The Month of the Military Child Senior Leaders Honor Military Children of

the Year Carlisle Barracks Student Named Army Mili-

tary Child of Year for 2012 Mrs. Obama: Nation Must ‘Step up Forever’

for Military Families Family Matters Blog: New Job Push to Bene-

fit Military Spouses Is MilSpouse Government Hiring Preference

Coming Soon Fort Benning Prepares for Female Trainees GI Benefit Watchdog Bill Introduced

It’s time to celebrate our military children! Since 1986 when Casper Wein-berger the Secretary of Defense at the time acknowledged April as the Month of the Military Child we have all paused to show children of military families that their personal sacrifices are recognized with respect and gratitude. I think back to my own three children, all of which were raised in a military household. For the two oldest, four elementary schools, two middle schools and three high schools were the challenges they faced. For my youngest, not as many moves but certainly just as many goodbyes as friends came and went in the Fort Belvoir housing area we called home. Military children have always lived a life of transition, and for the last 10 years, a life without war. But through it all, they’re shared experiences, their solid community of military youth, and yes, their resilient nature seems to win the day. We at AUSA Family programs salute you!

Patty Director AUSA Family Programs

Family Programs Patty’s Corner:

THIS ISSUE:

Family Programs Update

A P R I L 1 6 , 2 0 1 2 V O L U M E I , I S S U E 1 4

Your Fam

ily Readiness R

esource

New Wounded Warriors App TRICARE Introduces New Benefits Suicide Prevention Resources for Military Fam-

ilies VA Launches ‘Project REACH’ Contest to Help

Homeless What Does Military Friendly Mean? Featured Employer: Chevron Hiring Vets Beware of Scam Letter Play Military Trivia, Win an iPod Rideshares Sought in Northern Virginia

P A G E 2

“I have said time and again

that military personnel are not a

faceless group, and they are not

civilians – they are the one

percent of this nation’s

population that are willing to

carry our colors into battle and to

offer up their life in the process.

When they retire from the front

line, they should be given the

respect and dignity of a reliable

benefits package.”

GEN Gordon R. Sullivan

USA Retired

Senior Leaders Honor Military Children of the Year

Carlisle Barracks Student Named Army Military Child of Year for 2012

The Month of the Military Child

April is the Month of the Mili-tary Child. This year's theme, developed by the Army Teen Panel, is "Military Kids: He-roes for the Future." More than 1.7 million children have at least one parent serving in the military. An estimated 900,000 children have had one or both parents deployed multiple times over the last

10 years. Many child devel-opment and mental health experts believe military chil-dren need support. During April, Army garrisons around the world are devel-oping events and celebra-tions designed to recognize the sacrifices military chil-dren make and the support they provide to their Soldier-

parent(s) and families. For more information and re-sources, visit the Army OneSource Month of the Military Child webpage at: http://1.usa.gov/bRWpEU

Amelia McConnell of Car-lisle Barracks, Pa., was named Army Military Child of the Year for 2012, earn-ing her a $5,000 tribute from Operation Homefront. Operation Homefront awarded tributes to five young military family mem-bers during a ceremony, April 5, in Washington, D.C.

character and leadership. The military’s top brass heaped praise on five of the-se children – one from each service plus the Coast Guard for their resilience, strength of character and leadership. These children are the “best of the best,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey told an audience of military and

family members. Joining the chairman was his wife, Deanie, top military leaders from each service, and special guest speaker, Medal of Honor recip-ient Army Sgt. 1st Class Sam-my L. Davis. To learn more about the Military Child of the Year, please go to: http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=67849

Operation Homefront, a non-profit organization that pro-vides emergency assistance to military families, annually gives the award to a child from each service to honor military kids’ service and sacrifice. The military’s top brass heaped praise to five children one from each ser-vice plus the Coast Guard for their resilience, strength of

F A M I L Y P R O G R A M S

please go to: http://www.army.mil/article/77462/Car-lisle_Barracks_student_named_Army_Military_Child_of_Year_for_2012/

The honorees were chosen because they epitomize par-triotism to country, devotion and selflessness to family and outstanding leadership within their communities. Children of servicemembers from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard were honored. To read this article in full,

Mrs. Obama: Nation Must ‘Step up Forever’ for Military Families

P A G E 3 V O L U M E I , I S S U E 1 4

As First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden mark the first anniversary of their “Joining Forces” campaign recently, the two say they will continue to solidify its successes so a struc-tured effort to help military fami-lies is a permanent part of American culture. Additionally, Obama and Biden, wife of vice president Joe Biden, said

to protect everyone else, and President Obama emphasizes how the need to continue this military family support is needed. To read more about this subject, please go to: http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=67877

that these jobs can be accom-plished from home. Other jobs will be in contact centers located near military installations, and offer family-friendly scheduling, growth opportunities and the abil-ity to transfer seamlessly from one center to another. Compa-nies' key commitments include:

Alpine Access, Dial America, Arise Virtual Solutions Inc., Etech Global Services, Hilton Hotels, Agility Marketing, QCSS Inc., among several others. To learn more about this job push, please go to: http://bit.ly/IngQ3w

First Lady Michelle Obama un-veiled a new hiring effort that will deliver thousands of porta-ble, flexible job opportunities to military spouses. Eleven com-panies have pledged more than 15,000 jobs for military spouses and veterans. A major ad-vantage for these spouses is

Is MilSpouse Government Hiring Preference Coming Soon?

Family Matters Blog: New Job Push to Benefit Military Spouses

They said right now there are two hiring initiatives within the federal government. The first is DoD specific. It gives military spouses who recently complet-ed a PCS preference when ap-plying for a DoD job at their new base. That means they may be given head-of-line consideration for certain positions. The se-cond rule lets agencies hire re-cently PCSed spouses, military

widows and spouses of 100 per-cent disabled vets for noncompeti-tive appointment. This does not mean they have preference for those jobs – it simply means they have a foot in the job door under some circumstances. In short: hiring preference for all military spouses within the federal govern-ment does not exist. One of the great things about this blog is that it gives you the chance for your

voice to be heard by the White House and the people who plan these pro-grams. To read this article in full, please go to: http://spousebuzz.com/blog/2012/04/is-military-spous-government-hiring-preference-coming-soon.html?comp=1198882887570&rank=3

by the outpouring of support by American civilians. More than 100 companies have committed to participate in the administration’s goal of the private sector hiring of 100,000 spouses and veterans. They also expressed how im-pressed they are with the resilien-cy of military families. The first lady noted that 1 percent of Ameri-cans serve in the all-volunteer

P A G E 4

GI Benefit Watchdog Bill Introduced

New Wounded Warriors App

Fort Benning Prepares for Female Trainees

Soldiers now must participate in transition services before they leave active duty. An execution order requiring them to make use of the services is in force throughout the Army. The order applies to all Sol-diers who are leaving active duty, whether they are Regu-lar Army members who are separating or retiring or

reservists demobilizing after six months or more on ac-tive duty. The order, which implements a directive is-sued last year by Army Sec-retary John McHugh further requires that transition pro-cessing begin at least 12 months before a Soldier leaves active duty and that the Soldier’s commander

the battlefield traditionally reserved for men. In Febru-ary, it announced plans to open six military occupational specialties, or MOSs, and more than 13,000 positions to female Soldiers. The 1994 DoD policy known as the Di-rect Ground Combat Defini-tion and Assignment Rule had prohibited women from serv-ing in combat units below the

brigade level. An exception has now been granted allow-ing them to serve in some positions at the battalion tier. To read this article in full, please go to: http://www.army.mil/article/77565/Fort_Benning_prepares_for_female_trainees/

Officials at the 194th Ar-mored Brigade said they could begin training female Soldiers right now, if neces-sary. It’s just a matter of when the Army decides to send them there. After a Defense Department (DoD) review of women’s roles in the military, the Army is ex-panding access to some combat-arms positions on

F A M I L Y P R O G R A M S

oversee the process. To read this article in full, please go to: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2012/04/army-transition-services-now-mandatory-040312w/

U.S. Senator Patty Murray, Chairman of the Senate Veter-ans' Affairs Committee, recent-ly joined with Senators Daniel Akaka (D-HI), Mark Begich (D-AK) to introduce in the U.S. Senate the GI Bill Consumer Awareness Act of 2012. The bill will give Servicemembers and veterans using the GI Bill and other VA education

benefits access to infor-mation that would help them make informed deci-sions about the schools they attend so they get the most out of the benefit. For highlights of the bill and to understand this further, please go to: http://bit.ly/HVoI82

TRICARE Introduces New Benefits

P A G E 5 V O L U M E I , I S S U E 1 4

TRICARE introduced several new programs in 2009. The TRICARE Assistance Program (TRIAP) pro-vides short-term professional coun-seling assistance. For information about TRIAP and other behavioral health resources, visit the TRICARE Mental Health Resources Center. TRICARE’s new Extended Care Health Option (ECHO) benefits for eligible family members whoa re di-agnosed with extraordinary physical

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) launched a new con-test recently to help the people who help the homeless. It chal-lenges the developer community to create easy, mobile access to resources that the homeless need, when they need it and where they can get it. Project REACH (Real-time Electronic Access for Caregivers and the Homeless) was announced in

also use the information below to educate yourself about how to tell if a loved one may be experi-encing thoughts of suicide, and what you can do to help him or her find the strength to reach out for help. http://www.realwarriors.net/family/support/preventsuicide.php

No warrior or military family is alone. If you are concerned that a service member or veteran in your family is considering harming or killing him/herself, free resources are immediately available to aid your family in its time of crisis. To get help for someone immediately, call the Veterans Crisis Line at 800-273-TALK and press 1. You can

Suicide Prevention Resources for Military Families

VA Launches ‘Project REACH’ Contest to Help Homeless

or psychological conditions. For more information on TRICARE’s new dental program and pharmacy benefits, visit the TRICARE Active Duty Dental Program website at: www.addp-ucci.com and the TRI-CARE Pharmacy Program webpage at www.TRICARE .mil/pharmacy. For further information, please go to: http://www.military.com/military-report-tricare-introduces-new-benefits.

services and shelters to up-date availability of key services automatically on the Internet. The winning app will collect, map, and electronically distrib-ute that information for commu-nities across the nation. For more information on this con-test, please go to: http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=2278

collaboration with the Depart-ments of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Hu-man Services, and the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicat-ed to helping the lives of peo-ple facing economic challeng-es. The ultimate goal of the contest is to create a national platform that enables health clinics, food kitchens, housing

P A G E 6

"We understand the

unique challenges that you

face, and we are going to

do everything that we can

to make sure that you can

pursue your careers and

provide for your families."

First Lady

Michelle Obama

Featured Employer: Chevron Hiring Vets

Beware of Scam Letter

What Does Military Friendly Mean?

A recent Associated Press arti-cle by Justin Pope addressed this issue of military friendliness and the proposed legislation which would force schools that wish to participate in the GI Bill to follow much tighter veteran friendly policies. Unfortunately, most veterans have no way of knowing exactly what the phrase really means. But, in the loosest .interpretation it means that veterans are

A letter is making the circuit purporting to be from the De-fense Finance Accounting Ser-vice (DFAS) asking military member’s fiancées to register in the system entitling them to benefits in the event of the member’s death. All for only a $350 fee. This is not a genu-ine DFAS letter – it is a scam. The letter is a typical scam phishers use to try and obtain

now we’re hiring Facility Engi-neers, Petroleum Engineers, Drilling and Completion Engi-neers, Pipeline Operator/ Maintenance, Production Op-erations and more. Please visit the Chevron Talent Portal at: http://jobsforveter-ans.military.com/654/veteran-talent-portal-chevron/

Chevron is hiring veterans and transitioning servicemembers. Visit the Chevron Veteran Tal-ent Portal to apply for jobs, translate your military skills and network with other veter-ans. The Chevron tam has the technology to take on big challenges, the integrity to do it responsibly and the drive to keep moving forward. Right

F A M I L Y P R O G R A M S

welcome and the school has programs which have been ap-proved by the VA for using the GI Bill (and by the DoD for tui-tion assistance). The fact is, for a school to be truly “Military Friendly” they need to do a lot more than that. To learn more, please go to: http://www.military.com/military-report/what-does-military-friendly-mean

your personal information and in this case, money. DFAS will never send unso-licited e-mail messages with attachments. For more infor-mation on scams or financial issues, please visit: www.military.com. For more on this article, please go to: http://www.military.com/military-report/beware-of-scam-letter

Play Military Trivia, Win an iPod

P A G E 7 V O L U M E I , I S S U E 1 4

Think you know military history and trivia? Test your knowledge with the Military.com Trivia Challenge. Here's how you win: For each question you answer correctly you'll receive one point, and for each point you'll earn an electronic raffle ticket. At the end of the month we'll have a random drawing of all

Rideshares Sought in Northern Virginia

The Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC) has be-gun “Real-time Ridesharing,” a six-month pilot program se-signed to match Depart of De-fense (DoD) personnel travel-ing along the interstate 95/395 and U.S. Route 1 corridors with fellow employees taking similar paths to work. The program

pays defense workers to car-pool. Commuters can use a smart phone app to arrange a specific time to meet a driver traveling in the same direction. The NVRC is recruiting at least 1,000 riders and 500 drivers to participate in the pilot. Sign-ups for the program will begin in March, and ride sharing

the tickets and pull out one to determine the winner. Play as little or as much as you'd like during the month, but the more questions you answer correctly, the greater your chances of winning. To play now, please click: http://www.military.com/Trivia/Home?ESRC=mrvr.nl

would begin in May or June. Contact Peggy Tadej at 703-642-4635 for more infor-mation. To read this article in full, please go to: http://www.military.com/military-report/rideshares-sought-in-northern-virginia.

2425 Wilson Blvd.

Arlington, VA 22201

Phone: 703.841.4300 or 800.336.4570

Extensions 150 or 151

www.ausa.org/family

AUSA Family Programs efforts to combat the turmoil many families are facing include acting as a resource and: Providing outreach and information to families via an e-mail weekly newsletter (Update), resources, publications and sponsorship. Addressing Army family concerns through AUSA’s legislative efforts and interaction with Senior Army and program leaders. Acting as a voice for Army families through representation on a number of Department of Defense and Department of the Army working groups and councils and other organiza-tions for education, benefits, healthcare, and readiness. Hosting events for Army families at the AUSA Annual Meeting and the Family Programs Military Family Forums. Encouraging and supporting AUSA Chapter efforts to support Army families. Traveling to provide presentations and information sessions

AUSA Family Programs

Your Family Readiness Resource