Spouse and Family
 

Life Lessons of a Military Wife:

Life Lessons of a Military Wife is a fantastic blog on all things regarding
military life, specifically life as a military spouse in Europe. If you're
looking for information in preparation for you future overseas assignment,
this may be a good place to begin your research.


   Army Strong Bonds Program:

Strong Bonds is a unit-based, chaplain-led program which assists commanders in building individual resiliency by strengthening the Army Family. The core mission of the Strong Bonds program is to increase individual Soldier and Family member readiness through relationship education and skills training.

Strong Bonds is conducted in an offsite retreat format in order to maximize the training effect. The retreat or “get away” provides a fun, safe, and secure environment in which to address the impact of relocations, deployments, and military lifestyle stressors.
 

Army OneSource Spouses Careers Page:

Military Spouses are the cornerstone of support for Soldiers and their Families. That's why the Army is dedicated to helping spouses by offering a variety of job preparation and search programs. Here you'll find help with interviewing tips, resume creation, and discussion groups. You'll also get tools to advance your career through further education and a career assessment tool to focus your employment future.

  Army OneSource Child, Youth and School Services:

Army Child, Youth & School (CYS) Services supports the Army Family Covenant by reducing the conflict between a Soldier's mission readiness and parental responsibilities.
 

Army OneSource Health Care:

The health of the individuals that make up the Army determines the health of the Army as whole. That is why the Army offers an array of health programs for Soldiers and Family Members. Find resources related to benefits, coping with deployment, wounded Warriors, and other programs just for the Army Family.

Army OneSource Communities and Marketplace:

A sense of community is important to the Army. Army OneSource offers a chance for Army Soldiers to connect to their Families through Virtual Worlds, while Community Support Coordinators serve as liaisons to the geographically dispersed Army Families around the world. The Army Family Covenant and Army Community Covenant are committed to helping deliver a quality of life to Soldiers and Families that is commensurate with their service.

   The Commissary - It's Worth the Trip!

The Defense Commissary Agency with headquarters at Fort Lee, Virginia, operates a worldwide chain of commissaries providing groceries to military personnel, retirees and their families in a safe and secure shopping environment. Authorized patrons purchase items at cost plus a 5 - percent surcharge, which covers the costs of building new commissaries and modernizing existing ones. Shoppers save an average of more than 30 percent on their purchases compared to commercial prices - savings worth about $3,300 annually for a family of four. A core military family support element, and a valued part of military pay and benefits, commissaries contribute to family readiness, enhance the quality of life for America's military and their families, and help recruit and retain the best and brightest men and women to serve their country.
 
Army OneSource Family Programs and Services:

Army Family Programs offer a comprehensive array of programs and services dedicated to maintaining the readiness of Soldiers, Families and communities. It is the commander's principal Family readiness agency, providing comprehensive, coordinated, and responsive services that promote self-reliance, resiliency, and stability with such topics as New to the Army information, Money Matters, Home and Family Life, Making a Move, Work and Careers, Learning for Life, Army Basics, Managing Deployment and Separations, and Getting Involved in the Army community.
 

Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts (MyCAA):

Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts (MyCAA) from militaryonsource.com

USA.gov Personnel Locators:

Get help finding someone overseas or in an emergency
 
 
 
Your Soldier, Your Army: A Parents' Guide:

Your Soldier, Your Army: A Parents' Guidewas written by Vicki Cody, wife of GEN Richard Cody, Vice Chief of Staff, U.S. Army, and the mother of two Apache helicopter pilots with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). Mrs. Cody turns her own 30-year experience as the wife and mother of Soldiers into advice and consolation for other parents with deploying children. The book's tone is warm and confidential with an honest mix of pride and tribulation, a tone that appeals to concerned parents. Mrs. Cody covers the whole gamut of deployments, from the preparation through the endurance to the homecoming, and includes a personal view into Army life and an explanation of Army terminology. Supplemental articles and exclamation points feature tips and facts about the Army. 		  GI Bill Transferability Has Arrived:

For the first time in history, servicemembers enrolled in the Post-9/11
GI Bill program will be able to transfer unused educational benefits to their spouses or children starting Aug. 1, 2009.
New Department of Defense guidance, issued June 23, 2009, establishes the criteria for eligibility and transfer of those education benefits.
The new GI Bill, signed into law June 20, 2008, provides the most comprehensive educational benefit package since the original bill, officially known as the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was signed into law.
     
Welcome To The Army Family:

Welcome to the Army Family. You are very important to the Army because Soldiers and their Families are the Army's greatest asset. You will find that military life can be a wonderful experience, although it has some challenges as well. You will notice right away that it is a community, but it definitely is not like living in your hometown. 		  Family Matters Blog:

Pets Can Be a Welcome Addition to Families
Heather Forsgren Weaver, a colleague of mine at American Forces Press Service, is a regular contributor to Family Matters. Heather's been heavily involved in this blog from the start. She edits, helps write and posts content on a daily basis.

In this blog, Heather writes about how an English bulldog became an important part of her family and gives tips to military families who are thinking about adding a non-human family member to their clans.