My Life As A Military Spouse: October 2009

2009/10/31

Have A Spooky Halloween

2009/10/30

Old Navy Discount

Discount is available 1 Nov-4 Nov. Details here.

2009/10/29

Holiday Mail for Heroes

Send a Touch of Home

Send a touch of home to the real heroes of America and their families! Holiday Mail for Heroes is back again!

For the third year in a row, the American Red Cross and Pitney Bowes are working together to collect, sort and distribute holiday cards to service members, veterans and their families.

The Red Cross and Pitney Bowes will begin accepting cards on November 2, 2009. So get your pens and postage stamps ready and watch for the address in the coming weeks on RedCross.org.

Details can be found here.

For those of us who are sports fans......

ESPN to honor veterans

ESPN plans to honor veterans with a week of programming starting Nov. 4 called “America’s Heroes: A Salute to Our Veterans,” culminating in special “SportsCenter” programs from West Point on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, according to an ESPN release.

Segments will include:

Army golf near Korea’s Demilitarized Zone and how sports are used by wounded warriors in the rehabilitation process on “Outside the Lines.”

“Warrior Adventure Quest,” an extreme sports-driven program that helps soldiers build spirit and deal with combat-related stress on the Spanish-language ESPN Deportes.

Danielle Green-Byrd, former Notre Dame basketball player injured in Iraq, on “SportsCenter.”
What if baseball legends such as Ted Williams, a former Marine Corps pilot, never went to war? On “SportsCenter.”

Tim James, former NBA player now serving in Iraq, on “NBA Countdown.”

President Barack Obama salutes troops and veterans with a taped message, along with sports icons such as the NBA’s LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, the NFL’s Tom Brady and cycling star Lance Armstrong.

2009/10/25

Friends

Friends come in all forms, shapes and sizes. And I am so very thankful for friends. :)

Dog Walks Dog @ Yahoo! Video

2009/10/23

Two Issues to Stand Up For - Speak Out!

Jump below to read the article first if you wish. I will speak to the below issue of special needs students via experiences I have viewed through my friend.

I have a new neighbor, we have become good friends. I just love when we have great neighbors b/c we don't seem to get them very often. Anyway......They have been here for 2.5 months and have a three year old autistic child with seizure disorder and many other health issues. Before they PCS'd to our installation they were assured that plenty of special needs services were available for their child.

My friend has now spent every single day (literally) of the last 2.5 months on the phone with the hospital, Tricare and local agencies. The services her child needs (developmental pediatrician, pediatric neurologist, psychiatrist, etc) are either not available here or they simply cannot get into to see anyone on installation or in the community, they are not seeing new patients. Tricare said if she ended up finding a psychiatrist to see them to call them back and let them know so they could update their information. Nice.

She came over yesterday and knocked on my door and said she needed to vent. We sat outside drinking coffee and chatted. She chatted, I listened. She had been on the phone with Tricare four times, she had called sixteen (yes,16 and she did all of this yesterday) different psychiatrist and only one of them saw children in the age range needed, none of them were accepting new patients. We do not have a doctor of this type in the hospital on post. She was beyond frustrated. She has waited over a month to get a referral to a developmental pediatrician, no one has called her. She has called and no one seems to know which department at the hospital should help her. She went to the hospital yesterday and pediatrics was closed for training. The patient liaison told her that she could not help her, it was not her problem, the problem belonged to peds. Her referrals for the other docs is about to run out, she cannot find anyone to see her child and if the referrals run out she will have to make a trip back to see a PCM with her autistic child into a facility that has long waits and is not set up for autistic children.

Her child is on several medications, the medications must be monitored, the medications need to be refilled - and she cannot get any of the services that she needs.

Our pediatric clinic here is not set up for autistic children. At all. The pre-schools here are not set up for special needs students and the CDC will not accept them. They are in a class with "normal" students and "normal" teachers, not special needs teachers and the teachers do not know how to deal with special needs children. Even though the teachers and classrooms for her child are not special needs, she cannot take him out of school and still be able to get speech and other therapies if the child is not in school. Why? Because these services ARE offered in the school. Make a great deal of sense to you? Sure doesn't to me.

I have many family members in education (including special education) and medicine (pediatrics too) and they are all flabbergasted to say the least, at the insanity that I have described to them. As am I.

Is this type of thing acceptable to anyone? I should hope not. Are many other families dealing with these same type of issues and worse. My guess would be, absolutely. The only thing that my neighbor is uber thankful for is Tricare ECHO, but it doesn't pay to have it if you cannot get the services needed.

In her moment of frustration yesterday she said, "I am just done with this, we never should have PCS'd here, I am over the Army and their lack of services and lies, I am done, period." Moments later she retracted and said she was just so frustrated that sometimes it makes her want to walk away from military life. To be in one location where services for her child are abundant is her dream. She can't have that, nor can her child at our location. They came from Hawaii where services were abundant, she now wishes that they had just stayed there. Even if it meant being an ocean away from family and dealing with another deployment sooner rather than later.

Lawmakers form caucus for military families

Sixty members of the House of Representatives are forming a new caucus to look out for the interests of military families, and intending to tackle spouse employment and aid for families with special-needs children as their first legislative issues.

One co-chair of the caucus is Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers, a Republican lawmaker from Washington state who is married to a 26-year Navy veteran. The other co-chair is Rep. Sanford Bishop Jr., D-Ga.

The Military Family Caucus officially launches Nov. 4 at an event at which Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, will be the keynote speaker.

McMorris-Rodgers, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, represents a district that includes Fairchild Air Force Base. Bishop, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, represents a Georgia district that includes Fort Benning and Marine Corps Logistic Base Albany.

Aimee Henneke, an Air Force spouse who handles military issues for McMorris-Rodgers, said the congresswoman was surprised to discover that there was no single caucus representing the interests of military families in the House, although the Congressional Women’s Caucus has worked on some military family issues.

“If this is going to be the year of the Military Family, why not elevate to a whole different level,” Henneke said, by forming a caucus of lawmakers dedicated to the cause.

One of the first planned orders of business is to arrange briefings for the staff of lawmakers in the caucus to give them a better understanding of programs available to military families and gaps in programs, Henneke said.

Two legislative issues topping the caucus agenda are programs for special-needs children of military families, and helping military spouses find jobs, Henneke said.

Helping children who have special needs — whether because of disabilities or other reasons — is an issue partly addressed by the 2010 defense authorization bill, which creates a Defense Department office to oversee such programs, Henneke said.

But the caucus wants to look at whether legislation is needed to expand specific programs to provide help in health care, education and other issues. One issue to be studied is whether the military could provide guarantees so special-needs children would see the same doctors every time they receive medical care at a military facility, Henneke said.

Jobs for spouses is a difficult issue to resolve, Henneke said, and is especially hard on spouses in communities where there are fewer jobs. One idea, which may not require legislation, would be to encourage military officials to meet with local businesses to tout the benefits of hiring spouses for off-base jobs, she said.

2009/10/22

I hate being sick.......

I am the most horrible sick person. Well, my eldest child ranks right up there with me, but I still think I take first place in our household.

Moms just don't have time to be sick.

I was ill Mon-Wed. My boys tried their best to take care of me, but I really just wanted to be left alone. Hubs told me to stay in bed. He came home from TDY and caught me cleaning the bedroom. I couldn't just lie in bed, I had things to do and company coming in this weekend. He won, I got back in bed. When he left for the office I went back to cleaning. :)

I feel better today, still not myself nor is my energy level back up to par - but better than I did. If my head will stop throbbing, I will be golden. Now I have to catch up on housework and get ready for a weekend of visitors, soccer tournaments and horse shows.

Moms just don't have time to be sick!

2010 Proposed Military Pay Charts - 3.4% Raise

Please note that nothing has been passed or signed to date (22oct09), the links are proposals.

You can locate both proposed charts here or here.

New BAH rates are normally updated in mid-December. As I do each year, I will post the passed pay charts and link for 2010 BAH rates as soon as the information is available.

**Update** 28oct09

Defense bill (or 2010 NDAA) has been signed, but imo it has a lot of unnecessary crap. Some things never change, some things only get worse. But, the military will benefit from some of the inclusions. I guess that is a small light within the otherwise dark crap. Axed - MSRRA.

"The only time you’ll ever hear a liberal democrat talk about
“wasteful spending” and “cutting waste” is when it pertains to the
military."

Nothing to see here. Moving on.........

2009/10/20

Your Credit Cards

Latest bank fee is for paying off credit card on time every month

You floss regularly, yield to oncoming traffic and use your credit cards judiciously, dutifully paying off your balance every month.

You may believe that your exemplary behavior shields you from unexpected credit card fees. Sadly, that is no longer the case.

Starting next year, Bank of America will charge a small number of customers an annual fee, ranging from $29 to $99. The bank has characterized the fee as experimental. But card holders who have never carried a balance or paid late fees could be among those affected.
Citigroup, meanwhile, has started charging annual fees to card holders who don't put more than a specific amount on their cards, typically $2,400 a year. Other banks are charging inactivity fees if customers don't use their credit cards during a specific period of time. You heard that right: You could be spanked for staying out of debt.

These fees are the credit card industry's response to credit card legislation that will, among other things, restrict credit card issuers' ability to raise interest rates on existing balances. Credit card issuers are looking for ways to raise income before the new rules take effect in February. During the first quarter, 27% of credit card offers included annual fees, up from 18% a year earlier, according to Synovate Mail Monitor, a credit card direct-mail tracking service.

Curtis Arnold, founder of CardRatings.com, says he expected credit card issuers to raise annual fees after the legislation was enacted. What he didn't expect, he says, "was that good customers were going to be hit."

Fortunately, if you've paid off your balance on time every month, you probably have a good credit score. And when you have good credit, you have more choices.

What to do if your card issuer starts charging an annual fee — or increases the fee you're already paying:

•Call and complain. Check your credit score first to make sure you're on solid ground, says Adam Levin, founder of Credit.com, a consumer website. If you have a good score and you've been a good customer, the lender may be willing to waive the fee to keep your business.

•Weigh the benefits of rewards against the annual fee. The days when you could get a rewards card with no annual fee are numbered, Arnold says. If your rewards card charges a fee, you'll need to figure out whether the value of the rewards exceeds the fee.

That's not always easy to do, particularly with cards that give you airline miles, says Chris Fichera, associate editor for Consumer Reports. Rewards miles often come with restrictions and expiration dates, making it difficult to figure out how much they're worth, he says.

"A lot of airline cards are not the best deal unless you can combine them with a frequent-flier plan," Fichera adds.

If you're not a frequent flier, Fichera says, you're probably better off using a card that gives you cash back. As long as you can estimate how much you spend, it's easy to figure out whether you'll get enough cash back to justify the annual fee.

•Leave. If your card issuer won't waive the fee, you'll have a choice: Pay the annoying fee or close your account. Unfortunately, this decision isn't as clear-cut as it sounds, because closing an account could hurt your credit score.

One of the factors used to calculate your credit score is what's known as the "credit utilization ratio," which is based on the amount of credit you have outstanding as a percentage of your total available credit. When you close a credit card account, the amount of your total available credit shrinks, which could lead to a higher utilization rate. This ratio accounts for 30% of your credit score.

In addition, closing an account you've owned a long time could affect your credit history, another factor used to calculate your score, Fichera says.

Still, if you aren't carrying balances on your other accounts and the card is relatively new, closing your account is worth considering. Even now, there are good deals out there, particularly for card holders with good credit, Arnold says. For example, the Fidelity Rewards American Express card pays 2% of cash back to a Fidelity account, with no limits on cash rewards and no annual fee.

If you don't care about rewards and just want a credit card that doesn't charge an annual fee, consider applying for a card through a credit union. Many credit union cards charge no annual fee and offer below-average interest rates.

Associations, such as the USAA, which provides products and services for military personnel and their families, also offer good deals on credit cards, according to Consumer Reports.

You can read other great financial/military related financial information at The Paycheck Chronicles.

2009/10/18

12 months to apply

Apply for retro stop-loss payments on Oct. 21

Soldiers, retirees and veterans who think they may be eligible for retroactive stop-loss pay have 12 months to apply for the special $500 per month entitlement authorized by Congress earlier this year.

As many as 140,000 current and former soldiers may qualify for payment.

Effective Oct. 21, the Army will compensate soldiers for each month, or portion of a month, they were retained on active duty beyond their contracted separation or voluntary retirement date.

Claims may be submitted starting Oct. 21 and must be filed by Oct. 21, 2010.

Payments are retroactive to Sept. 11, 2001, and cover involuntary service performed through Sept. 30, 2009.

However, soldiers who have received regular stop-loss pay for service performed after Oct. 1, 2008, will be compensated only if they were in stop-loss status before that date.

The retroactive compensation will be paid lump sum for the months served in stop-loss status.
Soldiers will not receive regular stop-loss pay and retroactive stop-loss pay for the same period.

The Defense Finance and Accounting Service will determine the applicable tax exclusion for retroactive pay that was earned in a combat zone, according to Army officials.

While all the armed forces have imposed some form of stop-loss since 9/11, the Army has liberally applied the policy to its active and reserve components over the past nine years, with restrictions initially imposed on soldiers in priority specialties, and since 2003, on entire units.

Because of stop-loss’s widespread use, Army personnel officials estimate that nearly 140,000 current and former soldiers may be eligible.

To qualify, soldiers, retirees, veterans or their survivors must file a claim with the Army no later than Oct. 21, 2010.

Claims can be submitted electronically beginning Oct. 21 at a dedicated Web site, www.stoploss pay.army.mil.

Soldiers and former soldiers qualify for retroactive stop-loss pay if they were retained on active duty beyond:

* A contractual expiration term of service, or ETS, date, or in the case of reservists, their contractual ETS in the Selected Reserve.
* An approved separation date based on an unqualified resignation or release from active duty or, in the case of reservists, an approved request for transfer to the Individual Ready Reserve.
* An approved retirement based on length of service.

2009/10/16

"Worlds Apart"

When service members come home from combat sometimes they feel "Worlds Apart."

No matter your service affiliation or duty status, the below will hit home (and hopefully be of help) for many.

Continue reading »

2009/10/15

YMCA Military Outreach Initiative Expands

Respite Child Care Coming to a YMCA Near You

Since October 1, 2009 YMCA respite child care has been expanded to licensed child care programs at YMCAs in all states that wish to participate in the program. The service was previously offered only at select YMCAs in nine states to provide temporary relief or a short break for the parent or guardian who is responsible for caring for a deployed service member’s child. For a listing of the participating YMCAs and for a copy of the registration form, go here and here.

Another thing that strikes me as odd with the airlines....

You take a 2.5 hour flight and are on an ERJ. Then you take a 50 minute flight on a Boeing 737.

I am sure there is some reason (passenger numbers for that flight path or something) but it still seems so odd to me. And rather uncomfortable on the longer flight - if I do say so myself. Hum.

Nope, I still don't like dealing with the airlines. :)

2009/10/14

Updates

New legal, financial protections stall out

Improvements in legal and financial protections for troops and their families were removed from the final version of the 2010 defense authorization bill because of questions about which congressional committee is responsible for changes to the Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act.

The decision by congressional negotiators leaves in limbo the Military Spouse Residency Relief Act that the Senate had added to the annual defense policy bill and an expansion of the types of contracts that can be canceled or suspended without penalty for service members who are deployed or transferred to a new duty station. That provision, involving cellular phone service, Internet and cable services, and utilities, was part of the House-passed defense bill.

Jurisdiction over the Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act rests with the House and Senate veterans’ affairs committees, which objected to having the provision included in HR 2647, the defense authorization act for fiscal 2010. Removal of the provision was one of the many compromises made by congressional negotiators as they prepared a final defense bill, which the House passed Oct. 8. The Senate is expected to vote on the final defense bill this week.

What happens with the military spouse and contract cancellation legislation depends on the veterans’ committees, which are slow to pass compromise legislation.

The Senate passed the military spouse residency bill as separate legislation Aug. 4, and it is now pending in the House.

However, the record of the House and Senate getting identical veterans bills passed and signed into law is slight.

1 veterans bill passed

Nineteen veterans-related bills have passed the House of Representatives this year, but only one has also passed the Senate and been signed into law. That measure provided the same cost-of-living adjustment to veterans and their survivors as is received Dec. 1 by Social Security recipients, which this year is likely be no increase. A second veterans’ bill, providing advance funding for Veterans Affairs Department medical programs beginning in 2011, passed the House last week and is expected to pass the Senate this week.

The House Veterans’ Affairs Committee’s economic opportunity panel has taken the first step in resurrecting the spouse residency and contract cancellation proposals. The subcommittee met last week to approve HR 1182, its version of the military spouse residency provisions involving homeownership, voting rights, taxation and other residency issues, and HR 2874, which would expand protections from contract termination fees.

Passage of the two bills by the full House Veterans’ Affairs Committee could happen as early as Oct. 28, aides said.

House and Senate aides said they believe the two veterans’ affairs committees will reach a compromise on an omnibus bill that could include the provision stripped from the defense bill, but they were not willing to predict when that might happen.

Spouse residency

The residency bill for spouses includes a provision that would allow spouses accompanying service members on official reassignments to keep their voter registration in a state where they no longer live and let them vote by absentee ballot in federal, state and local elections. Another provision would allow spouses to maintain residency in another state for tax purposes as a result of an official move by a service member.

The contract cancellation bill pending in the House would make changes in termination provisions all ready in law.

Current law allows service members to cut a cell phone contract without having to pay a termination fee if they deploy or make a permanent change-of-station move. The bill would extend this penalty-free cancellation right to family cell phone plans.

Also, HR 2874 would protect service members from having to pay an early termination fee for canceling a residential lease. Such cancellation is allowed under current law, but service members may have to pay termination fees.

Current law allows service members who are deploying or moving to a new assignment to cancel motor vehicle leases with no termination penalties.

2009/10/13

Domestic Violence Awareness - Military

Defense Department Works to End Domestic Violence

The Defense Department is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for military families, the director of the department’s Family Advocacy Program said in observance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

When domestic violence does occur within the military community, however, there are places to turn, David Lloyd said.

“Domestic violence is always an issue in the military because military people come into the service with all the issues that are present in the civilian sector,” he said. “We don’t want victims to suffer in silence.”

In 2006, the department passed the Restricted Reporting Policy, Lloyd said. Restricted reporting allows victims who are unaware of the support and resources available for them to get that information, get an assessment of their safety and receive help with safety planning.

All of this is done without notifying military law enforcement or the military commander, which means that if the alleged abuser is a servicemember, the incident won’t end up on a permanent record.

The other option is unrestricted reporting, which is the option used when a victim wants to get law enforcement or the command involved, Lloyd said.

“In that situation, the law enforcement … personnel would investigate the allegations of what had happened and of course would present it to the commander,” he said. “The commander would be able to take steps, including issuing a military protective order.”

Commanders also have the authority to move the servicemember into the barracks to separate the couple, as well as make them surrender any personal firearms to reduce the immediate risk of lethality, Lloyd said. These are just two of the tools and resources available to victims of domestic violence in the military community.

Victim advocates and military life consultants also are available to help a victim through the process, no matter which report they choose to file. Should a victim want to seek shelter, the advocate or a Family Advocacy Program clinician would help her get to a shelter off the military installation, Lloyd said.

“The … advocate also would go with her to a civilian court, … to get a civilian protective order … [which] must be enforced on a military installation just as if it was in the outside, civilian world,” he said. “If it’s a servicemember who’s the alleged abuser - which it is in about 60 percent of the cases – the commander can order that abuser to meet with a [Family Advocacy Program] person, get an assessment, [and] come up with a treatment to correct his behavior.”

The commander also could order the servicemember into Family Advocacy Program or other counseling, as appropriate, Lloyd said, or may call for disciplinary measures.

There’s another scenario as well.

If the servicemember wants to come forward as a voluntary self-referral before abuse occurs to get help with his own potentially abusive behavior, he can contact the Family Advocacy Program for counseling services, or the family center or Military OneSource for nonmedical counseling, Lloyd said. Speaking with a Military OneSource or military family life consultant before abuse has occurred is confidential and neither law enforcement or command would be notified. But when the commander hears about an incident of abuse, and takes action against the servicemember, it will show up in their record.

The realization that many victims are afraid to come forward because they feel reliant upon their abuser has not been lost on the department. If a commander finds cause to discharge a servicemember over abuse allegations or has the servicemember court-martialed and a guilty verdict is returned, and pay and allowances must be forfeited, the victim isn’t left high and dry.

Defense Department policy authorizes commanders to pay for the victim’s transportation to a safe place and the shipping of household goods provided there’s an agreement between the spouses or the court has divided the property.

“The commander can also authorize the victim to receive up to 36 months of transitional compensation based on the servicemember’s pay to help the victim get a new start,” Lloyd said. “In addition to the compensation, the victim would be eligible for medical and dental benefits … and for exchange and commissary benefits for the same period of time.

“We want the victim not to feel that she’s so dependent on the servicemember’s pay that she has to suffer in silence,” he added.

The time period for which those benefits are extended is dependent upon the amount of time left on the servicemember’s enlistment contract, he said. It’s often taken for granted that all victims of domestic abuse are women, but Lloyd said that’s not the case. About a third of the cases reported each year are reported by men.

“The good news is that we can work with them as well, our Family Advocacy Program people and our victim advocates,” he said. “Also, the [male] victims tend not to have significant physical injuries. Women, because of their smaller body size and body mass, if they do get hit with violence, they tend to suffer more significant injuries than the men do.”

But not all domestic violence is physical. Sometimes it’s psychologically coercive, controlling behavior, he said.

How the reported domestic violence cases compare with the same demographic in the civilian population is unknown as there’s no annual data collection system, Lloyd said. The department has contributed to the new National Intimate Partner Violence, Stalking and Sexual Violence Surveillance System, being developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“So for the first time, by the end of 2011, we should have some comparative data,” he said.

The department keeps tabs on the number of cases reported throughout the military, however, and Lloyd said the trend since 2000 is a bit surprising.

“Despite the heavy stresses we’ve had from two wars, both the number of reports and the number of reports that meet [Family Advocacy Program] criteria, and the rate of such reports per 1,000 married couples, has declined rather steadily since the year 2000,” he said. “We’re always keeping an eye on it, because we’re very mindful of the long-term effects of repeated long-term deployments. [They] can really wreak havoc on marriages and other relationships.

“We’re not pleased, because we don’t want to have any, but we think that the proactive stance the department is taking to try and support couples and families, and seriously dating couples … is maybe having a payoff,” he added.

Numbers from the civilian population also show an overall decline, too, he said.

The department’s efforts don’t stop with adults; officials also have taken measures to address teen dating violence as well. Tool kits have gone out to Defense Department schools, defense youth programs and Family Advocacy Programs to help teens develop relationships that are nonviolent, Lloyd said.

Tommy T. Thomas, deputy undersecretary of defense for military community and family policy, reinforced the department’s commitment to ending domestic violence.

“The Department of Defense and the military services are committed to providing strong family programs to prevent, identify, report, treat and follow-up cases of domestic abuse,” he said. “As the nation observes Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we will continue our work to ensure that every home in the military community is a safe home.”

2009/10/11

Things that strike me as just silly

I could be wrong, but I don't see how this could be foolproof. I can see how my tax dollars are at work though.

I mean really - I can't balance my way out of a cardboard box. And I was a dancer and gymnast (for 16 yrs of my life) back in the day. Way back in the day. Balance now - in the negative. I suck at yoga.

The only things it would be able to tell you about me 1) I cannot balance myself 2) I am very hostile because I cannot balance myself and you want me to balance just to get on to a plane or you will send me to be screened by a secondary group. Srly?

It is as ridiculous as taking my temperature before I can deboard. I don't have a slight fever accompanying the swine flu, I have a slight fever accompanying a freakin' sinus and ear infection people!

When I see things such as the mentioned article, as well as articles on how much more I will be charged just to fly - it just makes me all the more determined to NOT fly unless I just have to. I would rather pay gas prices.

Off my soapbox now. :)

2009/10/08

2009 Military Holiday Mailing Deadlines

Dates and information available after the jump.

Continue reading »

2009/10/07

Mental Health

PTSD: An Army colonel’s quest for answers

Army Col. Rich O’Connor does not mince words when he talks about the amount of mental health training he had before he took a squadron in the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment to war in Iraq’s Diyalah province in 2006.

“What kind of training did I receive on post-traumatic stress?” he said. “Zero. How much did our soldiers receive? None.”

O’Connor told a room of high-ranking officers and enlisted soldiers at the annual Association of the U.S. Army convention that he was too busy training for war to even think about post-traumatic stress disorder. And he said that after talking to other battalion commanders and command sergeants major, he realized nobody else had, either.

Then a military psychiatrist told him she didn’t believe commanders cared about PTSD.

“I can tell you that’s probably true,” O’Connor said. “We’ve got an issue here.”

As he returned from the battlefield, more and more of his men were diagnosed with PTSD, and he began to wonder if he was doing enough for them. The issue struck even closer to home when his son, Pfc. Ryan O’Connor, was diagnosed with PTSD and a traumatic brain injury after serving in Iraq during the same time period as his father.

He realized people needed to be educated about the issue, and he began with himself. He decided to write a paper about the history of PTSD, its definition, how soldiers see the issue, what therapists believe needs to be done, what research has shown and what needs to happen next.

The paper, “Collateral Damage: How Can the Army Best Serve a Soldier With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,” was published through The Institute of Land Warfare. (Read the paper online)

First, he took his research all the way back to Roman times to show that PTSD has always been around — ever since there has been war — and that combat troops have always reacted the same way to killing others, being wounded and losing friends: with anger, confusion and depression.

He looked at the heroes of past wars and found that even Audie Murphy returned home with anger issues; Murphy’s wife complained of domestic violence in their family. As troops return from Iraq and Afghanistan today, the military has again seen an increase in child and spouse abuse.

Then O’Connor looked at things that are happening now, such as the spate of murders at Fort Carson, Colo., over the past few years. In each case of a soldier with PTSD who was later prosecuted for murder, someone in that soldier’s social network had tried to get him help.

In a Warrior Transition Unit for wounded soldiers, O’Connor discovered that soldiers going to the mental health unit were required to wear yellow road guard vests and were referred to as the “yellow platoon.”

“I thought that was a clear breakdown about what’s supposed to happen,” O’Connor said. “We have to educate people.”

He said that would help to defeat the stigma that still surrounds mental health care, help the troops themselves better understand their symptoms, and help leaders reach out and help their troops, rather than hurt them further.

His paper lists several ways he believes the Army should change the way care is handled, such as clearly defining PTSD so it’s easy to understand, as well as requiring all soldiers returning from combat to go to the mental health clinic — just as police officers do after any shooting incident.

That way, there would be no stigma.

In the meantime, leaders need to educate themselves to better take care of their troops, O’Connor said — otherwise, soldiers returning from combat will continue to commit suicide, become involved in alcohol and drug abuse, be unable to control their anger issues and lose their military careers after serving honorably in war.

“What are the signs, and are we missing them?” O’Connor asked. “We are. There are warning signs, and if we miss them, it’s going to get worse.”

Kids’ mental health can slip through cracks

Miranda Simpson said she started noticing more anger in her 8-year-old son during her husband’s last deployment.

“He didn’t understand war during the deployment before this,” she said.

She sought out resources at Fort Polk, La., and the surrounding community, but was unsuccessful in finding what she hoped for — a “big brother” figure in the military community to spend some time with her son.

She and other family readiness group leaders at Fort Polk who attended family forums at the Association of the U.S. Army annual meeting were glad to hear that the Army is looking at the effects of multiple deployments on children, and is taking steps to help.

Among the signs of stress wearing on Army families is an increase in depression among family members and in the number of military adolescents admitted for inpatient mental health care, according to Col. Kris Peterson, a pediatrician at the Military Child and Adolescent Center of Excellence at Fort Lewis, Wash.

There is a “very large gap” in delivering the care to address the effects of this stress, he told one of the family forums Wednesday morning.

While there is a wide variety of resources for military children through the Army’s Medical Command and Installation Command, an effort is also underway to synchronize these programs “so it’s an easier lane of care to get into,” Peterson said.

“If we can mitigate the effects and prevent hospitalization, that can help military families,” he said. “Sometimes it gets to that point because an earlier intervention has not occurred.”

Officials also need to work with school behavioral health programs to improve access to help for children, and to reduce the stigma, he said.

The new Military Child and Adolescent Center of Excellence, which is about one-fourth staffed, will address needs of military children across a broad spectrum, to include issues of deployments as well as frequent moving.

2009/10/06

Helping your children

Check out this post - Connect With Kids Through Visuals. It's good stuff.

Fall Fun

Fun Fall Activities for Your Military Family

Welcome to fall ya’ll. It’s a wonderful time of year packed with great weather, colorful leaves, and family-oriented festivals galore. What does your family have planned this weekend? I suggest the following activities:

Take a Hike: Plan to hike the same trail each weekend during fall. This may sound repetitive, but hear me out. If you do this you and your family will witness just how much the landscape changes throughout the season.

Leaf Peeping: This autumn activity gets family outdoors to photograph the changing fall foliage.
Pumpkin Patch: Head out to the local pumpkin patch. Visit this website to find a pumpkin patch near you. Don’t forget, medium-sized, fully orange pumpkins are best for carving.

Pick Apples and Berries: There’s nothing like a freshly picked apple or the taste of seasonal berries. Plus, your children get to see how fruit grows and everyone enjoys the “fruit” of their labor.

Craft Away: Gather twigs, pine cones, and leaves and make your own fall crafts. Check here for some for some great fall craft ideas.

Scavenger Hunt: Challenge other families or your own to find seasonal foods, a leaf of every color, fall flowers, acorns, and more.

Fall Feast: Invite the neighbors for a fall potluck and whip up some homemade goodies — pumpkin cupcakes, pumpkin pie, or toasted pumpkin seeds.

Fall Movie Night: Fall may bring a few rainy days, but don’t despair. Pop some caramel popcorn and snuggle the family up for a good flick.

Decorate: Get the whole family involved in decorating for fall. Use colorfully painted pumpkins, mums, or holiday-themed items to create a spectacular landscape for your front porch or sidewalk.

A’Mazing Corn: Corn mazes abound during this time of year, and some corn mazes are open all day and into the night. Visit this site to find one in your area. Many corn mazes have other activities for families, such as ring toss games, pumpkin painting and snacks.

Outdoor Sports and Games: Get your family involved in outdoor sports. Football season started, and days are still warm enough to play baseball, soccer and other games.

Autumn Festivals: Seek out fall festivals. Many communities have fall events, such apple- and pumpkin-themed celebrations where local businesses will contribute activities and meals for everyone to enjoy.

Whatever you choose to do this fall celebrate the season with new joy for your military family and take time to reflect in the beauty of our Earth and the bounty it provides.

2009/10/05

I just can't help myself, I must post it......

Because this IS funny. And of course sad. But funny. I might even start watching SNL again. Once in awhile.

H/T NB

2009/10/02

'When They Come Back'

Learn more about Derek Sholl here.

MySpace link here.

2009/10/01

Fees for hospitalization

Tricare hospitalization fees go up Oct. 1

Fees for hospitalization under the military’s Tricare health plan are increasing on Thursday, the start of the new fiscal year, Tricare Management Activity officials announced Wednesday.

For active-duty families, the cost of using Tricare Standard or Tricare Extra will add less than $1 a day to their inpatient costs. The fee has been $15.65 a day, and increases on Oct. 1 to $16.30. The maximum charge per hospitalization remains $25.

For retirees and their families, and other eligible beneficiaries, the cost of inpatient admission under Tricare Standard will be $645 or 25 percent of the total charge, whichever is less. This is an increase from the previous rate of $535 a day. The charge is in addition to the requirement that patients pay 25 percent of the allowable cost for professional services related to the hospitalization.

For inpatient mental health care, the out-of-pocket cost for retirees and their families increases a modest $5 a day on Oct. 1, to $197. The charge could end up being less because Tricare only requires payment of 25 percent of the billed charge or $197, whichever is less.

No increases are being made in Tricare enrollment fees, deductibles or copayments, under an agreement made between Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Congress.

*UPDATE*

New TRICARE Fees, 'CR' Plan, Blocked

The last decision made by House-Senate conferees negotiating final details on a fiscal 2010 defense authorization bill Tuesday was to insert language that will rollback an announced Oct. 1 increase in fees charged to TRICARE Standard beneficiaries for stays in civilian hospitals.

The surprise fee increases, which were reported here last week, gave lawmakers a chance to ride to the rescue and, in effect, put a cherry atop the $680.2 billion defense policy bill, at least for working-age military retirees and their families who would have seen a $110-a-day bump in hospital bills.

That was a fortuitous opportunity for the armed services committees because other pay and benefit initiatives in the bill are relatively modest compared to past years. And the gains are dampened by some too-familiar legislative disappointments for service members, veterans and their families.

One new disappointment is that the Democratically-led Congress couldn’t find money to support President Obama’s call to phase in “concurrent receipt” for disabled retirees who are forced by ailments or injuries to leave service before completing 20 years’ service.
His plan would have boosted the pay of 103,000 “Chapter 61” retirees at a cost of $5.4 billion over 10 years. The House alone had voted to take the first step, using dollars freed up from an energy appropriation, to expand the Concurrent Receipt and Disability Pay (CRDP) program Jan. 1, to retirees with fewer than 20 years and disability ratings of 100 percent or 90 percent.

But Senate conferees concluded it would violate Senate budget rules to take even a first-step in Obama’s phase-in plan without proper funding.

The principle behind concurrent receipt is that the Department of Defense should pay retirees an annuity for total years served and VA should fully compensate them for their disabilities. For many thousands of disabled retirees, retired pay still is reduced or “offset” by disability compensation.

Obama promised in his presidential campaign to extend concurrent receipt to all disabled military retirees. But White House budget officials were stunned to learn the cost -- $45 billion over 10 years – and so lowered their first-term target to all Chapter 61 retirees, clearly an unpopular compromise.

House-Senate Conferees also rejected two familiar Senate-passed initiatives as unfunded. One would have ended a reduction in Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) payments to 54,000 widows who also draw Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The other provision tossed would have made 140,000 more reservists mobilized since Sept. 11, 2001, eligible for earlier reserve retirement. In 2007, Congress had lowered the age 60 start of reserve retired pay by three months for every 90 consecutive days that a Reserve or Guard members is called up for war or national emergency, if they otherwise qualify for retirement. For lack of funds, Congress made the change applicable only for deployment time after Jan. 28, 2008. That restriction will remain will remain.
Read more.

My Life As A Military Spouse