Week in Review: July 10 – 16, 2011 (Military News) #MilitaryMon

Popular Military Family Articles for the week of July 10 – 16 on

MilitaryAvenue.com
PCS Allowances and Entitlements: Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH): is an allowance to offset the cost of housing when you do not receive government-provided housing. Your BAH depends upon your location, pay grade and whether you have dependents. BAH rates are set by surveying the cost of rental properties in each geographic location. The rates are established such that members in each pay grade, independent of location, pay approximately the same out-of-pocket expenses. …

MSEP Jobs! Connecting Military Spouses to Employers: It’s finally here! An online portal that connects military spouses directly to employers who want to recruit, hire, retain and promote military spouses into current job openings at their facilities around the world. By visiting the Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP) jobs portal, military spouses can get on the fast track to sustainable portable careers and employment with seventy-two Fortune 500 Plus Employers. Here’s how it works: …

A Book Review: “Home and Away” A Story of Family In A Time Of War by David and Nancy French: I laughed and I cried (mostly laughed)! What a great book for military couples, their families and even their civilian friends! “Home and Away, A Story of Family in a Time of War” by David and Nancy French brought back memories and new images of warfare and families! This book will help military families see themselves during the two wars that our country is fighting! Or maybe, not the whole country as David felt as he read about a soldier with a family, wounded in war? …

Swim Lessons: Two Year Later: There are a few things I have done in motherhood that are questionable. As an example, cutting my then 9-months old hair by myself. Disastrous. Thinking I could travel across state-lines, 200+ miles, as a new mom with a six-week old. Excruciating. Attempting to convince my boys that they should like asparagus because it makes your pee stink. Bad choice of reasons.  But this weekend I was reminded of one of the best things I have done for my boys in their eight and six years of existence. Swim Lessons. …

Services Deliver ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Repeal Input: All of the services and combatant commands have provided their input to the Defense Department in advance of the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law that bans gays from serving openly in the military, a Pentagon spokesman said here today.  The input includes progress on training of the force, the regulatory aspects of the change in the law and other aspects, Marine Corps Col. Dave Lapan said.  “Ultimately, it’s for the services to provide their input to the secretary about whether their services are prepared for repeal to take place,” Lapan said. …

A Split Second Decision – and a Medal of Honor! DoD Blogger Roundtable:”Rangers Lead the Way” We all make them – those decisions that are made in the blink of an eye. But some are more important than others, how about life changing ones? We take time to consider those? Right? Sergeant First Class Leroy Petry had a life changing decision and he only had the blink of an eye to make it in – the grenade was live, it was close and he and his fellow Rangers were going to die. His decision to pick up the Taliban’s grenade and throw it away from his team saved their lives and his, but cost him a hand as it exploded a split second after he picked it up and threw it. …

MilitaryAvenue.com Special: PCS Central: We all know how hard it is to pick up the family and move them to a new duty station! We have a wide variety of resources for you here on MilitaryAvenue.com. Here is a directory of articles & MilitaryAvenue.com categories offering military discounts related to PCSing. This is just a small selection of what MilitaryAvenue.com has to offer you.  …

Quick Tips for New Military Spouses: If you’re a new military spouse, these tips will help you get a handle on military benefits: Get a copy of your marriage certificate and keep it with other important documents. Ask for it from the city, town, or county clerk’s office where your wedding took place. Ask your spouse to enroll you in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS). This lets you receive medical and other benefits. Links to the DEERS site and contact information can be found on the TRICARE website. Obtain a military identification card from the ID card facility. …

That Military House: Moments of Sanity Are on the Checklist!: Move it – or lose it. Adventure advise from Sandee Payne. That Military House helps one open boxes and doors during all steps of the inevitable move. Be prepared, organized, clutter free and open minded.  Are you at home with your surroundings? Oh the joy of waking up in the morning knowing the coffee pot is on the counter, milk in the refrigerator, spoons in the drawer. And then. Hello military spouse! It is PCS (Permanent Change of Station) season and that season, as a hunting season, is 365 days a year. You my dear are the item in the sites, laser beams are pointed straight at you. Or is that just the stress talking? …

Afghan-led Security Force Detains Insurgents: An Afghan-led combined security force detained a Haqqani network leader and one suspected insurgent in the Terayzai district of Afghanistan’s Khost province yesterday, military officials reported.  The leader was responsible for the distribution of weapons and supplies throughout the district, and also emplaced roadside bombs in the area. …