memorial Day.”

A moment to remember.

Now that’s something that all Americans – military or civilian – can do this Memorial Day.

What activities do you typically do on Memorial Day?

Commissary Surcharge Dollars Fund New Facilities

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There are new and improved commissaries on the way, thanks to shoppers like you.

Your commissary surcharge dollars are hard at work providing the funds needed to build new infrastructure and modernize facilities to provide a better shopping experience for military beneficiaries around the world.

Did you know what the surcharge at the bottom of your receipt is for and the power that it carried for improvements?

The commissary surcharge is not a tax. Many people mistakenly think so, but unlike taxes where money could be distributed in many areas, the commissary surcharge can only be used to build new commissaries or to modernize and maintain the commissary facilities and equipment. Each time you make a purchase at your local commissary, feel good knowing that surcharge will lead to real improvements beneficiaries such as yourself can see in the future.

All commissaries charge a 5 percent surcharge. Perhaps you never noticed the surcharge at the bottom of your receipt. It isn’t something new. In fact, the first surcharge was put into place all the way back in 1879. It varied a bit over time but in 1983 it was set at 5 percent, and remains that way today.

Why do we have to pay a surcharge though?

The government decided that the commissary should be more self-sufficient, and rely less on it for funds. The commissary therefore charges consumers only the cost of the product it sells plus the 5 percent surcharge in order to cover the cost of maintaining and updating their equipment and facilities. Their research has shown that military beneficiaries that shop at the commissary save on average 30 percent over using a commercial grocery store. This takes into account the cost of items and the 5 percent surcharge.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Defense Commissary Agency as well as the 150th anniversary of the commissary benefit. It all began on July 1, 1867, when service members stationed across the country were able to buy food at cost for the first time.

The long tradition continues and a great way to celebrate these landmarks is with a new commissary or better yet – 3.

There are 3 commissaries slated to open this year beginning with Spangdahlem Air Base commissary in Germany this month at a cost of $26 million. Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla., will open its doors to shoppers this summer thanks to $36 million in surcharge dollars. The Fort Belvoir commissary in Virginia is expected to open early next year after spending $38 million. All of these commissaries were built using surcharge dollars.

Construction began in March of 2014 on the commissary at Spangdahlem Air Base. The 7,500 service members, civilians and family members at this mobility hub in the country’s Eifel region will be in for a treat after a long awaited grand opening of their 54,000-square-foot commissary.

There are significant improvements over the current store, which opened in 1985. More space has been added, the aisles are wider, it has been outfitted with modern décor and a larger selection of items will be offered. The number of checkout counters will increase from the current 8 to 13.

Naval Air Station Jacksonville is putting commissary surcharge dollars to good use with a 115,000-square-foot commissary, up from its current 88,000 square feet. This includes a covered drive through for patrons to use when picking up groceries ordered online.

It will also have a raised ceiling, wider aisles, an expanded chill and frozen section and the décor will be modernized. The seafood shop will be larger and the bakery and deli area will be expanded allowing for new items to be sold. This again is all thanks to commissary surcharge dollars.

I am most excited about the $28 million commissary coming to Fort Belvoir. In recent years, Ft. Belvoir has grown by 115,000 people. This new commissary will be able to accommodate the growing population.

The commissary will be constructed to LEED Silver standards, meaning it would utilize sustainable strategies such as using innovative energy conserving techniques. This upgraded facility will offer a wider range of products in a modern setting that is more family friendly with wider aisles and easier access.

There are many great upgrades coming to commissaries across the globe thanks to commissary surcharge dollars.

Have you noticed any changes at a commissary near you? What upgrades would you like to see?