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How to Get Through an Emergency While Your Spouse Is Deployed

03/13/2017 By Kimber Green

Without fail, if something is going to go wrong it will happen while your spouse is on deployment. It is the Murphy’s Law of the military and many military spouses say you haven’t been through a deployment until something has gone wrong.

How to Get Through an Emergency While Your Spouse Is Deployed

Have you handled an emergency situation while your service member was on deployment?

Here are 6 emergency situations military spouses may face during a deployment and how to get through them.

Natural Disaster

No matter where you are stationed, there is always a possibility of a natural disaster. This could include flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, mud slides, tsunami and more.

What plans do you have in place in case of a natural disaster while your spouse is on deployment?

Before deployment, create a disaster kit together. This should include 1 gallon of water per person per day for 3 days, a 3-day supply of nonperishable food, a battery powered radio and spare batteries, flashlights, a first aid kit and cellphone chargers.

If you are required to evacuate, having a plan is extremely helpful. Before deployment, make sure your spouse provides an emergency contact list for you. This should have contact information for his or her command as well as the key spouse such as the ombudsman. Know who you should contact first in an emergency. Plan where you will go if you need to evacuate and bring your emergency contact list with you.

Fire and Loss of Home

Losing your home to a fire would be devastating.

One thing on my husband’s to-do list before deployment is to change the smoke detector batteries.

Sit down with your family and determine what you will do in case of a fire. Everyone needs to get out of the house and have a designated meeting area. Choose an area far enough away from the house, such as the mailbox or the street light across the street.

After you’ve ensured everyone is safe and have called emergency services, you will want to contact your spouse’s command. They can notify your husband or wife about the situation and provide support.

Call your family and friends to let them know you are OK and find a place for your family to go. You’ll want to contact your insurance company and have your house evaluated quickly so repairs can be made.

The Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society can help with replacing items lost to the fire as well as with grants or interest-free loans for home repairs.

Gas Leak

I had a gas leak while my husband was on deployment. If your house runs on gas make sure you have carbon monoxide detectors.

If you smell gas or your CO detectors go off, get out of the house immediately. Call 911 and the gas company.

Contact the command to let them know so they can alert your spouse as well. If you or your children feel sick at all, go to the emergency room. Gas poisoning symptoms present like the flu. You may need to find a place to stay that night as well.

Serious Illness or Pregnancy Complication

When a serious illness strikes an immediate family member during deployment, the possibility of going home to help is there. Immediate family includes:

father
mother
sibling
spouse
spouse’s parents
children

If you are having a pregnancy complication that puts your life or the child’s life in danger, you can seek help this way as well. First contact the service member’s command to let them know what is going on and ask about having your spouse sent home.

You can also contact the American Red Cross Hero Care Center either by phone at 1-877-272-7337 or online.

Serious Accident and Hospitalization

If you or your family members are in a serious accident make sure you contact the command to let them know. They will get word to the service member and he or she may be able to come home.

It is important to have a plan in place in case something happens to you. Before your spouse left for deployment, they likely made a will.

Do you have a living will?
Who will take your children immediately if you are seriously injured in an accident?

Make an appointment or stop by the legal assistance office at your military installation. They can provide a will worksheet for you to fill out to begin the process of creating a will. It answers many common questions people have about wills.

Once you have completed it, a lawyer needs to review it and make it legal. If you have children, in the will you can designate who they go to if you are unable to care for them. Before you designate a person or family, make sure you discuss it with them.

Consider who will take your children immediately if you are sent to the hospital unexpectedly. Ask a local friend if they would be willing to look after your children short term.

Death in the Family

If someone in the service member’s immediate family passes away during deployment, his or her command and the Red Cross may be able to get them home. Discuss with your spouse before deployment what your family wants to do in such a situation.

Will the service member be able to or want to come home for the funeral?
Who will take your children and how will you get to the service?

Disaster can strike at any time, but for some reason it tends to happen when a loved one is on deployment. Having a plan in place for each of these instances can save you time and grief.

Don’t wait until it’s too late.

Talk with your spouse, family and friends and determine which path you will take if an emergency arises while your spouse is on deployment.

Have you faced an emergency during a deployment? What advice would you give military spouses to help them plan for emergencies and natural disasters?

Military Discounts for When Your Service Member Is Deployed

11/28/2016 By Kimber Green

Have you looked into military discounts and freebies for deployment items? I love free and discounted things. As yet another deployment looms shortly ahead for my service member, I, at least, have some of these military discounts to look forward to.

Here is a list of 11 military discounts and freebies you should consider while your spouse is deployed.

Create a Free Welcome Home Sign with Build a Sign

Build a Sign offers the option of 1 free welcome home vinyl banner, jumbo card or yard sign to present to your loved one at the end of their deployment. You only have to pay for shipping.

They suggest ordering 8 weeks before you need it, but you can choose a quicker shipping option. Expedited shipping costs more.

Free Lawn Care and Snow Removal for Military Spouses

Project EverGreen offers free lawn and landscape services and snow and ice removal for military spouses while their service member is on deployment.

I signed up for this service when my husband deployed after moving to an area where it snows. Being from the South, I’ve never shoveled snow. I was relieved to find local people and lawn care companies registered with the EverGreen Project to help me while my service member was on deployment.

Smile for a Free Family Portrait with HeartsApart

HeartsApart.org brings photographers from around the country together to provide service members with photography sessions, free of charge, with their families prior to deployment. The service member receives a portrait that is printed on a waterproof bi-folded card that can fit in his or her uniform pocket. Their family receives a DVD with the photos from the entire session with reproduction rights.

The program has recently increased to provide photos of newborn babies that are born when their father is on deployment.

Operation Love Reunited Captures Your Homecoming Kiss

Operation Love Reunited offers free photo sessions for military families worldwide when the service member will be on deployment for 4 months or more. Options include pre-deployment and mid-deployment sessions, homecoming photos and fallen loved ones sessions.

Two photo sessions are allowed per deployment. Pre-deployment photo sessions require the service member to be photographed in uniform. Fifteen prints will be shipped directly overseas.

Homecoming photos are taken at the time the military spouse and service member are reunited to capture the raw emotion of being reunited. Fifteen photos will be provided digitally.

Daddy Dolls Offers Comfort to Military Children During Deployments

Daddy Dolls started as comfort pillows for children with fathers on deployment. The front of the pillow is a picture of the service member. What makes Daddy Dolls unique is that the pillow is shaped like a person and the photo is full size to the pillow.

Many of my friends had them for their children and recommended Daddy Dolls to me. I bought one for our son during the last deployment and he has carried it all over town with him.

While there isn’t a specific military discount for these now, you can find discount codes online. They have also expanded their product selection and now offer items with similar sentiment.

Record a Bedtime Story with A Story Before Bed

A Story Before Bed is a wonderful website that allows deployed, or soon to be deployed, service members record a children’s book online with audio and video for free. A wonderful element to this is children can listen to the recording repeatedly on iPad, iPhone, Mac or PC.

Our Military Kids Pays Activity Costs for National Guard Children

This is a nonprofit organization that helps children between kindergarten and 12th grade that have at least one parent in the National Guard and Reserves on deployment. They offer grants to cover the cost of activities that could help children facing stress while their parent is away. The grants cover the cost of athletic fees, fine arts and tutoring programs. It is not available to children of active-duty parents.

Ask for a Military Discount on Your Auto Insurance

Active-duty service members can receive military discounts on auto insurance during deployment. USAA offers up to 60 percent off auto insurance if you choose to store your vehicle during deployment.

GEICO offers up to 15 percent military discount. Check with your insurance carrier to see if it offers a military discount during your service member’s deployment.

Interest Rates May Be Lowered to 6 Percent

Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, you can request all interest rates and fees that you have paid on credit cards, mortgages, student loans and other loans be lowered to 6 percent per year.

Freeze Your Service Member’s Cell Phone Account

Many cell phone companies will lover your bill or even freeze your account for the period that a service member is deployed and not using the phone. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, those with at least 90-day orders to an area that does not have cell phone service can cancel their contract without penalty.

Ask Your Bank to Waive Fees

Many banks will lower or even completely waive fees while on deployment. USAA does not charge fees on credit card balance transfers or on convenience checks. Check with your bank to see if they will lower the APR on transactions.

Did we miss any military discounts on deployment items? Please tell us in the comments section.

The Dangers of Driving Distracted

02/13/2014 By Military Shoppers

You’re excited…or you’re not. You’re moving to a new duty station. The goods are packed, the family is ready, your mail is forwarded and now all that is between you and your new life for the next 2-4 years is the road that will take you there. How many times have you gotten behind the wheel, zoned out, and had difficulty remembering the last 10 miles? This is so easy to do, especially when going long distances, or when driving a stretch of road you are very familiar with. Never take your mind off of driving – even if you think that you won’t be the cause of an accident, someone else that is driving and distracted might not be so lucky.

It doesn’t matter whether you are going 100 miles or 3,000 – you need to be mentally engaged in the drive. Geico.com states that Distracted Driving is any activity that takes your primary attention away from the task of driving. The three types of distractions Geico identifies are in their report on The Distracted Brain- The Dangers of Driving Distracted are:

Visual
Manual
Cognitive

That split second it takes to reach for a french fry in a greasy bag. The time it takes to push play on the DVD player strapped to the back of the passenger head rest. The agonizing torture of knowing your phone has slid between the seat and you need to get it – All of these are split instances that are just long enough to take your eye off of the road and get into an accident.

If you really need those french fries, tell the passenger to feed them to you – think of it as strengthening the marital bond if it is your spouse, or building a trusting friendship.

Teach the kids that patience is a virtue and that you want teach them to fish, not just hand them the fish. Either they can learn to push play themselves, or they have to wait until you or the passenger can do so safely. Don’t give into their demands and satisfy their incessant groveling. You’ll be rewarding the wrong quality – you want them to wait patiently and arrive alive to the destination. They’ll live…during the drive. What happens after the drive is completely up to you as a parent.

Now, the phone. Ask yourself this. Will the phone still be there if you leave it where it is or will it be lost forever? A little distance from your cell phone never hurt you – just think about the 80’s or early 90’s when cell phones were a luxury. You lived right? You’ll continue to live – trust me. Plus, the fact that you are obsessing over your phone already shows that you are not cognitively focused on the drive. Forget the phone, not the rules of the road.

It is very possible that you will never get into a car accident your entire life and you have made ALL of the errors above – you’re lucky – because the odds are against you if you do just one of these.

Above all, think about the destination, not the journey. Arrive alive, and ensure your safety, your passenger’s safety, and filling that billet that so eagerly awaits you at your new duty station.

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