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Military Spouse & Family Resources
Military life can be a rich and rewarding experience for a spouse, but it does come with its own unique challenges. The odds are good that if you encounter a problem, someone else in your community or in the service at large has dealt with something similar before. Here, you’ll find resources at your disposal as well as articles by our columnists.
Mission: Family: Job fair gives encouragement to unemployed spouses
A January job fair in Washington, D.C., brought home a point for Air Force wife Emily Waterlander that some military spouses never fully realize: Many people face similar challenges in trying to... Posted Thursday Feb 2, 2012 15:40:23 EST
Mission: Family: Scholarship deadlines are coming up soon
If you've resolved to stop procrastinating this year, there's no time like the present to tackle applications for scholarships geared to the military community, before their looming deadlines arrive. Posted Thursday Jan 5, 2012 11:45:07 EST
DoD families panel failing its requirements
The White House may be putting a huge spotlight on military families this year, but at the Defense Department, a panel of senior leaders required by law to meet and discuss family issues is having... Posted Friday Nov 4, 2011 14:53:46 EDT
Mission: Family: Support takes many forms for kin of war dead
The memorial services are over for the Navy SEALs and others who lost their lives in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan on Aug. 6, but their families, colleagues and other loved ones have a long road... Posted Thursday Sep 29, 2011 15:02:12 EDT
Mission: Family: Website, book help moms, kids handle life on the go
Military mothers who deploy sometimes have difficulty finding information about preparing themselves and their children, and how to best weather those deployments. Posted Thursday Sep 15, 2011 14:07:22 EDT
Mission: Family: Effort to ease spouses’ licensing woes gaining steam
Nurses, lawyers, teachers, civil engineers, cosmetologists, physical therapists and other professionals who are military spouses have a common problem: State licensing requirements impede their... Posted Thursday Aug 4, 2011 16:56:44 EDT
Troops take proposals outside the (ring) box
Time was, if a suitor wanted to score a knock-her-socks-off home run while declaring his true love, all he needed was a JumboTron and a break in the game. But these days, would-be grooms have to get... Posted Thursday Jun 30, 2011 15:19:33 EDT
An unforgettable wedding — at a discount
Army Sgt. Dane Scharff and his fiancee Danie Verlaque-Oldfield are doing their best to plan a memorable wedding. Posted Thursday Jun 30, 2011 15:08:07 EDT
Maj. ensures wounded vets always have friend
Army Maj. Mike Erwin likes to see Iraq and Afghanistan veterans get treated to expensive trips and free sporting events, but he'd rather make sure they're not forgotten when the donations and fanfare... Posted Thursday Jun 16, 2011 13:06:33 EDT
Flat Daddies keep memories alive for fallen soldier’s family
When Army Capt. Brian "Bubba" Bunting went to fight in Afghan-istan in 2008, his toddler son, Connor, was soon looking up to a smiling life-size cutout of his dad. Posted Thursday Apr 28, 2011 17:08:32 EDT
Life-size cutouts are keeping families connected
Donna Winter knew she and her husband would need help taking care of their two toddler grandkids when her son Michael and daughter-in-law Christina — both Army medics — deployed to Iraq... Posted Thursday Apr 28, 2011 17:04:39 EDT
Navy wife seeks aid for Japanese orphans
School was letting out at Naval Air Facility Misawa, Japan, when the ground started shaking March 11. Like many parents there, Gemini Sanford wasted little time finding her kids amid the ensuing... Posted Thursday Apr 7, 2011 15:21:36 EDT
Know someone who soars above the rest?
Air Force Times is looking for heroes. Not the types who make headlines for combat exploits, but the quiet, everyday heroes whose dedication, professionalism, and concern for their fellow service... Posted Monday Mar 28, 2011 14:39:56 EDT
DoD official outlines efforts to help families
New Defense Department initiatives to help families include a broad review of education for military children, more employment and education opportunities for spouses, and expanded availability of... Posted Friday Feb 18, 2011 12:37:34 EST
Mission: Family: DoD works with states to aid families
Issues affecting military families span many fronts — not just federal laws and Defense Department regulations, but state laws, too. Posted Thursday Feb 17, 2011 13:59:39 EST
DoDEA students score above average in tests
Children in Defense Department schools scored above the national average in the recently released results of the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress Science Assessment. Posted Thursday Feb 3, 2011 15:37:33 EST
Mission: Family: Branches could share ideas for family programs
What programs do Army families have that might benefit Air Force families? Are there unneeded family programs that could be replaced by more effective programs run by the Marine Corps or Navy? Posted Thursday Jan 20, 2011 14:30:08 EST
Mission: Family: Counseling degree program may attract spouses
Many military families are keenly aware of the nationwide shortage of mental health providers that affects their ability to get the counseling they need. Posted Thursday Nov 11, 2010 19:59:47 EST
Mission: Family: No MyCAA aid? Some other places may help
Spouses who will be shut out of financial assistance under the revamped Military Spouse Career Advancement Account program should know that all is not lost. It will just take a little more effort to... Posted Saturday Oct 30, 2010 14:15:57 EDT
ABCs of home schooling
Jennifer Nuntavong is out in the rain with her two young boys, jumping in puddles at Fort Belvoir, Va. The family of a Marine Corps gunnery sergeant, they're on their way home to make lunch and then... Posted Thursday Oct 21, 2010 16:45:37 EDT
Paging ‘Doc’ Reed of the USS Tarawa
Thirty years ago, a Vietnamese woman who escaped her war-torn country gave birth to a baby girl aboard the amphibious assault ship Tarawa. Posted Thursday Oct 21, 2010 16:44:51 EDT
Former soldier uses pageant fame to help veterans
Raquel Riley Thomas was an ROTC cadet at Hampton University in Virginia when she took part in her first beauty pageant. Posted Thursday Oct 7, 2010 17:33:10 EDT
Mission: Family: Tightened tuition rules will affect many spouses
Spouses should take note of some dates affecting eligibility for the Military Spouse Career Advancement Account, or MyCAA, program funds, as well as some new guidelines. Posted Thursday Sep 16, 2010 13:10:01 EDT
Mission: Family: Network links spouses with employers, other spouses
Thanks to the fledgling National Military Spouse Network, Coast Guard wife Kausha Donovan made connections that landed her an interview for a full-time job in Washington, D.C. Posted Thursday Sep 2, 2010 15:29:21 EDT
Mission: Family: S2S helps students adjust overseas
As a junior in high school, David Vinson didn't like it at all when the Army transferred his father and his family moved to South Korea in 1979. Posted Thursday Aug 19, 2010 13:25:34 EDT
Mission: Family: Pentagon mishandled halt in aid program
Military spouses don't ask for much in return for spending a lot of time away from their life partner, often acting like a single parent, pulling up stakes to move across the country every few years,... Posted Saturday Apr 3, 2010 13:29:38 EDT
Mission Family: Reach out to families in different housing situations
An interesting finding popped up in a recent Rand Corp. study: Military families who live on installations and families that own their own homes have fewer difficulties during deployments than... Posted Friday Jan 8, 2010 11:15:52 EST
Mission Family: Community rallies to support military families
Mary Dunkley was sipping a cup of coffee at a gas station in Linden, Mich., in April, when she saw a sign offering 25-cent coffee to police and firefighters. Posted Tuesday Dec 1, 2009 16:32:42 EST
Mission Family: How to help those who are grieving
How do you help those who have lost a loved one, a colleague or a friend — not just in the shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, but in any tragedy in the military community? Posted Tuesday Dec 1, 2009 13:56:46 EST
Mission Family: Respite child care program expands to every state
Families who need support services such as child care aren't always close to a military installation. That's been a complaint for years, especially from the Guard and reserve communities. Posted Wednesday Oct 14, 2009 11:00:47 EDT
Mission Family: Foundation gives $4.5M to programs for wounded
A wave of messages on social networking Web sites about a push to help injured service members transition to civilian communities aims to foster awareness and bolster the nonprofit groups that... Posted Monday Sep 14, 2009 15:40:23 EDT
Mission Family: Lots of programs help military kids
Making yet another move to a new city or a new country, dealing with yet another wartime deployment of a parent — military children have more than their share of challenges. Posted Monday Sep 14, 2009 15:35:09 EDT
Know your state’s unemployment laws
Air Force wife Krissy Stratton wondered why she was denied unemployment compensation by Wyoming officials after state legislators had passed a law making military spouses eligible when they must quit... Posted Monday Sep 14, 2009 15:32:00 EDT
Marine widow describes pain that suicide brings
Marine Lt. Col. Bob Curtis has seen firsthand the difference one military wife — now a widow — can make. Posted Thursday May 21, 2009 15:38:28 EDT
Top military moms
There's a saying in the ranks that goes something like this: "If momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy."
Send us your drawings and photos
To mark National Military Appreciation Month in May, we're planning a month-long online salute to service members and their families. As part of that coverage, we'd like to showcase your work...
Generations of Grottes have kept the Air Force flying
The Grottes are not Air Force royalty. They are not descended from aviation pioneers, dogfighting legends or Pentagon insiders. But what the Grottes lack in profile, they more than make up for in...
Tips for families
Tips for families to help their children during deployments:
Help for kids takes many forms
Help in dealing with the stress of deployments is starting to emerge for military parents and kids, and researchers are starting to look at long-term effects.
On watch at home
Each week, another new book is published that examines some aspect of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Military members, authors and journalists alike come back from the war zones with...
A spouse’s tale of strength
Michelle Keener's husband was deployed twice, and Keener had her hands full both times.
BRAC-ed spouses get some help
Labor Department officials are helping local communities look out for military spouses whose employment and training opportunities will be affected by base realignment and closure actions, officials...
Military appreciation month: Celebrating military families
May is a month of celebration for the military family. A time set aside to thank our heroes from the frontline to the home front. While we enjoy the spring, the flowers, the new life all around us,...
Dr. Laura: ‘I cried’ over mixup
Radio talk show host "Dr. Laura" Schlessinger said she received about a dozen "ferociously angry e-mails" from the military community after a story about her appeared in the May 12 Salt Lake Tribune.
Dr. Laura denies criticizing military spouses
Radio talk show host "Dr. Laura" Schlessinger says her comments about the "whining" of military spouses and parents were taken out of context in a story published May 12 in the Salt Lake Tribune.
Job programs for spouses keep growing
Whether a base will be growing or shrinking during the ongoing closure and realignment process, military spouses should be part of states' discussion about the job impact, Department of Labor...
DoD again offers summer program for kids
A free, four-week, half-day summer program will be offered to many of the students in Defense Department schools, according to officials at the Department of Defense Education Activity.
Charities help families deal with stress
The grassroots charity Operation Homefront is seeing signs that financial stress is increasing in military families, with their caseload for emergency assistance doubling in all its locations over...
New relocation tools replace SITES
With the moving season in full swing, the Defense Department has ditched its former SITES system and launched new relocation tools aimed at providing more up-to-date, concise and useful information...
Resources: Got problems? Where to find aid
No matter how well you manage your life, problems sometimes arise that you can't fix alone. There are organizations out there ready to help. Here's how to get in touch with the private military...
Resources: Legal assistance, vet organizations and more
From veterans organizations to the USO, organizations stand ready to help take care of you and your family wherever you are in the world. Here are other useful links to sites where you can find a...
Resources: Family support resources
The military is constantly adding new resources to help families survive and thrive in the military life. Here is a round-up of information on some organizations and services available to you:
Resources: Moving with the family
Making a permanent change of station is tough enough when you're single — add a family into the mix and it gets a whole lot more challenging. Here are resources to help you survive your next...
Mission Family: Civilian attorneys offer free assistance
More and more civilian legal issues are cropping up that affect service members and families, whether it's child custody cases, tax questions or Servicemember Civil Relief Act issues.
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