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On Your Way to a Smooth Move: DoD Roundtable
It is that time! PCS season is upon us and many military families are negotiating orders and beginning the process of planning for a move. With that in mind, I had a great chance to listen to and speak with Barbara Thompson, Director, Office of Family Policy/Children & Youth, Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense. We all know that a PCS can be an amazing adventure but also an incredible stressor on families. I have an example for you; in the late 80’s my family moved from Ft. Walton Beach, Florida to Keflavik, Iceland. Can you say, “Change of scenery”? In the end the move to Iceland was…
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VOTE VOTE VOTE DoD Blogger Roundtable
A Military Family Memberwho is happy mom voted!It is Not Too Late to Vote!Military personnel and their families have a lot at stake when it comes to elections. You serve this great nation in a way that many citizens can not and do not. So why not get involved in this election? Too hard to do? Not true, according to Pamela Mitchell, Acting Director of Federal Voting Assistance Program. During a DoD Blogger Roundtable Ms Mitchell described some great social media, mass emails (12,000,000 – now that is quite the mailing list) to all .mil addresses, twitter town home meetings, live chat and call center and of course their website…
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“Shoulder to Shoulder” Suicide Prevention Stand Down
“… we should be standing “Shoulder to Shoulder” with our soldiers and their families on Thursday!” A day to reflect, a day to plan for the future, a day to remember those lost, a day to consider that we are not immortal or invulnerable… I remember during my days as an airman taking “safety down days” after a particularly tragic series of flight accidents to do just that. To highlight behavior health during Suicide Prevention Month the US Army is taking a “Stand Down” tomorrow focusing on “… good health, teammate involvement, risk reduction and resilience training.” See Photo Credit BelowThe Blogger Roundtable had the opportunity to speak to Sergeant…
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Spouse employment! Veteran employment! DoD Blogger Roundtable!
I have to admit being a bit behind. I should have written this last week but a little bit of taking on too much, my mind on personal issues, the political season and of course, writer’s block just all combined to make the blog a bit behind schedule. Why too busy? More work than one person can do led to priorities. Why the political season? I guess I am concerned that veteran and spouse issues might be used as a political wedge during a tough presidential campaign. Sensitive to the lead guy in the military (the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) criticizing retired, separated veterans for their activist…
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Military Spouse Employment – Exciting Times! DoD Blogger Roundtable
Startling statistics: 26% Unemployment and a 46% Wage Gap for Military Spouses!* See Photo Credit Below or Click on MapServing with pride is how most feel about their time in the military. The members with families have some great benefits but definitely challenges are at the forefront. One of the biggest challenges is spouse employment! This was one of the most frustrating parts of military life for our family. Transferring a license from state to state, finding the right contacts to open a door, being told that a federal union member had priority during overseas assignments, repetitive short (2 years or less) assignments and little lead time for job searching…
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Posthumous Silver Star to be presented to the family of U-2 Pilot, Captain Gary Francis Powers on Friday
“Best Father’s Day Present Ever” Capt Gary Powers – See Below for photo creditsWhat does a Silver Star presentation have to do with Father’s Day? To the Power’s family, Friday is a correction to history, a heritage that can be reflected on with pride and a celebration of a father who was a Cold War hero. Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz will present a posthumous decoration to the U-2 pilot who was shot down over the Soviet Union on May 1, 1960. On Wednesday, we spoke with Gary Powers, Jr about the upcoming ceremony and how it had impacted his family during a DoDLive Blogger Roundtable. The…
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A Chaplain’s Walk through Post Traumatic Stress (PTSD) – DoD Blogger Roundtable
Summer is here! Our Nation somberly celebrated Memorial Day with parades, cemetery services, speeches about sacrifice and news articles and opinion pieces about service. We also had picnics, barbecues, time off from work and family gatherings. During one of our family times the topic of discussion centered around Post Traumatic Stress (PTSD) and how it was treated from WWI and WWII through Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and now Afghanistan. With a number of veterans in the family ranging in age from WWII, Korea and Vietnam, plus the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan; it was a lively discussion. I was reminded of Colonel Chris Robinson of the Deputy Director for Psychological…
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Have you Heard about Blue Star Museums?
Blue Star Museums Kicks Off on Memorial Day! What does that mean to you, a member of the military community? If you are an active duty, National Guard or Reserve member or family member, you have access to more than 1,600 museums this summer for free! Right, we agree, what a great program. This is the third year for this program and it started with 900 museums and is growing each year as the Arts open their doors wide open to the military community. FREE entertainment for your family on a crazy summer schedule! Maybe you just PCS’d into a new area and need something for the family to do. …
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What is the Department of Defense Doing to Help Military Spouses Find Jobs?
“A Senior Engineer” with General Dynamics at Pearl Harbor, HI and “Part Time Bartender” for Hilton Worldwide Chicago Downtown – what do they have to do with spouse employment? Military spouse at job fair – See below for photo creditThe Military Spouse Employment Program (MSEP) kicked off almost a year ago and has more than 440,000 jobs available for a military spouse to search through for their specific needs. The DoD Blogger Roundtable spoke with Robert L. Gordon III, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Military Community and Family Policy) as he highlighted the many successes of MSEP and how it has improved the lives of the military community. With a…
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Afghanistan: “Things are Good, not Great”. DoD Blogger Roundtable
He is what we would call a straight shooter! Maj. Gen. John A. Toolan, Jr., U.S. Marine Corps, met with the DoD Blogger Roundtable to discuss Afghanistan after returning from a year in command of U.S. Marines and allied forces in the Helmand and Nimroz provinces of Afghanistan. He provided a sobering but positive perspective of the situation next to the borders of Pakistan and Iran and the general was ready to share his thoughts on the current events in Afghanistan with the roundtable bloggers. Celebrating opening of new women’s centerSee Photo Credit BelowImagine a new cell phone network connecting villages, additional and improved roads laid down to make it…
