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Military
Family & Spouses Resources By:
Judith Gerber
As
you have discovered, there are many helpful resources available to assist
in areas such as deployment, relocation, pay, health benefits, education,
training, and employment. At this time of transition, you might not be
sure what’s available to help you now. Complicating things is the fact
that there are literally dozens and dozens of online resources to help
with any issue you might think of from job searching to shopping in addition
to “real world” sources of support. And,
if you are the service member who is doing the transitioning, there are
a whole set of issues that you are facing as you get ready to adjust to
civilian life, from having to change careers and relocate, to getting
health and life insurance. That’s
why it’s important for all involved to keep in mind the changes that both
you and your family members are going to go through upon returning from
military service. Family roles will once again be changing and an adjustment
period is necessary. Fortunately,
there are many sources available to help everyone through this phase and
adjustment period. To help you get started and to make things easier,
we’ll look at the online resources available in the main categories you
might need at this time of transition. Note: a general description of
each website is in the main body of this story, while specific web addresses
can be found at the end under “For More Information.” For those without
computer access, many of these resources are also available either by
phone or mail by checking to see if they have local or national offices.
This
is perhaps the biggest issue of them all because at this time, the transition
is what’s causing the need to address everything else. There are resources
for the transitioning person on a very helpful website: the Army Career
and Alumni Program (ACAP) site. While it’s designed for the service member,
this program provides transition and job assistance services to separating
and retiring service members, civilians, and their families. Even if you
are in a different branch of the service, it’s a good place to start because
it gives some basic information on the kinds of things you will need to
consider. Its site offers a good place to start under the “Transition Assistance” Category which has articles and information on the services and benefits you will still be eligible for once you leave military service and links to other websites where you can get more information. It also outlines them by the major categories you are facing such as Effects of a Career Change, Employment Assistance, Relocation Assistance, Finances, and Individual Transition Plan.
As
an example, under Employment Assistance you will find information on workshops
and programs available, paperwork you need to complete, and links to sites
offering assistance and jobs. For
those family members of someone in the Navy, there’s a similar site offering
information on transitioning assistance as well as information on employment,
relocation, and health. A
good site for overall transitioning topics for family members is the V.A.’s
Seamless Transition, Operation Enduring Freedom/ Iraqi Freedom site. It
provides information on the wide range of benefits that are available
for dependents of living and deceased veterans. There are links to other
federal agencies and organizations offering benefits and services to survivors
and dependents.
For
the transitioning service member, some good places to start are the DoD
Job Search site, that not only can show you how to translate your military
occupational code into a civilian occupation, but there are over 1.5 million
jobs listed online as well. Another
helpful place to look is the Transition Bulletin Board that has a listing
of job want ads and other useful information to separating/retiring military
and federal civilian personnel and their spouses. Sites
that are good for both the military member and the family include Transition
Assistance Online (TAO). It has a family members’ resume database, information
and resources, and a jobs-for-spouses newsletter. Another
helpful site is the Military Spouse Resource Center for Education, Training,
and Employment site, a U.S. Department of Labor site that’s designed to
help the spouse of any active duty member of the U.S. Military or the
reserves. There is information, resources, and links to education, training,
and employment opportunities.
One
of the biggest concerns is making sure that you will have health insurance
as you and your family go through the transition period. This is especially
stressful for families with children and because it can take a long time
to get employment and for medical benefits to take effect. Fortunately,
The TRICARE website provides information on the transitional healthcare
available to the transitioning family and survivors.
If
you are unsure about what career to transition to, or want to get additional
training or education, a good place to start is the VA Educational Benefits
website. Here, you can find out about the benefits the Veteran’s Administration
offers for financial assistance to veterans returning to school. There’s
also a program available for survivors and dependents. The Survivors’
and Dependents’ Educational Assistance Program (DEA) provides education
and training opportunities to eligible dependents of certain veterans.
The program offers up to 45 months of education benefits.
There
are a number of resources to find information and or financial assistance
and loans including retirement and separation pay, unemployment compensation
for Ex-Service Members (UCX), and even VA home loans. A
good starting place is the DoD’s site, Military Compensation. It provides
information and links about retirement, benefits, and survivor benefits.
It can also lead For
those who are interested in buying a home, the VA Home loans website covers
topics such as eligibility, general loan information, and loan guarantee
information.
While
all of the above provides direct links to specific topics, there are also
some good sites designed specifically for family members and spouses.
These sites not only provide information and resources similar to those
already listed, but they can act as a support network and can offer help
from people who are actually going through the same things. Spouses
in particular have so much to deal with that a good resource for them
is the Military Spouse Support Network. This site has a bulletin board
where you can get answers to your questions or just general information.
It also includes a links section broken down by branch and by general
topic. A
really comprehensive website is from the National Military Family Association.
In addition to covering the basics such as health, education, and finances,
it also has resources and links on family life and family member benefits. Lastly,
a great site for families is Sgt. Mom’s — The Internet Site for Families.
It too gives all the links and information you need but also includes
some fun things like photo galleries, calendars, and poems.
General
Transitioning Sites Army
Career and Alumni Program (ACAP)
DoD
Job Search
The
Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance Program (DEA)
General
Military Family and Spouse Sites
Transition Assistance Is For Spouses, Too
Known as the Transition Assistance
Program (TAP), these workshops have been offered for the last 10 years.
While not mandatory, they are open to all transitioning service members
and their spouses within 180 days of separation or retirement. TAP is
a joint program of the Departments of Labor, Defense, and Veterans Affairs.
Over the years, more than 1.4 million service members have attended these
workshops, which are now offered at 170 military installations all over
the United A recent study by the Department of Defense on spouse employment
assistance clearly shows that spouses of transitioning service members
need to attend TAP workshops too. Fifty-four percent of active duty service
members are married, and 47% have children. The proportion of enlisted
military spouses in the labor force has increased from 56% in 1987 to
87% in 1997. And the majority of enlisted military spouses are less than
34 years old. “My husband got out of the Navy in 1987 and it was a difficult
experience for both of us,” said Rochelle Wheeler, director of transition
services at Great Lakes. “My goal is to make it an easier, more successful,
transition for service members and their spouses, especially those who
are in the prime of their working lives.”
TAP at Great Lakes takes five days and there are workshops
for retirees and separates. Roberto Carmona wanted his wife to attend
all five days. Even though Rita works at night and they have two children,
they rearranged Rita’s work schedule and prevailed on her mother to take
care of the kids. “I was 17 when I enlisted in the Marines,” said Roberto. “After
10 years in the military, I want to start my own company designing technical
electronic components. But if it doesn’t work right away, I want us both
to be ready to enter the job market until I can get financial backing,”
he said.
“Easing anxiety is just as much a part of TAP as providing
the latest employment data,” said Don Merritt, a TAP counselor and instructor
at Great Lakes. “Too many service members, especially officers, think
they can take in all the information and then tell their spouses what
they need to know.” Merritt speaks from years of experience. He is part of a cadre
of professionally trained workshop facilitators from the state employment
service and military family support centers. Merritt went through TAP
at Great Lakes in 1992 and has seen many changes in content of the workshops.
But he has not seen more spouses. “Spouses could really benefit from some of the special services
we offer at the Great Lakes TAP,” said Merritt. “For instance, we are
probably the only TAP that offers the Ken Cronk is a contract marketing specialist at the Family
Services Center who is constantly trying new ways to get the word out
about TAP. In addition to notices in the weekly “Great Lakes Bulletin”
and in each command’s “plan of the week”, Cronk is developing an e-mail
list, which can reach service families at home. Rita Carmona says she learned about TAP from the best source
of all, her husband. When asked how she rated the workshop, she said it
met all her expectations. “I don’t know why every spouse doesn’t come
to TAP workshops,” she said.
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Lakes
Naval Training Center’s Family Services Center last April, for the beginning
of an intensive five-day introduction to the civilian career world. Before
it was over, Roberto and Rita got up-to-date labor market information
from experienced employment counselors, used electronic resources to conduct
a job search, learned how to write a resume that gets noticed, practiced
preparing for and taking interviews that spotlight their unique skills
and experiences, listened to experts explain where to turn for service-related
health and housing benefits, and heard from community-based organizations
and employers that could help them successfully move into the civilian
world.
States.
While most of the workshops last only three days, spouses rarely avail
themselves of the wealth of information they offer. Rita was the only
spouse in a class of 37.
The
purpose of TAP is to help service members and their spouses make the initial
transition from military service to the civilian workplace with less difficulty
and at less overall cost to the government. An independent national evaluation
of the program estimated that service members and spouses who had participated
in TAP, on average, found their first post-military job three weeks sooner
than those who did not attend the workshops.
Myers-Briggs
Type Indicator (MBTI) personality preference instrument. It helps you
make good decisions for yourself and your family,” he said.
Information
about the location of military installations offering TAP can be obtained
by the visiting the Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training
Service web site (