Here we are, preparing for a brand-new ball season. Time to pick out the duds to wear to the ball, hotel room, tickets, childcare…. Well, for some military families. With the pandemic still continuing, military balls are canceling across the U.S. With it being the second year of no military ball for some families, it’s time to mix it up (again) and celebrate the ball, your own way.

All You Need for A Military Ball, Your Way

Food

This is awesome. No need to worry about food allergies, you can choose food that is allergen-free! Make it at home, or splurge on your favorite restaurant. Or perhaps splurge on the new restaurant you have been wanting to try but haven’t due to time or cost. Well, you aren’t spending several hundred on ball tickets! Order food to go for a luxurious meal at home in celebration of the ball.

Don’t forget the cake!

No ball celebration is complete without cake. The typical offerings of sheet cake at a ball don’t have to happen this year if you don’t want them to. Get a slice of cake from a local bakery, or maybe try something a little different with cannoli or baklava. All the sweets are for the taking. If you are making it a family ball, consider a dessert bar, shakes or root beer floats. There are so many ways to fulfill that sweet tooth!

Dress up or down!

No dress code in your own home! If you want to wear yoga pants, do it. If you want to dress up, do it! Athletic pants and sweatshirts never felt so comfortable when you are celebrating the ball your own way at home.

Dance off!

Whether you are up-to-date on all the new dancing trends or not, get your dance on. Don’t be afraid to use YouTube University to learn dance moves, or ask your kids (they probably know!)

Baby, you’re a firework!

Add a little sparkle to the day with confetti poppers, sparklers, or fireworks. I mean, if they celebrate July 4th with a sparkle in the sky, who says you can’t do a little too for a military ball? Please check state regulations for what is legal before setting off fireworks.

Outdoor options.

If your unit ball is canceled but there is a group that desires to gather together, consider outdoor options. Get a tent for an outdoor covering, everyone brings tables, chairs, and food to celebrate together. Perhaps there is a dinner cruise in your area that your group could go to. You can get dressed up, enjoy the food and dance – all with your people.

Donate to a favorite organization.

In lieu of paying for ball tickets, hotel room, a new outfit for the ball, and childcare, consider donating to an organization that supports military families and veterans. Every little bit helps, and it stays within the military community.

Don’t go it alone.

Based on your level of comfort, consider asking close friends over to celebrate. Print up invitations with the details – including the date, time, and dress code. Make dinner potluck style so everyone can share their favorite dish.

Make it a staycation.

The ball is more than a celebration, it is time together as a family and friends reflecting on the year. Getting that hotel room as a break is sometimes just as much of the celebration as dressing up and getting down on the dance floor. Why not get a hotel room local to where you are? Dress up or down, but order room service or get food delivered for a treat. Want to bring the whole family? Why not! It’s your ball!

How are you celebrating the ball this year?

In August, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin released a memo stating a mandatory vaccination against COVID-19 was necessary to keep “a healthy and ready force.” The Pfizer-BioNTech version of the COVID-19 vaccination was officially approved by the FDA, while it was previously under emergency-use authorization. With this change to official approval, the Department of Defense moved toward requiring vaccination. The Moderna and Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccinations are still under emergency-use authorization and are therefore not included.

There is a long history of required vaccinations within the military. Vaccinations for Small Pox and Anthrax are required for deployment and readiness. According to AP News, the Navy and the Marine Corps stated they had zero religious exemption requests for other vaccines in recent years while the Air Force reported there were a few, and the Army did not have any data to share. When the COVID-19 vaccination approval was first announced, the vaccination was offered to military members, but not initially required.

On August 31, Vice Admiral W. R Merz, the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, Plans and Strategy released NAVADMIN 190/21 which mandated that all Navy service members must be vaccinated for the COVID-19 vaccination.  All Navy personnel must be vaccinated by November 28^th, 2021 and reservists must be vaccinated by December 28, 2021. A message from Marine Corps Commandant General Berger stated that “All non-exempt active component personnel will achieve full vaccination no later than 90 days from the date of ALNAV 062/21, and all non-exempt reserve component personnel will achieve full vaccination no later than 120 days from the date. Vaccination could occur on installation or off, proof just needs to be provided to the active or reserve command for appropriate documentation. Exemptions for medical or administrative reasons can be requested through the Navy personnel or Marines command. Among the Marine Corps, a permanent medical exemption can be approved by the first O-5 or O-6 command surgeon in the member’s chain of command after the recommendation by a licensed healthcare provider working for the Department of Defense. Anyone who is not exempt who refuses the vaccination by the deadline will face adverse administrative action.

The Army released its plan for implementing the mandatory vaccination on September 14, 2021, stating that all active-duty units are expected to be vaccinated by December 15, 2021, and Reserve and National Guard units are expected to be vaccinated by June 30, 2022.  Furthermore, it stated that soldiers who refused the vaccine would be counseled through the chain of command and medical providers and that failure to comply could lead to administrative or non-judicial punishment. Soldiers would have the ability to request an exemption through medical, religious or administrative reasons as outlined by Army Regulation (AR) 600-20 and AR 40-562. While pending a request, no punitive actions would be given.

The Air Force released their COVID-19 implementation plan on September 03, 2021. It stated that all active-duty service members without an exemption are required to be fully vaccinated by November 2^nd and Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve personnel are required to be fully vaccinated by December 2^nd, 2021. Service members can apply for medical or administrative exemption through AFI 48-119_IP and for religious accommodation through DAFI 52-201. Any refusal of the vaccination could lead to punitive actions.

New joins or recruits are required to have vaccination as well. The Navy stated that “new accessions will be fully vaccinated as soon as practicable following service entry” per a Navy message. The Marine Corps stated that “Marines in recruit training will be required to receive the COVID-19 vaccination.”

All across the board – every service member is required to get the COVID-19 vaccination. Even if the service member had a COVID-19 infection previously, vaccination is required.  Any refusal of the vaccination without an exemption is punishable by the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).

Per a Pentagon briefing on August 25^th, the current percent of service members who were fully vaccinated for each service was the following: Navy and Marine Corps: 73%, Air Force and Space Force 57%, Army: 40%.

With the commission to rename bases formed with the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, the goal of renaming 10 bases across the United States has moved forward. The Army bases named during World War II are getting a name change.  The commission is made up of  8 members – four that are selected by the Secretary of Defense, and four from within the House and Senate Armed Services Committee representing veterans and military communities.

Recently Fort Bragg has solicited feedback on renaming the base. Per the installation’s homepage, the criteria for selecting a new name have not been released. Generally, the ideals of the Army of courage, values, sacrifices, and diversity of the military community will be utilized for the name selection per the Army’s website. There is also a Google doc specifically for the Fort Brag renaming with 17 suggested names with the history of each name listed.

Will giving feedback make the difference? On the one hand, the Army wants to include the local community and military community in the name choice. This would help the community feel ownership of the new base. It may also ease the tension in renaming the base. There has been division in regards to the naming commission. Some people applaud the effort of renaming the bases noting that the name change doesn’t erase history but moves forward. Others see the name change as exactly that – an erasing of history and poor use of funds and time. While others still feel the name of the base does not matter – naming the base generic things like “the Fort” or “Basey McBase Base” does not change or devalue what work is done there.

The commission has stated that they will take feedback into consideration, and will release criteria for name considerations. The bases being renamed are Ft. Bragg in North Carolina; Camp Beauregard and Fort Polk in Louisiana; Fort Benning and Fort Gordon in Georgia; Fort A.P. Hill, Fort Lee and Fort Pickett in Virginia, Fort Hood in Texas and Fort Rucker in Alabama. 

Providing feedback for the installation you call home or have called home, is a great way to stay connected to your community, and be part of the history of the name change. It has certainly provided ample discussion on the history of military figures throughout America’s 250+ years.

The name change will not be immediate. Name recommendations were submitted to Congress by October 1, 2022.

The Marine Corps service branch is known for its physical fitness. In fact, Eleanor Roosevelt famously said about Marines that “The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!”

As other services update their physical fitness tests, it is now the Marine Corps turn. It’s change in the physical fitness test may surprise you.

The MARADMIN release in August of 2021 stated that planks will now be a mandatory component of the physical fitness test, replacing the old exercise of crunches. This replacement will be in full effect in 2023. The alternative of planks for crunches has been in place since 2019 when then Commandant Neller approved it to be so, although not many Marines have chosen this option over the crunches. Plank scoring adjustments will be made and go in effect in 2022. The minimum time to hold a plank will be one minute and 10 seconds, with the maximum points given for a plank held for 3 minutes and 45 seconds.

The reason for the change is simple – this is a move in injury reduction. While crunches are known to help develop a strong core (abdominal muscles), they are awful for the lower back often causing low back pain or increasing previously occurring low back pain. In addition, crunches require another person holding the feet down which can lead to potential injury to the lower leg. Maj. Lindsey Slyman, the programs and assessments section head, Human Performance Branch, Policy and Standards Division, Training and Education Command told a military newspaper that while there was no specific research on what the injury risk reduction would be “we do know that the crunches place stress on the spinal column, neck, and cervical spine due to the repetitive loading and increased use of hip flexors.”

Beyond risk reduction, the physiological evaluation of core strength is better tested with a plank than with crunches. The plank requires muscle activation of the lateral and central abdominal muscles, and given that they are required to be activated for a longer period of time, they provide a better test of endurance and strength of the core muscles.

For active Marines, getting ready for the plank addition to the PFT should happen now. Start slow and in small increments. Doing a plank for 30 seconds for a week straight will increase the strength and ability to increase the time the following week to maybe 45-60 seconds. If staying in a plank position is difficult, try alternating between elbows and up to hands to see if this will help pass the time in addition. The key with any plank is to keep the back flat to avoid any lumbar strain.  Check out YouTube if you need help determining how to maintain the appropriate posture, or ask your buddies at work.

Remember a Marine over the age of 60 held a plank long enough to break the Guinness World Record holding it for 8 hours, 15 minutes and 15 seconds. Three minutes should be a piece of cake in comparison!

Ah, the fall and winter season. Fall is when the pumpkin memes begin and everything becomes pumpkin flavored. Not the typical time of year when orders hit. BUT orders do hit. People do move in the “off-season”. It may be off-season for moving, but there isn’t anything to prevent the holidays from coming.

While you may not be looking forward to celebrating Halloween, Thanksgiving, or the winter holidays in a hotel, there are ways to celebrate it. It may look different, but it will still be the holidays.

Halloween

1. Decorating: The craft store will be your friend with decorating. Paper is cheap! Draw pumpkins and have everyone “carve” a pumpkin. Hang them up on the wall with tape.
2. Costumes: When you are living out of suitcases in a TLF, Pinterest will be your friend for costume ideas using the clothes you already have. Construction paper wings can turn a dress into a fairy costume, or a construction hat changes Pjs into a firefighter costume. It will take some creativity with the help of the Pinterest search engine, but it will certainly make some memories!
3. Treats: Some TLFs have ovens, but if you don’t have one check your local grocery store for DIY cookie decorating kits. You might not need a giant bulk-store level bag of candy, but you can grab a couple of individual pieces of your favorite candy for the family from the store as well.
4. Trick-or-Treating: Oftentimes the hotel staff in a TLF will plan something fun for kids staying in for Halloween. If they aren’t, consider a scavenger hunt for your kids. Set up a craft or treat stations throughout the hotel, leaving clues with where the next one will be.
5. Music and Lights: If you are new to the area, you may not know about the local pumpkin patch. Perhaps you only have one car and are unable to go out for a drive. Or the reality is that your toddler won’t be awake past 8 so doing some time for the older kids or yourself won’t work for your current phase of life. Check out Youtube for videos from theme parks for fun “talking pumpkins” or lighted trails.  There are ghost hosts that can walk you through haunted rides to give your hotel room a spooky feel. All with the easy removal of said music or lights by turning off the television or computer. So feel free to turn up Thriller Nights.

Thanksgiving

1. Decorating: Paper, paper, paper. Copy paper – construction paper – craft paper – these are all your friends. Paper is cheap and simple – you can dress it up or dress it down. Make placemats with them, cut letters for banners and even make name cards with them. Use what nature you have around you. If you are able to, collect pine cones for decoration for the table. Or mix it up entirely if you have moved to the beach and collect shells. Yes, there are standard fall colors – but when you are doing the holidays in a TLF, you can make it what you want.
2. Prepared Food: Making the holiday meal is enjoyed by some, not so much by others. With the limitations of cooking space and dishes, it might be time to hit up the local grocery store for prepared dishes. There may even be some local favorites that you haven’t heard of before. If you are in a foreign country where they may not celebrate American holidays, consider this an opportunity to try the local fare.
3. Consider Grilled: If you are TLF has a grill available, consider grilling. If you really want a turkey breast, consider grilling the turkey breast. If there are only a couple of grills at the hotel, talk to other families to see if they are interested in chipping in with a whole turkey if you really want. That way everyone is aware while you are manning the grill for several hours.

Hanukah, Kwanzaa and Christmas

1. Fireplace: Candles are not allowed and fireplaces are not the norm in hotels, but you can stream a fireplace on Netflix! The streaming channel had several different types to choose from including an urban one to make it feel festive and distinctive.
2. Music: Thank goodness for the digital age – holiday music of your choice is at your fingertips. And music stations abound on the cable in the hotel. Rock around your paper Christmas tree to whatever holiday music you enjoy.
3. Dinner: Each hotel is varied on what the kitchen or kitchenette has available for cooking. Hit up the local grocery store for holiday favorites.
4. Linens: So you don’t have your favorite holiday linens because they are in storage, or still in a box waiting to get to you – time to use paper as your linens! Get a roll of craft paper and let the kids go to town with stickers and crayons. Or consider adding your own designs to it. It isn’t every year that a family celebrates the holidays in a hotel after all.
5. Holiday movies: Thankfully, most hotels have ports allowing for connections with Roku stick or have internet connections allowing for streaming. Stream your favorite holiday films from Netflix or Amazon and you won’t even miss your DVD collection!

Overall, the time in a TLF over the holidays is a time to make new traditions. It isn’t “normal” to have a holiday in a hotel, but it is different and can be fun! Make new memories of your holiday time with whatever it is you make it. Maybe you will decide to keep some traditions for the future – who needs a real holiday tree when you can make one with paper and decorate it with stickers anyway? It’s more space-efficient and cost-effective!

Being part of the military comes with a whole new language. The military acronyms. This language is meant to provide a means for quick and efficient communication among the military community.  If you have ever felt like you needed some sort of insider knowledge to decode what is said, here is an abbreviated GOAT for you – Glossary of Acronym of Terms. But just for fun, this isn’t just the real acronyms – but also what you will frequently hear them referred to. This isn’t a comprehensive list by any means, but will surely make you laugh or chortle, and explain the LES.

AAFES – Army and Air Force Exchange Service – aka the bougie exchange, especially when in OCONUS locations where families are present

ADFM – Active Duty Family Member. This is what DEERS refers to family members as. Family members are numbered as well by a FMP (Family Member Prefix). Spouses are generally 30. Second spouse 40, etc. Children are numbered based on seniority – 01 for first child, 02 for second, etc.

AMC – Air Mobility Command. This is who operates military flights CONUS and OCONUS, and for families for moves overseas.

BAH – Basic Housing Allowance. This monetary allowance is allotted by rank for the military member – it is divided by with and without dependents by rank and zip code.

BAS – Basic Allowance for Subsistence. This monetary allowance is to cover the service member’s meals. It is not meant to cover family member’s meals.

BCGs – Birth Control Glasses. This loving acronym refers to the lovely large black-framed glasses with abnormally thick corrective lenses that anyone who must wear glasses gets while in training.

BZ – Bravo Zulu. This phrase is used to celebrate an accomplishment or say “great job!” to a fellow service member or work counterpart.

CDC – Child Development Center – this CDC is not to be confused with the other organization of the same acronym which is on the news often. The CDC is the base daycare for children from 6 weeks to preschool.

COLA – Cost of Living Allowance. This is a stipend provided to service members who live in areas with high cost of living. COLA is typically offered to service members who live overseas to help cover the additional costs of living in these higher cost areas. There are areas that provide CONUS COLA. Areas within CONUS that provide COLA as of this writing can be found here.

CONUS – Continental United States

DEERS – Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System. This is the system that registers all service members, and their family members. When a service member becomes married, they must go to DEERS with the family member to put them in the system. When a family member is born, the family member must be registered in DEERS within 90 days. DEERS registration is what is pulled for TRICARE coverage.

DFAC – Dining Facility…because we need four letters for a two-word building.

DFAS– Defense Finance and Accounting Service – this is a big one, this is the acronym service members see in their bank accounts.

DITY – Do It Yourself, usually referred to as a DITY move. However, this acronym has fallen out of vernacular and is now a PPM – Personally Procured Move. Either DITY and PPM are interchangeable.

DOD – Department of Defense

ETS: Expiration of Term of Service. Also known as EAS – or Expiration of Active Obligated Service. This is the end of the enlistment period, or for officer the ETS is the period before career designation (service dependent).

FOB – Forward operating base. These bases are located in deployment locations, and are usually large enough to have hot water showers!

FUBAR – F***** beyond all recognition. AKA not a job well done.

HEDIS– Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set – the HEDIS metrics are something that you may hear of if you are seen at medical on installation, or be asked a specific question at visits due to measures that are being monitored.

LES – Leave and Earning Statement – the pay stub that military members receive. It looks like a crazy chart, and there are actual classes to help discern its meaning.

MRE – Meals Ready to Eat. These meals punch a day’s worth of calories into one little brown pouch will prevent the service member from needing to use the facilities in the field to #2. But those pan coated chocolate discs look awful familiar!

MTF – Military Treatment Facility – the military hospital or main clinic that provides medical services to active duty or military families on board installation.

OCONUS – Outside the Continental United States/ outside the contiguous United States – aka overseas locations where service members are stationed. Alaska counts as OCONUS, as is Hawaii, since it is not within the “lower 48” states.

OHA – Overseas Housing Allowance. This is self-explanatory – the housing allowance provided to service members living in overseas locations. In lieu of BAH, military members receive OHA when living OCONUS. Getting the hang of these acronyms?

OPSEC – Operational Security. If you have heard the phrase “Loose Lips Sink Ships” then you are families with OPSEC. The idea is to not share dates of moving troops overseas, or military secrets on social media or with people outside the immediate need to know.

Package Store – It is also referred to as the Shoppette or a Class 6. Not an acronym, but this phrase refers to the store on base that sells alcohol.

PCM – Primary Care Manager. TRICARE Prime is a HMO like insurance – meaning all referrals must go through a PCM. If you have TRICARE Prime, get to know your PCM well, and how to get in touch with them.

PEBD– Pay Entry Base Date – this is seen on the LES. This date is the most recent entry on duty without a break in service.

POA – Power of Attorney – this document is essential for family members of the active duty service member when they are deployed. There are General and Special Power of Attorney’s – ask your service’s administrative section or legal services to learn more about these and when to have them.

POV – Privately Owned Vehicle as opposed to a Government Owned Vehicle (GOV) or a contracted vehicle.

SA – Situational Awareness

Scuttlebutt – while not an acronym, this term means conversation around the water cooler or occasionally is used to refer to the water cooler itself.

SOCOM – Special Operations Command

TDY – Temporary Duty Travel, aka Temporary Additional Duty (TAD) – this is the term that military members often say when they travel on business, because after all, it is on duty.

TSP – Thrift Savings Plan – the retirement plan offered to service members. Make sure you understand what the breakdowns for this means.

The X – a term for the military Exchange. Often a Navy Exchange or Marine Corps Exchange because of the large “X” in their signs.

If you want to know even more acronyms associated with your or your families branch of service, inquire at the family services office to see if there are classes on offer to help discern the military terms. Learning what these abbreviations mean can help with insight and a sense of belonging with the understanding. Want to have it all at your fingertips now, refer to the DOD Dictionary of Military Associated Terms for up to date acronyms.