Military Life News

Military Life News, Commissary Rewards and Military Discounts

How You Can Save Money with a Hotel Loyalty Program

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Military families travel. A lot.

They aren’t afraid to embark on an epic road trip during their kids’ spring break. They travel for holidays and every 3-day weekend. Heck, military families travel even when they are moving from one duty station to another. The summer PCS season is also prime vacation time for military families.

Are you planning a family vacation for spring break or this summer? Are you mapping out your PCS route from Maine to California? Do you want to save money when booking your hotel rooms for this trip?

Consider a hotel loyalty program.

A hotel loyalty program is a convenient way to save money when you are traveling. More and more hotel chains are offering loyalty programs to reward frequent customers.

Each program works a little differently. As U.S. News and World Report wrote in an article comparing hotel loyalty programs,

There isn’t one best loyalty program that would suit the needs of every traveler. Each rewards program targets different preferred lodging styles — from boutique to business-friendly — travel habits and goals.

Here are 3 things to consider when reviewing the perks of a hotel loyalty program.

How You Can Save Money with a Hotel Loyalty Program

Are you a member of a hotel loyalty program?

1. The frequency of travel for you and your service member.

Take a moment to review your most recent hotel stays. How often did you book a hotel room in the last year? Did you stay in a hotel once a year or every few months?

Let’s say you, as a military spouse, don’t travel very often. But, your service member does. He or she may have a job that requires frequent travel for classes or training. When your service member is traveling for the military, do they stay in a national hotel chain? If the answer is yes, then a hotel loyalty program may be a good fit for your family. He can earn the points during his military travel and you can use those points later for a free night during a family vacation. It’s a win-win.

2. The hotel chain’s locations in relation to your frequent travel spots.

Geographic coverage is a super important factor to consider when reviewing a hotel loyalty program. Like I said earlier, lots of hotel chains are offering loyalty programs.

But not all hotel chains are nationwide. So if you sign up for a hotel chain with locations primarily in the Midwest, but you are living and therefore traveling in the Northeast, this hotel loyalty program would not benefit you.

This isn’t a problem with the Best Western Service Rewards program. With more 4,000 hotels worldwide, you are nearly guaranteed to find a Best Western on your PCS cross-country route.

The Best Western Service Rewards program, which benefits service members, allows members to:

  • Earn 10 points for every U.S. dollar spent on qualified hotel room rates
  • Receive a military discount of 10% or more on room rates
  • Automatically be upgraded to Gold status, which allows you to earn points faster

With the Best Western Service Rewards program, your points never expire, there aren’t blackout dates (so you can use your points to book a room during Memorial Day weekend) and you have access to their exclusive reservations line.

Always review a hotel loyalty program’s policy regarding the expiration of points and blackout dates. Nothing is more annoying than not being able to use the points that you earned because of blackout dates or your points expired before you could use them.

3. The benefits and savings of the hotel loyalty program.

A hotel loyalty program should be beneficial so pick one that benefits you. Do you want to earn free hotel rooms for future trips? Then find a program that rewards travelers with an easy-to-navigate points system to get you that free room in the future. You should know how many paid nights are required to earn a free stay.

Do you want to be upgraded occasionally from a standard room to a suite? Then pick a hotel loyalty program that rewards with free amenities.

Don’t forget to ask if the rewards can be shared with your spouse. It’s frustrating if your service member earned a crazy amount of points during her TDY, but then you can’t use those points for a free night when you’re driving to Grandma’s house with the kids.

A hotel loyalty program may help you save money when traveling, as long as you understand how it works. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and review the program’s policy before signing up for one. You want to find a program that works for you. Use the program to your advantage and get ready to enjoy the benefits as a loyal and frequent customer.

Are you a member of a hotel loyalty program? How does it help you save money when you travel?

How to Military-Proof Your Vacation Plans

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As my bio mentions, I come from a military family. One of the best pieces of advice that was given to me from my parents was to never lose out on vacation time. When I graduated from college, I took that advice to heart and made an effort to travel someplace new every year.

It didn’t change when I met my spouse. Although he was a little skeptical at first, we’ve been able to successfully vacation at least once a year since we started dating. My parents shared valuable tricks that have allowed us to vacation despite the military influence.

I know it’s hard to believe because we’ve heard so many different horror stories. In fact, my own vacation plans have been thwarted due to a short-notice TDY and unexpected field exercise. But, the important thing to note is that it’s always worth a try and don’t get discouraged.

With the right planning and flexibility, you can create unforgettable vacations, despite military annoyances!

Consider these travel tips that have been tested by my parents and myself:

How to Military-Proof Your Vacation Plans

How has military life interrupted your vacation plans? Don’t be discouraged. Try these 5 travel tips to create unforgettable vacations.

1. Don’t be afraid of planning ahead.

As a rule of thumb, my spouse and I like to map out a year in advance. It sounds crazy, right? But, it’s worked out great for us in the last 5 years.

We booked our Alaska cruise a year ahead of time. Military families can benefit from early bird deals in addition to military discounts. Yes, it’s a little scary, especially when you know things can change at a moment’s notice. That leads me to my next important point.

2. Always buy the travel insurance!

My spouse and I never book without it. Remember that Alaska cruise I mentioned? Well, we had to change the date two times before we actually left for our vacation.

Travel insurance gives you the flexibility to change dates without a hitch. Be sure you read the terms carefully to make sure you have the right type of protection for your vacation. We always make sure that if it gets to the point of not knowing when we could use it, the credit could still be there for us to use at any time.

During our Alaska vacation, we only had to pay the difference of our original sail date to our new one. Because of all the discounts we landed early on, the slight increase didn’t put a dent in our budget.

3. Make the most of block leave.

Depending on your assignment or location, military members can get a sense of when some breathing room comes their way. My spouse seems to get breathing room during the summer and winter months. He typically likes to take at least a week off at those times, so we aim to schedule vacations at that time.

In the last 2 years, we’ve got to go explore a new location along with spending the holidays with family. This past year, we celebrated the New Year and quickly jetset to Vegas to spend the next 5 days with my parents.

4. Plan a PCS vacation.

So far, my spouse and I are 2-2. We’ve PCSed two times together and have taken two vacations. Our first one was a PCS road trip from New York to Arizona. We mapped out a special route for ourselves that included visits through Texas.

Our last PCS is when we went on our honeymoon.

Yes, it can be done and it really doesn’t matter when you do it. My spouse was coming from an overseas tour and took a full month of leave. We moved all of my household goods and then flew out of our new duty station to cruise out of Puerto Rico.

5. Don’t be afraid of short-term planning either.

My spouse had use it or lose it vacation time a couple years ago, so we were encouraged to take time off. I came across an email with last-minute vacation deals and passed it along to my spouse.

If he had time to use, why not use it on a beach? We quickly booked another getaway as we were waiting for our Alaska cruise as a matter of fact. We couldn’t resist because the price was right and it was for the right amount of days off.

How do you military-proof your vacation plans?

Why More Military Families Are Home Schooling

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Home schooling is becoming more and more popular these days. This is even more true in military families.

Why More Military Families Are Home Schooling

By home schooling you can create the type of school you want for your children.

As parents try to figure out what is best for their child, they are turning to home schooling in order to make things a little easier for their children. They know military life is stressful enough and want to make sure they can create a stable school experience as they are growing up.

I have met many home schooling families during my time as a military spouse and one thing is true for all of them.

Home schooling makes their military lives a little easier.

Whether that is because of all the moving or being able to plan a trip or vacation whenever they need to do so.

Everyone knows that military families move often. On average, military families move every 3 years. That means that some kids could end up attending 3 or 4 schools before they even get into junior high. It’s no wonder that some military families are thinking about home schooling instead.

By home schooling your child you can avoid having to have them be the “new kid” time after time. If you have to move in the middle of the school year, you don’t have to worry about that disrupting their education. Military family schedules need to be flexible so home schooling allows you to make school just as flexible.

When children have to move a lot, their grades can decline and have trouble catching up. Friendships can be more difficult and finding their new place can be difficult.  Whether you home school or not your children will have to find new friends, but not having to find new friends at school right away too can take some of the pressure off.

Being in a new school without friends can be quite difficult.

If you have ever moved schools before you know that there can be a big difference between what they teach and expect from the kids. Even if they are in the same grade. Another positive for home schooling is that your kids don’t have to experience any of that. You won’t have to struggle with a school in order to make sure your kids are on track. You will take care of all of that yourself.

If you want to take your kids to grandma’s house in October because that is when your spouse has a month of leave, you can do so and bring school with you. Taking off like that wouldn’t be possible when they are in a traditional school. This is a big plus to those who home school while in the military as they don’t have to worry if they want to take their kids out of school for an extended period of time. This also will allow you to take your kids home during a deployment and not have to worry about the local school system.

The great news about being a military family who is home schooling is that there is usually a lot of support for those who home school on base or even in your local community. There are a lot of other parents to connect with, make plans with and work together with to create a good community with your kids.

You will not be alone as a home schooling military family.

By home schooling you can create the type of school you want for your children. You can give them consistency and you don’t have to worry about having to move them in the middle of the school year. You can plan around your military member’s schedule and you can create a better home life for your children. Home schooling isn’t for everyone but choosing this option can be a big benefit to a lot of military families.

Do you home school your children? Why did you decide to home school them?

4 Military Discounts You Need to Know About When Buying a New Car

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When my husband left for an unaccompanied overseas tour, he left his old car with my family. At the time, he thought he had a couple more years left until he needed to buy a new one. Our ideal plan was to milk whatever years his two-door convertible had left because we wanted to buy a new vehicle for ourselves later.

However, things happened a little bit differently.

During his year away, his car started going downhill (that’s saying it nicely). There were lots of little mechanical issues that added up to a lot of money (i.e. the convertible top wouldn’t seal all the way, the window wouldn’t open and close, among other things). Plus, the engine was acting funky. I took it in to get assessed and found out that it would cost more to fix the car than what it was worth.

That’s when we decided that if we can wiggle it, we should both get new cars. The next step was working out a budget and car choices that fit our needs.

In our research, we found that there are a lot of military discounts and savings out there!

Ultimately, we utilized 2 different programs to purchase our brand-new cars that helped us save thousands. Are you shopping for a new car? Here are the military discounts and savings you need to know about.

4 Military Discounts You Need to Know About When Buying a New Car

Before you buy a new car, take time to research which car dealerships and manufacturers offer military discounts.

Buying Overseas

Military AutoSource. My dad was the one that brought this military discount program to my attention. It turns out that my own family utilized an overseas car buying program in the ‘90s to buy our tried-and-true Ford Aerostar. Purchasing your car overseas has lots of great benefits if you’re interested in a Ford or Chrysler vehicle.

The manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) is typically lower and the dealerships are accommodating to match other stateside deals. These military discounts are only offered to military members overseas, so it’s something to consider when the time lines up for you. We were lucky to have the time work for us to use the military discount!

Buying Stateside

You don’t have to be overseas to bank on an amazing military discount. There are a lot of different stateside opportunities that you should explore! I’ve split up the 3 main groups that offer unique ways to save.

Car Dealerships. I was actually led to a dealership that offered deductions off my dream car’s MSRP via USAA’s car buying program. Not all dealerships participate, so start your search on USAA’s member platform to figure out which ones are included. Once I found a dealership that was within my needs, I went ahead and worked with them to buy my car.

If you don’t have USAA, dealerships may separately offer deductions for service members. It doesn’t hurt to call around and ask about military discounts. Whether you are looking for a new or used car, dealerships can work with you to get the most out of your budget.

Car Manufacturers. If you’re buying a new car, most car manufacturers offer a military appreciation bonus or military discount. The best way to research a military discount for your dream car is to go directly to their website.

Since a lot of dealerships are single car manufacturer focused, check to see if you could apply a military discount or military appreciation bonus with any other dealership discounts they offer too. Think of it this way, they want to sell you a car and use it to their advantage!

Bank Financing. Lastly, I was able to score a rebate with financing with my car manufacturer. It wasn’t actually a military discount, but it did add onto our military deals. It wasn’t my intent to finance with them, but when I sat down with the advisor, we broke down the numbers and if I planned it right I would be able to save thousands more. They offered a zero percent introductory APR and I would be able to refinance after a year.

That’s ultimately what I did, so I could use the additional discount. I was able to go with my ideal car loan with a lower APR. It would also allow me to pay off my car in a shorter amount of time.  Of course, you could utilize military friendly banks to finance from the beginning if there aren’t any particular deals to utilize at the time of purchase.

Did you get a military discount when buying your car?

Two Commissaries in Germany Will Close Their Doors This Spring

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In a never-ending drive by the government to cut the military budget, the Pentagon has proposed to cut the commissary budget for 2017 by $221 million. How would this budget reduction impact the every day consumer?

Commissaries will be closing. Not all commissaries; no need to panic. Stateside commissaries are safe for now. Those in Europe, on the other hand, are on the chopping block.

The first 2 commissaries slated to close are in Germany; they are the commissaries at Sembach and Illesheim.

In 2015, Sembach sales were $3.8 million and Illesheim was only a mere $2.5 million. Both of these commissaries have been in operation since the 1960s. They are small stores, with only 4 checkout lanes each. This puts them at the bottom third of commissary sales. There are 240 commissaries and these two just aren’t holding up to standards others are setting.

Officials are quick to say that closing these 2 commissaries isn’t a big deal for customers since they are within a 30-minute drive of 2 larger commissaries from Sembach and a 35-minute drive to the next commissary from Illesheim. Shoppers from Sembach could make that commute if they wanted to shop at Vogelweh or Ramstein Air Base. Those at Illesheim would have to drive to Ansbach for their next closest commissary.

A 30- or 35-minute commute might not sound like much to government officials in Washington, D.C., but it can be significant for families living abroad.

The commissary’s slogan, “it’s worth the drive,” might just take on a whole new meaning. This holds especially true for single service members who are use to just popping into their local commissary often.

If you are using either of these 2 commissaries as your main source for purchasing groceries, note that Sembach closes April 29. Illesheim’s commissary will close on March 31.

One good thing at least, there are sure to be great sales as they try to move inventory off the shelves.

Don’t make a sigh of relief yet if you’re stationed in Germany, but not near these 2 commissaries. There are more commissaries slated to close. The Defense Commissary Agency plans to meet budget cuts by consolidating down to one commissary per military community. Grafenwoehr and Kaiserslautern will be the only exceptions to this.

That means commissaries in Stuttgart will be part of the plan to close stores in Europe in 2016. Those at Patch, Kelley Barracks, Robinson Barracks and Panzer Kaserne will all see their final days this year.

A new commissary on Panzer is being built to compensate for this. Construction hasn’t begun yet and these commissaries will remain open until the new one is ready so you still have time to shop at your favorite commissary before the doors close for good.

The saying “you can never go back” keeps playing in my mind as I write this. I lived in Germany for 5 years. I truly will never be able to go back to Robinson Barracks where my family shopped regularly when we were stationed in Stuttgart. It’s a 20- to 30-minute drive from Robinson Barracks to Panzer for those that live in the area.

There is always a constant worry about losing military benefits and talk of commissary closures are a norm. This is one instance that rumors are true.

Hopefully families and service members that shop regularly at these commissaries will be able to adjust their routine grocery shopping trip accordingly knowing ahead of time that their stores are closing.

Are you concerned more commissaries will close? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section.

Tricare Dental Contract Change

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More than 1.8 million beneficiaries will see a change in their dental coverage next year as the government has just awarded United Concordia Companies, Inc. Tricare’s dental contract.

MetLife has held the contract since they took it over from United Concordia in 2012. Now that the government has made the switch back, there is plenty of protest.

How the Tricare Dental Contract Change May Affect Your Dental Care

If you’re worried about scheduling your next cleaning, note that United Concordia doesn’t take over Tricare dental until February 1, 2017.

The contract award is for $11,010,000 to support the Tricare Dental Program by providing comprehensive dental care services around the world to eligible Tricare beneficiaries. There were 4 offers made, but ultimately the Department of Defense (DoD) went with United Concordia. The 5-year contract includes 1-year transition in contract with 5 12-month option periods and a 12-month phase out period. United Concordia already manages the Tricare Active Duty Dental Program (ADDP) for active duty service members.

United Concordia reports that surveys confirm that enrolled members and the government are both satisfied with their service.

Some beneficiaries however are skeptical of the change.

When the DoD awarded the Tricare Dental Program contract to MetLife in 2012, many were delighted to find dental coverage expanded in many categories. The annual maximum amount covered increased, the lifetime orthodontic coverage increased, there was an addition of accidental dental injury and pregnant women were allowed an extra cleaning.

Now there is worry that some of these additions won’t carry over.

If United Concordia does keep these category expansions going, the question then becomes how much will this cost? A company spokesperson said that they don’t have specifics on Tricare dental coverage yet as they are still working out details with the government. In turn, the DoD says it cannot comment until the protests have been settled. That leaves a lot of room for questions and wondering minds.

A few program details have been announced however. The annual maximum benefit will increase from $1,300 to $1,500 under the new contract. Sealants, which required a 20 percent cost share under MetLife’s management, will now be completely covered with no out-of-pocket costs at all.

Monthly premiums won’t be going away though. All beneficiaries who are currently required to pay a monthly premium will still incur that cost. Two free cleanings a year will continue to be the norm and pregnant women will be able to have a third cleaning.

How the Tricare Dental Contract Change May Affect Your Dental Care

Is your family enrolled in the Tricare Dental Program?

While these benefits are all great, some worry that they will have to find a new dental provider once the change in contract occurs. Each dental office can choose which provider they accept for dental coverage and they might not accept Tricare under United Concordia. It can be nerve-racking enough going to a dentist. Once you find one you like and trust, whether for yourself or your family, you want to stick with them. Facing the potential to have to search for a new dental office is cumbersome.

If you’re worried about scheduling your next cleaning, note that United Concordia doesn’t take over Tricare dental until February 1, 2017, so you have plenty of time to see your dental care provider.

If you or a family member are not enrolled in the Tricare Dental Program and would like to do so, you can sign up online.

The Tricare Dental Program is the world’s largest voluntary dental program. Those eligible for enrollment include: family members of active duty service members, family members of national guard/reserve members, and national guard/reserve members who are not on active duty or covered by Transitional Assistance Management Program (TAMP).

Coverage is available worldwide. It includes coverage for many dental procedures including:

  • exams
  • cleanings
  • fluorides
  • sealants
  • X-rays
  • fillings
  • root canals
  • gum surgery and tooth extractions
  • crowns
  • dentures
  • orthodontics and braces
  • scaling and root planning for diabetics
  • as well as an additional cleaning for pregnant women.

If you’re worried about how the Tricare Dental Program will change after the contact award, don’t delay in making a trip to your favorite dentist before next year.

How do you feel about United Concordia being awarded Tricare’s dental contract?

What Military Families Need to Know About the Zika Virus

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The Zika virus has been in the news lately and hearing about this when you have a spouse or family member in Central America or another area where there seems to be an outbreak can be quite scary.

The best thing to do is to learn more about the virus, how dangerous the disease is and how at risk the military is when they are in areas of the world with people who are being infected with the disease. The more you understand, the better off that you will be.

What Military Families Need to Know About the Zika Virus

Are you concerned about the Zika virus?

What is the Zika virus?

This virus is a non-fatal form of dengue fever. In most cases the Zika virus is quite mild. The military does not expect this virus to pose a health risk to troops.

What are the symptoms of the Zika virus?

The symptoms include a mild fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis. Some people will also experience headaches and muscle pain. Remember that the Zika virus is overall mild and people are rarely hospitalized when they are infected.

Microcephaly is the biggest issue with this disease. You have probably seen the photos of the babies with the very small heads. These babies had mothers who were infected with the Zika virus when they were pregnant. The virus has also been linked to Guillain-Barré syndrome.

How can you get the Zika virus?

According to Health.mil, Zika is primarily spread to people through the bite of infected Aedes mosquitoes. It can also be transmitted from a pregnant mother to her baby during pregnancy, though we do not know how often that transmission occurs. Once a person has been infected with the virus, he or she is likely to be protected from future infections.

Which countries are most at risk?

Although there have been a few cases in the United States, this is not considered an outbreak. These countries are under a travel alert: Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Venezuela, Dominican Republic and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

What is the CDC doing about the Zika virus?

The CDC is working to alert the public about the disease, provide state laboratories with good diagnostic tests and making sure they are reporting cases so they can keep their eye on what the diseases is doing and how far it is spreading. As of today, there is no vaccine.

What can military families do to protect themselves?

The best way to handle this is to avoid getting bitten by mosquitoes. Avoid time outside if possible if you are in a location where there is a known outbreak, wear long-sleeved shirts, use netting when possible, use EPA-registered insect repellents, and sleep under a mosquito bed net.

Be extra careful if you are pregnant. Talk to your doctor about your personal risks of contacting this disease.

Whatever you do, try not to worry too much about the Zika virus. Do what you can to educate yourself about what the disease really is, how things can spread and what you can do to protect yourself and your family. Make good decisions about where to travel and feel free to ask questions if you are worried about something specific.

You can learn more about the Zika virus from these websites:

Your spouse who is deployed in Central America should have had a briefing about the Zika virus. See if they can fill you in on what they have been told to ease your worries. Know that the military is aware of the disease and is working hard to make sure that the troops overseas are protected from contracting it.

Are you concerned about the Zika virus?

Military Commissary Food Stamps Use Drops

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The military community can utilize lots of wonderful programs and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is no different. It’s a food stamps program offering groceries to families in need, including any military families that are financially burdened.

It was reported that the commissaries saw a 6 percent drop of food stamps usage in 2015’s fiscal year!

Breaking it down per fiscal year from 2014 to 2015 in numbers, it went from $84.5 million to $79.5 million.

The Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) shared more information in a SpouseBuzz report that evaluates the figures dating back to 2010. It shows increases in SNAP dollars used from 2010 to 2013, but then there has been a steady decline from 2013 on. SpouseBuzz indicates that a reduction in the food stamps benefit could be the culprit in the drop from 2013 to 2014. But, what is the reason for the continued decline?

It was also posed in the article that a number of factors could play a part of the food stamps decline and that the topic is open for discussion. The question I ask you is: what can we do about it?

My suggestion is that we could share the food stamps program to the military families around us. One of the factors mentioned is that perhaps, not a lot of new families knows about the food stamps benefit.

The United States Department of Agriculture even has a special military and veteran families webpage that evaluates the different food stamps programs. They also have a great quote on there that I wanted to share.

You served our country proudly and honorably, and we want to inform you that through our nutrition programs, you may be eligible for assistance to ensure you, your family and fellow veterans have the assistance to ensure you have nutritious meals.

So, check it out to see if it fits you or pass it along to other families in your community. Referring back to above, the SNAP food stamps program is what can be utilized at local commissaries. It’s easy to see if you qualify. All you need to do is follow the prompts on their Pre-Screening Eligibility Tool here.

Before you start the online tool, gather as many appropriate documents and information as you can like your earnings amount, rent/mortgage payments, outside expenses (daycare), applicable bills (utility, medial, etc.) and VA payments.

Keep in mind that the tool online isn’t an application and families must apply in person at a local SNAP office location. Each state operates a bit differently and with the tool, you might get directed to another page.

For example, I’m located in Virginia. When I said where I’m from, I get passed along to Virginia’s website. With that said, each state has their own application. Once you are pre-screened, find your state using this link to get started with the actual application process. There you can also find the nearest office to you to drop off all your appropriate paperwork within your state’s web page.

The SNAP page has another separate resource that finds local retailers that has the food stamps program. Using SNAP is easy and is operated the same way as a debit card. The card is used at authorized retailers. We know the commissary is one great retailer! One speculation of mine about why the commissary food stamps usage dropped is maybe military families are using different retailers.

Whatever the reason, we can’t forget about the SNAP food stamps program for military families. Together, we can pass along the resource and share with our military friends. We never know when a family is in need, so the best way to spread awareness is to talk about it.

Are you interested in SNAP? Has your family used the program before?

10 Reasons MilSpouses Don’t Ask for Help

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Asking for help is never easy and for some reason we military spouses have trouble with doing so. Especially when we really need the help. We try to do everything ourselves and don’t think we should stop and ask anyone for anything.

10 Reasons Why Military Spouses Don’t Ask for Help

Why do you think that military spouses are reluctant to ask for help or seek counseling?

Here are 10 reasons why military spouses might not ask for help (even when they need it):

  1. We don’t want to bother anyone. As military spouses, we don’t want to have to bother anyone with our troubles. We might assume that we don’t have a right to do so. We might think that if we do the person we ask for help will think less of us.
  2. We think we got this. Military spouses try to stay strong. We think we can do everything ourselves. We don’t want to have to admit that we need extra help.
  3. We don’t know where to go for help. We might want help but we are unsure of where to go to get the help that we need. We are not sure who to call or who to contact in order to find that help.
  4. We think we have to pay for help. If you are not sure about what your options are, some military spouses might assume that you have to pay to go see a counselor. If you have Tricare, they will pay for some if not all of your counseling. You should check and see what is available and what you have access to. There are other free programs out there as well.
  5. We think our need is temporary so we just want to get through it. When military spouses are going through a difficult situation, it can be easy to think that the situation will go away soon. That they really don’t need to ask for help. The problem with this is that sometimes the issues don’t just go away and we really should be looking for someone to help us through them.
  6. We worry about others finding out. Military spouses worry that others will find out if they had to get help for what they are going through. They might fear that others will make fun of them or look down on them.
  7. We don’t want to come across as weak. We don’t want to come across as weak to our spouses as well as others in our community. We worry that if they find out we needed help, they would no longer think we are strong. We have this idea in our heads about how military spouses are supposed to act and we feel like seeking help would mean we have failed to live up to that.
  8. We don’t think we have time. Life is busy and scheduling a counseling appointment might not be easy to do. Some military spouses might want to go and get help but feel like they just have too much going on to add that appointment to their schedules.
  9. We are not sure it will help. Deep down we might be worried that asking for help won’t even do what we need it to do. That we will be wasting our time. 
  10. We think we will look bad to our spouse’s command. This is a fear that some military spouses might have. That they will look bad to their spouse’s command. That they will be known as that wife or that husband and that seeking help will cause harm to their service member’s career.

The truth is, there are a lot of ways for military spouses to find the help that they need. Programs like FOCUS which stands for Families OverComing Under Stress can help spouses find the help that they need to get through their difficult situations. FOCUS offers resiliency training to help children and adults process and grow from their stressful situations.

There are also options to meet with a chaplin, Military & Family Life Counseling (MFLC) Program or be seen by a professional counselor through Tricare or MilitaryOneSource.

During my last deployment, I ended up seeing a counselor because I couldn’t handle what I was having to deal with. Taking the steps to make this happen was difficult but I was able to get the help I needed and learn more about how to handle my feelings as I got through the deployment. I was very glad that I did seek the help even though it was hard to do so.

If you feel like you need extra help, don’t be afraid to ask for what you need. You will be glad that you did as you will be able to learn and grow as well as figuring out the tools you need to get through military life challenges.

Now it’s your turn: Why do you think that military spouses are reluctant to ask for help or seek counseling?

Proposed Changes to the Commissaries in 2016

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For the last 40 years the commissaries have been put on the chopping block only to come out strong.

Last year the Senate and House debated privatizing the commissaries over the next several years to save money. They wanted to cut the $1.3 billion annual Department of Defense subsidy for the commissary system. Luckily, this proposal didn’t make it through.

Don’t relax too much thinking the commissaries will be safe now. This year the politicians are at it again.

The House and Senate have come together on a new plan for the FY 2016 Defense Authorization Act. This consists of:

  • reducing the FY 2016 commissaries budget cut from $322 million to $30 million;
  • they scrapped the idea of privatizing the system and are now requiring a DoD plan to make the commissary and exchange benefit “budget neutral” by the end of 2018;
  • authorized DoD to conduct pilot programs to evaluate ways to achieve commissary and exchange budget neutrality; and
  • specified that these must maintain high levels of customer satisfaction, provide high-quality products, and sustain the current level of savings for customers.

What does this mean for the average shopper at their local commissaries? The most notable change would be prices. Some patrons would notice their prices going up while a select few might find them going down.

How could this be?

What lawmakers are considering here is variable pricing. Currently, prices are set at commissaries across the board. Under this change, commissaries would see price changes based on location.

Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., a brigadier general in the Army Reserves chairs an Armed Services subcommittee that lead the hearings recently on overhauling the stores. He says commissaries could improve how they sell products and become more efficient if they utilized a variable pricing method. Following commercial grocery stores strategies, prices would be set by the market.

For example, prices at commercial grocery stores are higher in New York then they are in Alabama. Just reading this proposal, Fort Drum patrons will be balking at the idea, whereas those at Maxwell AFB may be more open to it since they would be the ones possibly seeing the lower prices.

Heck hopes this plan will help get commissaries to a break-even plan. He says that they currently lose money on every sale.

If that doesn’t do the job, the other plan proposed is to create a commissary brand, much like commercial grocery stores have. Selling items under a Defense Commissary Agency label was part of a consultant lead study that was presented to Congress last fall. This is likely to be the main topic of discussion on the Hill this year.

The worry here for most people is that the quality of the products might not be the same as the commercial brands that are currently being sold at commissaries. The study claims that the products would be at the same level and patrons would still save money over local grocery stores. To match that quality however, there would likely be an increase in prices.

If either of these proposals get enough lawmakers to support it, they could be added to the National Defense Authorization Act, which is a huge bill that shapes military policies and takes most of the year to work through.

Will commissaries see changes this year or are they safe, at least for another year?

Only time will tell, but if the last 40 years of failed proposals to cut the DoD subsidy have a standing basis then maybe things won’t change.

Once the presidency changes, initiatives might as well. Everything is a big “if” for the moment and commissary patrons will be watching closely to see if one of the greatest nonpay benefits for service members will see a big change.

What do you think of these proposals to make changes to the commissaries?